Nearly 30% of BCHS students from out of town

The welcome mat is out at Boulder City High School.

Some may not realize that because of Clark County School District’s Change of School Assignment program (COSA), a large percentage of the school’s enrollment comes from outside of Boulder City. This year, of the 618 students, 29%, or 179 kids, come from elsewhere, mostly from Henderson.

“This isn’t something new,” BCHS Principal Amy Wagner said. “Forever and a day, if you weren’t zoned for a particular school, you could get a zone variance. We got very few when I started out here. There are usually only a few reasons why a zone variance is sought.”

That was then, before open enrollment was introduced by the district. This meant if you had seats available, you were allowed to take in students from outside your zone. For many years, BCHS’ students coming in via open enrollment remained low.

Six-fold increase in 10 years

For a bit of history, last year there were 181 COSA students and the year before that 158 under COSA, which became the district’s official term three years ago. These numbers can be compared to a decade ago when just 28 students in the 2014-15 school year were from outside of Boulder City. That number dropped by three the following year and didn’t hit triple digits until the 2019-2020 year at 107.

“When we started taking kids, we didn’t have that many,” Wagner said. “Back then it was basically kids of parents who worked in Boulder City.”

What was occurring though, is that the high school’s enrollment of students from Boulder City was dwindling. Some of that can be attributed to higher housing costs and thus fewer younger families with children moving into town.

“Our budget is directly tied to how many kids we have,” she said. “In order to make sure we have the teachers we have and the programs we run, we started looking at ways to legally increase enrollment.

“We offer a lot of amazing things at Boulder City High School. We are grounded by our traditions, and we emphasize family, history, commitment, excellence, relationships and scholarships. A lot of those things you don’t necessarily find at other schools. A lot of people want their kids to experience that small-town feel and not get swallowed up in larger schools. They want them to be more than just a number.”

Wagner said because she was worried about enrollment numbers of Boulder City-based students, she began “shouting to the rooftops” as to all that the school had to offer students. Social media, which she started at the school a decade ago, proved to play a big role and still does in recruiting kids.

If a student is looking to change schools, they must fill out an application several months in advance of the upcoming school year. But Wagner said the receiving school does not get a say in who they accept as a new student. If a school is at or near capacity, a lottery system will be used, which is the case at several Las Vegas high schools.

But for BCHS, that’s a long way away. Based on square footage, CCSD says that the school could accommodate 900 students. For Wagner, her comfort zone is closer to 700.

Local enrollment dropping

While it was a different campus footprint, by comparison, in 1987, BCHS had a school population of around 750 students, with only a handful coming from outside of town.

Wagner said that even though a larger percentage of their student base is made up of students outside the town, they lose 80 to 90 Boulder City-based kids every year to schools such as Las Vegas Academy, Basic and Foothill high schools and Southeast Career Technical Academy (formerly known as Vo-Tech).

“Kids have choices, which is the purpose of COSA,” she said, noting that schools do not send out buses for the COSA kids. They must find their own way to their new schools.

But because of open enrollment and now COSA, BCHS’ population has remained steady for the last decade at more than 600 but less than 700. But this year is actually down 50 students overall from last school year and the year before.

The high school is not the only public school in town that has benefited from COSA. Garrett Junior High Principal Melanie Teemant reported having 42 COSA kids this year or about 10% of their enrollment. Martha King Elementary Principal Jason Schrock said they have 30 students from outside of Boulder City. Wagner said she often hears from parents that they prefer to start their children sooner than later in Boulder City to help establish friendships and get them involved in sports prior to high school.

Without COSA, the high school’s enrollment would be just 439, making it even smaller than longtime rival Moapa Valley High School by more than 100.

In a hypothetical scenario, Wagner was asked what would happen if CCSD chose to do away with COSA.

“Very simply, we lose programs, we lose teachers and our ability to offer all these things that we do,” she said.

It could also mean BCHS not only losing many of its athletes but it could drop from its current 3A athletic status to 2A based on enrollment. “It would be very hard. We would not be able to run what we do now at the same level.”

Ron Eland is editor of the Boulder City Review. He can be reached at reland@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9523.