Housing crunch affects Liberty (underpopulated) and Coronado (overcrowded)

Crystal Ralyea lives a half block from Liberty High School. She loves the peace and quiet.

"We hardly ever see any of the kids or hear anything, which is good for us," said Ralyea, 24, who lives with her husband and 6-month-old son in a neighborhood affected by the distressed real estate market.

"Bank-owned" homes are for sale, and no-trespassing signs warn people to stay off vacant property.

The unoccupied homes help explain why Liberty High is underpopulated by 768 students.

The school, which opened in 2003 at the southern end of Henderson near Bermuda Road and St. Rose Parkway, was built in anticipation of residential developments that never got built or have lower-than-expected occupancies.

Just five miles away, Coronado High School seems worlds apart from its sister school. In contrast to the vacant lots and empty strip malls near Liberty, Coronado is closer to the bustling commercial intersection at Horizon Parkway and Eastern Avenue.

Coronado, which opened in 2001, happens to be 512 students over its ideal capacity, with a typical class having 40 students.

Rhiannon Mestas, 18, a Coronado senior, said her school is so overcrowded that it's difficult to navigate the hallways between classes.

"I hear people complaining," Mestas said. "If the teacher can't control the class, it's pretty bad."

Coronado has 14 additional classrooms in double-wide portables. More portables are expected for next year.

Its enrollment could grow by 400 students to more than 3,500 students next year, based on projections of incoming freshmen graduating from middle school, said Rick Baldwin, a demographics coordinator for the Clark County School District.

So the district is faced with a balancing act:

•Coronado has an enrollment of 3,171, but has a capacity of 2,659.

•Liberty has an enrollment of 1,853 students, but has a capacity for 2,621.

"We're not just looking at overcrowding (at Coronado). We're looking at severe underutilization of a school (Liberty)," said Sharon Dattoli, the district's director of demographics and zoning.

A zoning change might seem like an obvious solution, but the district faces opposition from current Coronado students and their families who don't want to move to a new school.

School officials said they couldn't start the zoning change with just next year's incoming freshmen, because the other grades still would be imbalanced.

None of 10 students recently interviewed in front of Coronado was willing to attend Liberty instead.

Maylee Alder, 14, said she was one of the students who would be affected by a proposed zoning change, but the freshman likes the academic program at Coronado.

"I think it's a great school," Alder said. "We shouldn't have to go to another."

Taylor Berry, 15, a Coronado sophomore, said, "I'm accustomed to this school. Most of my friends go here."

Students have expressed concerns about not wanting to be separated from marching band and other activities.

Also, because Liberty is one of five district high schools with "prescribed attire" or a particular dress code, there is a perception that Liberty does not give its students as much freedom, one student said.

Coronado and Liberty principals did not return phone calls seeking comment, but school district spokesman Michael Rodriguez said the district would work with families to ease any transition pains and make exceptions for hardship situations.

While it usually takes a few years to correct a zoning imbalance, district officials want to move forward.

Some School Board members, however, seem sympathetic to students who don't want to leave Coronado.

"I don't think we need to punish kids who are already invested in a high school," new School Board member Deanna Wright said at a recent meeting.

Wright, who represents Henderson, said students should not be held responsible for the real estate crash.

She would like a compromise to give students affected by the proposed zoning changes the option of staying at Coronado, but district staff worry it wouldn't work.

"If we offer them an option to remain at the school, the fear is none of them are going to go," Dattoli said.

The School Board on March 3 will consider a proposal from a zoning advisory committee to move the Anthem Heights and Madeira Canyon neighborhoods into the Liberty attendance zone for the next school year, which would affect as many as 270 students based on current enrollment data.

A second part of the proposal would give all Coronado students the choice of attending Liberty next year. If more students elected to leave, fewer students from Anthem Heights and Madeira Canyon would have to go to Liberty, Baldwin said.

Dattoli said she anticipated the proposal might be appealing, because students would have more opportunities to play sports and participate in activities at Liberty.

Liberty, for instance, is still trying to field enough athletes for a diving team, according to the school Web site, Libertyhighpatriots.com.

The diving season starts in March.

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