LETTER: Community must rise up to improve the Clark County School District

I am a high school junior in private school. I am the first to admit that I do not know everything there is to know about the politics surrounding the Clark County School District. I do know, however, that Nevada lawmakers last year approved a $2.6 billion increase in education funding.

I don’t understand where all that money goes. According to the website for the Public Education Fund, 58 percent of students in the district arrive to the first day of school without the necessary and required supplies, and teachers often take on the burden of purchasing supplies for their students.

And the lack of resources appears to be contributing to poor outcomes. According to the district’s own data, more than 3 out of 4 high school students are not reading proficient for the ACT. The latest data on ACT composite scores shows that Nevada students rank dead last among all 50 states.

The children in Clark County cannot wait for politicians to figure out how to get the money to the right places. This generation of children is the future of this community, and we are failing them. Las Vegas is among the fastest-growing cities in the country according to U.S. Census data. If we don’t fix the problem, children who grew up in Las Vegas will be at a disadvantage, and they will lose jobs and other opportunities to those who relocate here from other parts of the country.

While the politicians try to get their act together, we should all try to do something — however small — to support the kids of this school district. Organizations such the Public Education Fund provide resources to district teachers, and organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club of Southern Nevada, through after-school tutoring and other programs, help district kids get the education that Clark County currently seems unable to give them. Anyone can donate to organizations such as these, or provide volunteer services.

For my own part, I formed an organization last year called Bright Minds Las Vegas, which creates re-usable learning materials that it then donates to the PEF Teacher Superstore, to local domestic violence shelters and to any other place we can find where there are children who may not have access to proper learning materials.

It is not much, but if everyone did something small to help, together we can try to make an improvement.