Disgusted, Ed Dept. looks for a new home

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2007 | 7:05 a.m.

Maybe it was the summer days when the temperature soared above 100 degrees - inside.

Or the foul smell and dank carpeting after a toilet overflowed.

But the breaking point could have come the week the electrical sockets went dead, keeping workers from turning on computers or using other devices.

All for a mere $17,250 per month.

The combination of problems has the Nevada Education Department ready to give up on the more than 10,000 square feet of office space on three floors its rents at 1820 E. Sahara Ave.

"We're not very happy," said Jim Wells, chief financial officer for the department, in what is undoubtedly an understatement.

The department, with help from the state's Buildings and Grounds Division, is looking for a new Southern Nevada home.

The problems have occurred off and on for years, but the past few months - including the long hot summer - tested the patience of the more than 30 employees assigned to the building.

It's hard enough to keep people working in civil service when private sector jobs abound. The least the Education Department can offer its employees is reliable heating, air conditioning, plumbing and electricity when they show up for work, Wells said.

Diana Hollander, who is responsible for reviewing background checks on applicants for teacher licenses, says she's developed a fondness of sorts for the run-down offices. Sure, the toilets overflow, and once the leakage actually came through the ceiling and dripped on people's heads. True, it can take guts to venture into the seedy elevator (Hollander sticks to the stairs). But despite all of this, she's in no hurry to leave.

"Until I get a memo telling me to pack it up, I'm hanging tight," Hollander said. "I don't need anything fancy, just a quiet place to do my job."

Hollander, a 13-year veteran of the department, knows that some of her colleagues don't share her enthusiasm for the building, but she thinks the problems are fixable. She's seen the building change ownership at least three times, most recently in 2005. The newest owner (JS Park Sahara LLC of Newport Beach, Calif., according to the county assessor's records) has made some improvements. The carpets were shampooed, the restroom floors are being waxed and some of the air-conditioning units were replaced, Hollander said.

But the major problems remain. When the last lease expired in December, Wells said, the department refused to renew unless its demands were met. The tenancy is now month to month.

The building's owner could not be immediately located for comment, nor could the property manager.

For at least five years Keith Rheault, Nevada's superintendent of public instruction, has begged the state for money to upgrade the video-conferencing equipment so that the Carson City and Las Vegas offices can be easily linked for State Board of Education meetings and special hearings. The 2007 Legislature finally approved the request, authorizing $120,000 for the devices. But without major electrical work, it's unlikely the current offices will support the new technology, Rheault said.

Although he's anxious to get the equipment up and running, Rheault said he's recommending waiting until new and improved offices can be found.

There are several possibilities, with the leading contender a building on East Flamingo Road near Maryland Parkway, just a stone's throw from the Clark County School District's old headquarters, known as the "Ed Shed."