LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Just 13 days until the 2023-2024 school year kicks off for the Clark County School District.
As more than 300,000 students prepare to return to the classrooms on August 7, KTNV's Abel Garcia spoke to district police about the steps they are taking to prioritize safety for the school year.
From safety on campuses to staffing shortages, multiple department leaders from CCSD spoke about what the district plans to do differently this school year.
Parent Ellisa Lewis says she is worried about her children returning to school.
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"It's scary. It's a scary situation the minute I had to take them to school," she said. "I was scared, but they are almost all day."
Lewis has a preschooler and a second grader in the Clark County School District.
"What is going through your mind when it comes to the safety of your little ones," Garcia asked.
"I'm always concerned about that especially hearing about the school shooting," she said.
To help improve safety, Clark County School District Police Lieutenant Bryan Zink says CCSD was awarded a bipartisan grant of $1.7 million. With the funding, he says they will add nine additional officers and additional crisis intervention training for officers.
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He says they want to ensure students feel safe while on school property.
"We are going to increase weapon sniff with our K-9," Zink said. "We have four K-9 dedicated to firearm detection, and also, we worked on increasing the random wanding program on all campuses."
Lieutenant Zink says every classroom now has a panic button in case of an emergency.
"Hearing that they are doing something more about puts me more at ease," Lewis said.
Another major concern for Lewis is traffic safety around the school. She says cars are speeding in school zones.
"I'm not seeing kids look both ways when crossing," she said.
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CCSD Traffic Unit Sergeant Michael Campbell says about 100 students here in the valley are hit by cars on the way to and from school.
Sergeant Campbell says he wants to reduce that number.
"We are getting a couple of officers added this fall, and with that, we will be able to respond to complaints quicker and get to schools more often, and we are present those violations are going down," Campbell said.
As a parent, Lewis says more must be done to keep students and staff safe.
"What else do you think we need to do locally to better this situation?" Garcia asked.
"Just educate our kids about the seriousness of it," Lewis said.
