No school consolidation … for now

This past school year, discussion among many parents of school-aged children, as well as teachers and administrators, was what may come of talk of school consolidation.

Clark County School District officials made it very clear that it was a distinct possibility throughout the district as funding continues to fall short.

This applies to Boulder City public schools as well.

The CCSD board is expected to make a decision on the Facility Master Plan this fall. However, implementation could take several years.

But for now, nothing has been decided, as was shared at last week’s city council meeting. During his quarterly update to the council, CCSD Regional 3 Superintendent Theodore Robison was asked by Councilwoman Sherri Jorgensen where things stood with the consolidation talk. Jorgensen is the city council’s liaison to CCSD.

“That final conversation hasn’t happened but we will make sure that it will be here, in Boulder City, as you’ll certainly be invited to be part of that conversation,” Robison said.

Jorgensen said she was pleased to hear that nothing final has yet been determined by CCSD.

This past school year, a pair of well-attended meetings here held in Boulder City to discuss consolidation and a variety of options. It was stressed that the district wished to receive as much input from the public as possible before moving forward.

“We look forward to the process and having Councilwoman Jorgensen being so involved in that process,” Mayor Joe Hardy said. “It’s important we have that inclusion.”

Robison praised the turnout of those two community meetings last school year, one of which he was able to attend. He said that while no decision has been made, he promised to keep Boulder City in the loop, along with the other schools in the district. And while public input is important, in the end, any decision regarding consolidation will be that of the district.

“We solicited that input during those initial rounds within the Boulder City community, so we’re certainly elevating the voices but we’re also trying to make sure we’re fiscally responsible as we are also stewards of our citizens’ dollars,” Robison said.

Looking back

Last school year, CCSD, the fifth largest school district in the nation, put out its five-year enrollment projections for all of its schools going out through the 2030-31 school year. For the Boulder City public schools, it shows the following with current enrollment, projected number of students and the percentage of increase or decrease in five years:

• Andrew Mitchell Elementary … 340 … 296 … 13% decrease

• Boulder City High School: 582 … 489 … 16% decrease

• Garrett Junior High … 380 … 291 … 23% decrease

• Martha P. King Elementary… 359 … 261 … 27% decrease

Overall, CCSD is anticipating a 10-11% decrease in enrollment district-wide in five years.

The report also shows projected utilization percentages (number of seats filled) in five years. Mitchell comes in at 64%, followed by BCHS 55%, King 45% and Garrett 41%. It was pointed out that these numbers take into account those students attending Boulder City schools though the Choice of School Assignment (COSA) program. Around 30% of BCHS’ enrollment and 15% of Garrett’s students come from outside of Boulder City.

Six years ago, CCSD brought forth a plan calling for the closure of Garrett, King and Mitchell and building a new K-8 campus. That proposal received plenty of pushback from the community and the plan was scrapped. However, the preK-8 concept is now one of the options being considered.

With the exception of what’s being called Option A, which shows all four schools remaining but with costly and timely modifications, consolidation is mentioned in the remainder of the options. This is based on projected enrollments and the age of Mitchell (built in 1970), Garrett (1978) and King (1991).

Prior to the opening of King, Mitchell was a K-5 campus and dating back prior to 1978 when Garrett opened, Mitchell was K-6 and BCHS was 7-12. If consolidation were to occur among the elementary schools, for example, it may include an entirely new campus or putting the students into one of the existing campuses and making modifications or additions.

The district currently manages roughly 400 buildings and as of last year, had $15 billion in facility needs but only $3.6 billion in available bond funding.

CCSD has built more than 50 schools and renovated another 250 since 2017. Since then, many families have moved out of the district or have taken alternate educational pathways such as homeschooling or private schools.