Officials to get cracking on building problems

Monday, Jan. 9, 2006 | 7:36 a.m.

Cracking walls and buckling floors suggest all is not well below ground at Variety School, which serves some of the Clark County School District's most severely disabled students.

Paul Gerner, associate superintendent of facilities for the district, said expanding soil from ground water may be the source of the structural woes. But tests of the school's pipes have yielded no leaks, and preliminary soil samples have been inconclusive.

"This all seems to have occurred within the last two or three weeks," Gerner said. "That's a relatively accelerated time frame for something like this."

District engineers and outside consultants have all agreed that there is no immediate danger to the school's students or staff, Gerner said.

"The block walls have some cracking in them, and there's some heaving in the slabs," Gerner said. "That's a long way from having a building be a hazard."

Built in 1952, Variety is located at Sunrise and Eastern avenues, near U.S. 95. The school provides special education services to about 120 students, ages 3 to 22, who have cognitive and physical disabilities.

Over the years the campus has undergone repairs and improvements, but it is not scheduled for replacement or major renovations.

Similar structural problems occurred next door at the former Sunrise Acres Elementary School. A replacement campus was built, and the old school is now used by the district as an industrial facility.

Because of the cracking, the school's cafeteria has been moved to the building's original kitchen facility, said Sue Hoggan, spokeswoman for the district's food services division. Students are being served pre-packaged meals and snacks.

The time frame and costs of repairing the school aren't yet known, Gerner said. But a facilities team plans to meet early today with Variety's staff to discuss short-term solutions, Gerner said.

"The principal indicated her children are particularly susceptible to uneven floors," Gerner said. "We will do what it takes to stop what's going on out there and make the necessary fixes."

Emily Richmond can be reached at 259-8829 or at emily@lasvegassun.com.