Clark County School District offers last chance meetings for rezoning input

Parents will have a last chance today and Wednesday to give their two cents on likely school zoning changes before recommendations go to the Clark County School Board.

The Clark County School District's Attendance Zone Advisory Commission will hear public comment this week on three proposals affecting 15 to 22 southwest valley elementary schools that mark the largest enrollment shuffle in recent history. Changes could move between 2,500 to 2,800 students in August to alleviate overcrowding at many of these schools.

Today's meeting will start at 6 p.m. in the theater of Sierra Vista High School, 8100 West Robindale Road. The Wednesday meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in the Silverado High School theater, 1650 Silver Hawk Ave.

The committee will recommend one proposal to the School Board that has the potential to affect students of Batterman, Beatty, Bendorf, Bryan, Cartwright, Diskin, Forbuss, Frias, Gehring, Gray, Hayes, Hill, Hummel, Kim, Reedom, Ries, Rogers, Steele, Stuckey, Tanaka, Wiener and Wright elementary schools.

Districtwide, enrollment is 9 percent over capacity for Clark County's 217 elementary schools.

At nearly 40 elementary schools, staff members are teaching a quarter more students than their buildings were built for, relying on portable classrooms and even portable bathrooms to do so.

Rezoning alone wouldn't fix the problem for the next five years, according to School Board members. They've agreed to also plan for either adding more portable classrooms to already cramped campuses or putting some schools on year-round schedules. Board members have been more supportive of adding more portables.

Contact reporter Trevon Milliard at tmilliard@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279.