Henderson, district tussle over size of new elementary school

The city of Henderson and the Clark County School District are grappling over the size of a proposed new school in the city, while parents of overcrowded schools nearby anxiously await a groundbreaking.

“We’re banking on this school to be built immediately and to be built at an appropriate scale,” said Aimee Allen, a parent of three kids at Twitchell Elementary School and the author of an online petition urging both entities to move forward. “My kids have been getting an exceptional education despite us all bending over backward to make the accommodations necessary to bide our time. That isn’t sustainable.”

The district wants to build an elementary school for about 850 elementary students on a site near Chapata Drive and Casady Hollow Avenue in southeastern Henderson. The school, near the 215 Beltway and Paseo Verde Parkway, would abut and replace part of Reunion Trails Park.

The city, however, is asking the district to consider building a smaller school to accommodate about 700 students.

“We are asking CCSD to work with the city and the community to design a school that fits the neighborhood and that addresses the concerns of residents, including traffic issues,” city spokesman David Cherry said. “One of the solutions being discussed is reducing the number of students that would attend the school so it can be built to a smaller size that is more in keeping with the location.”

The district submitted an application and traffic study to the Henderson Planning Commission, which returned it asking for changes. The district plans to resubmit the plan in about six weeks but insists that the bigger school is needed.

“CCSD’s main objective with any new school coming online is to relieve the overcrowding of neighboring school sites,” the district said in a statement. “Discussions are currently ongoing on how best to respect the wishes of the community while relieving overcrowding in the neighborhood schools. CCSD is confident a resolution can be reached.”

Meanwhile, parents at Twitchell, Vanderburg, Kesterson and Newton elementaries feel as though they’re left in the lurch. Their schools are overcrowded but functioning, parents said, but they worry that continuing to operate over capacity will have long-term side effects.

“I definitely don’t like to see our blacktop and our playground littered by portables just to compensate for the new people and the growth,” said Misty Lucina, a parent of a Vanderburg third-grader. “It’s not trying to pit one group next to another. It’s frustrating, I’m sure, from everybody’s point of view.”

The city also wants the district to commit to maintaining a portion of Reunion Trails Park and to consider building another new school at the intersection of Valle Verde and Horizon Ridge.

Contact Meghin Delaney at mdelaney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0281. Follow @MeghinDelaney on Twitter.