There’s an obvious way for the Clark County School District to expand operations at successful schools. District officials don’t seem interested.
Last week, the School Board heard a presentation on the district’s Facility Master Plan. Behind all the flowery rhetoric about “repurposing,” “trade-ups” and “community participation” is a tough reality. The district is preparing to close down many schools. “Up to 20” schools could be “repurposed,” according to the presentation.
“Birth rates have changed, and the rapid growth we once scrambled to manage has leveled off,” Felicia Gonzales, deputy superintendent of business operations, said at the meeting.
Birth rates are down, but that’s not the whole story. In the 2017-18 school year, district enrollment peaked at more than 320,000 students. It’s now down to fewer than 287,000 students. Enrollment hasn’t been this low since the 2004-05 school year.
Many families have left the district for charter schools, private schools and homeschooling. In the 2024-25 school year, more than 64,000 students attended charter schools in Clark County. In 2017, there were only 37,000 charter school students statewide.
Superintendent Jhone Ebert and other district officials appear reluctant to acknowledge this because it makes them look bad. Ebert can’t change how many kids live in Clark County. But if she and shadow superintendent John Vellardita did a better job running the district, these alternatives wouldn’t be so appealing. The most obvious step Ebert could take to boost enrollment is ditch restorative justice and punish troublemakers. Quit focusing on racial disparities and make schools safe.
Because that’s unlikely to happen, enrollment will keep dropping. The district projects the student population will fall by another 10 percent within five years.
You can already see the decline at many individual schools. Tom Williams Elementary School in North Las Vegas has a capacity of 830 students. Its current enrollment is 488. It’s only 59 percent full. In five years, the district projects it’ll lose another 77 students, dropping it to 50 percent capacity. Mack Middle School in Las Vegas can accommodate 1,594 students, but it only has 859 students. It’s 54 percent full. In five years, it’s projected to be under 50 percent capacity.
The coming decline in enrollment suggests the district should be looking to shut down significantly more schools.
Ebert should rip the Band-Aid off and level with the public about the scope of what’s coming and why — and do it quickly. If she draws out the process, the public can mobilize against the plan. Guess who they’ll isolate as the villain?
The Board of Trustees also heard about options for “repurposed” schools — yet more happy talk. The presented options include construction swing space, pre-K centers, elder care and even staff housing.
But those aren’t the best options. The district should give, sell or lease the buildings to charter schools.
Taxpayers paid for those school buildings. If other public schools — charters that students actually want to attend — could use them, they should get first priority. The goal of education funding isn’t to build an empire for a school district but to educate students.
Let the buildings follow the students.
Contact Victor Joecks at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow
@victorjoecks on X.
