Inquiry targets allegations of West Prep racial discrimination

The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights is investigating allegations of racial discrimination against the mostly minority students at West Prep Academy, a federal spokesman confirmed this week.

The investigation is a response to concerns voiced by Marzette Lewis, a community activist and president of WAAK-UP, Westside Action Alliance Korps-Uplifting People. Since last spring, Lewis has been complaining that the public school's 29 portable classrooms and restroom facilities are inadequate. Elementary students frequently urinate on themselves, she contends.

Lewis said her complaints have gone unheeded by the Clark County School District and its School Board. "If these were mostly white students, I wouldn't have had to speak up but once," Lewis said.

The K-12 school serves 1,850 students. About 41 percent are black, 52 percent are Hispanic and 5 percent are white. About 80 percent of students qualify for the free and reduced lunch program. Families are so poor and desperate that they are "barely existing," Lewis said.

School Board President Terri Janison said the implication of racism is "absolutely inaccurate." On the contrary, Janison said extra funds have been allocated to West Prep because the school was failing academically.

In the 2007-08 school year, the most recent data available, the district spent about $13,254 per elementary student and $8,672 per secondary student at West Prep, according to accountability reports. Both figures exceeded the average district expenditure of $7,546 per student that year.

The school, near the intersection of Lake Mead and Martin Luther King boulevards, was converted from a middle school to a K-12 campus in 2006 to improve student performance. Last year, West Prep made "adequate yearly progress" under the federal No Child Left Behind school accountability law for the first time.

Because the academic program at West Prep is still being evaluated, Janison said the district has not committed to building a permanent structure to replace the portables, which house the elementary grades, a computer lab and a library. In addition to the 29 classroom portables, there are two portables with restrooms for boys and girls.

District officials have also said new capital projects are contingent on voter approval of a new bond program. The School Board must decide this spring on whether to seek a bond referendum in November.

School Board member Linda Young, who represents the West Prep community, said racism can never be discounted as a factor in the public education policies that affect West Las Vegas, a historically black neighborhood bounded by Bonanza Road to the south, Carey Avenue to the north, Rancho Drive to the west and Interstate 15 to the east.

"There's definitely a history," said Young, who added that she would "welcome any investigation" into the issue.

"I know it's trite, I know I say it all the time, but we're all in this together," Young said.

According to a letter from Monique Malson, deputy chief attorney for the Seattle office of the Office for Civil Rights, investigators will determine if the portable classrooms at West Prep fail to compare favorably with those at predominantly white schools. Investigators will check electrical conditions, assess if the restrooms available are adequate for the number of students using them, determine if the restrooms are close enough to students assigned to portable classrooms, and check the facilities for proper heating and cooling.

Malson also noted that the "acceptance of these allegations does not reflect an opinion by OCR (the Office for Civil Rights) regarding the merits of the allegations or the district's compliance status with respect to federal Civil Rights laws."

An investigation by the civil rights office usually takes about 180 days, said Dave Thomas, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Education.

Lewis said she was told the investigation would begin in February. Michael Rodriguez, a district spokesman, said district officials are aware of the investigation and are preparing a response.

Lewis said she believes the electrical problem she has complained about has been fixed. But the two restroom portables, which have three toilets each, are inadequate to serve the elementary grades. Elementary students have to walk to the school's cafeteria in the main building.

In a letter to Lewis, West Prep Principal Mike Barton said many opportunities for restroom breaks are provided to students each day. As a former elementary school teacher, Barton said he can attest that "accidents happen even if a well-planned procedure is in place for bathroom use among elementary-aged students."

Contact reporter James Haug at jhaug@reviewjournal.com or 702-374-7917.