Students walk out of downtown Las Vegas school in support of teachers
More than 100 students walked out of Las Vegas Academy of the Arts on Friday calling for teacher pay increases.
The crowd of teenagers gathered starting at 1 p.m. in front of the school’s main entrance on South Seventh Street in downtown Las Vegas. School employees were outside supervising.
Some students were carrying Clark County Education Association signs, while others brought homemade ones.
Students chanted phrases like, “Pay our teachers” and “Do what’s fair. The money is there.”
The Clark County School District declared an impasse last month in contract talks with the teachers union after 11 bargaining sessions since late March. The matter now heads to arbitration.
Union members have held protests since July, and student walkouts have occurred at a few schools, including Basic Academy of International Studies and Clark High School.
The district didn’t respond to a request for comment Friday.
In an email last month to high school students, Superintendent Jesus Jara addressed teacher contract talks and student walkouts.
He wrote that he is aware of “conversations students are having about negotiations” and that he supports teachers and they deserve equitable compensation.
“It is good for students to be informed about current events,” Jara wrote. “But sometimes, false information spreads fast, and I encourage you to consider both positions and gather information from multiple sources so you can best develop your own conclusions.”
“Your speech and expression rights are welcome at appropriate times outside the school day,” he wrote. “Every Day Matters, and you need to be in your classes.”
During a late September School Board meeting, Clark High School student Karen Wu talked about Jara’s email during a public comment period.
Students at Clark exercised their constitutional rights, and the walkout took place during a non-instructional period, she said.
Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on X.
