NEVADA VIEWS: Will the schools bell ring?

Benjamin Franklin wrote, “In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” There is now a third certainty: Clark County School District students will not return to school as we knew it. Despite ample data indicating that children suffer little risk from COVID-19, our leaders are preparing to drastically alter the schedules and routines of hundreds of thousands of students, teachers, staff and their families.

Such drastic measures do not need to be taken, but I presume Gov. Steve Sisolak will stick to his word when he recently said, “Some of our classrooms in the Clark County School District … there’s no way you can social space in those classrooms.” Due to the sheer number of students, the governor indicated that they will likely stagger school schedules or extend the school day.

With these changes on the horizon, traditional families will no doubt experience inconvenience and logistical issues. I hope our leaders will also weigh the great burden these changes will bring upon nontraditional or blended families and allow some choice when it comes to their children’s schedules this coming fall. I foresee a nightmare of complexity if those in charge do not address the unique challenges faced by blended families as they orchestrate the new temporary at the school district.

Credit the district with sending out a “reopening our schools” survey this month that provided parents and students the opportunity to be heard. Surveys are summarily dismissed by most people to their nearest trash bin — this survey, by contrast, has been the talk of the town. Student and parent involvement have been widespread and enthusiastic. Will our leaders listen?

My wife and I were married in 2015. We both moved to Las Vegas in the early 2000s after college, and we work for local businesses. This is a second marriage for us. I have two children from a previous marriage, and she has one. Blended together, our three boys will be entering the third, fifth and eighth grade. They all go to different schools within the district. We share 50/50 custody with our prior spouses, and we all work together for the benefit of our children.

There are tens of thousands of blended district families just like us.

Many families rely on carpool arrangements. These transportation networks are vital to parents who balance home responsibilities and full-time jobs. The district transportation system doesn’t work for most blended families. Children often attend schools that are zoned for one parent but far from the other parent. For our family, we have arranged carpools with our children’s best friends. If the district staggers the children’s schedules, will we be granted priority for our children to attend on the same schedule as their friends with whom they have spent years building relationships? Will parents who rely on these transportation networks to balance custody and their jobs be allowed to continue to rely on them?

The thought of having three children at three different schools and attempting to coordinate pickups and drop-offs for three students while juggling full-time work and custody concerns is mind blowing. What if the staggering is such that it becomes a logistical nightmare to balance transportation, court mandated custody and full-time jobs?

What if, due to staggering, one parent carries the burden of “distance education,” while the other parent can attend work full-time because the child attends school during his or her custodial time? You could easily see a situation where one parent is responsible to balance “distance education” and a full-time job, while the other parent is able to use school for both education and child-care needs.

I do not envy the position our leaders are in. While I personally do not believe that the drastic measures which are coming are truly necessary, I do at least hope that our leaders consider the challenges blended families face and the net impact of their decisions on these families. It is critical that parents be given a choice when it comes to their children’s schedules this coming fall to balance the unique issues that blended families face.

Christopher Henderson is a Summerlin resident and a local attorney.