Clark County School Board trustees approved $7.8 million in repairs for a Mount Charleston elementary school severely damaged during powerful rains brought on by Tropical Storm Hilary.
Mount Charleston was hit especially hard by rain and flooding in August 2023 when the remnants of Hilary dropped over 9 inches of rain on Lee Canyon, with an observing station on Mount Charleston recording 8 inches of rain, according to the National Hurricane Center. Parts of Kyle Canyon Road, a main route in and out of the area where school sits, experienced extensive damage after rivers of flood water flowed down the route after the storm, the Review-Journal reported.
Martin-Harris Construction, LLC., was contracted to repair Earl B. Lundy Elementary School — the only K-5 school in the town of about 500 people.
Trustees first voted against repairing the school in August, but, after receiving pushback from the community about the decision, the board voted in December to repair and reopen the schoo1 in a 5-1 vote. Only Trustee Brenda Zamora voted against it.
If not for the repairs to the school, students in their area would have been required to attend Indian Springs Elementary School 40 miles from town, or be home-schooled, parents told the Review-Journal in May 2024.
The scope of repairs includes replacing floors damaged by water and cracking; repainting the school’s exterior walls; replacing the electrical system with a new generator, conductors and wiring; and providing erosion control, among other improvements.
The district said in a December meeting that it was aiming to open in the school in the fall of 2025.
Contact Taylor Lane at tlane@reviewjournal.com.
