LAS VEGAS(KTNV) — Dueling community meetings were held Friday night over the possible closure of Earl Lundy Elementary School in Mount Charleston.
One of the meetings was held by CCSD officials at Indian Springs Elementary School, while Lundy Elementary parents held another meeting in the Mount Charleston area.
Parents impacted by the possible closure did not show up to the community meeting held by CCSD in Indian Springs.
They said it would be more convenient for district officials to meet working parents where they live instead of having parents drive what some said would be a two-hour roundtrip.
"We have a meeting scheduled this afternoon between approximately two and five with families here in Indian Springs and so we thought it was best that we meet here," said Interim Superintendent Dr. Brenda Larsen-Mitchell.
"Why couldn't the school district have this meeting at Mount Charleston where a place to meet was established?" said Abraham Camejo, CCSD bond oversight committee member. "They had a previous meeting here to talk about Indian Springs school here-- only three parents came here for that meeting, I've been here all day."
Organizers of the parent community meeting up in Mount Charleston told Channel 13 that there were more than 60 people in their community meeting.
They said concerned parents and students took the time to lay out their issues with the possible closure of Lundy Elementary School.
Nevada State District 34 Assemblywoman Shannon Mary Bilbray-Axelrod shared a letter with the large group of concerned parents.
On May 10, 2024, parents on Mt. Charleston received a letter from Clark County School District advising them school officials will be recommending the permanent closure of Earl B. Lundy Elementary School.
The elementary school temporarily shut its doors after it was damaged due to the remnants of Hurricane Hilary in August 2023.
Since then, impacted students have had to commute roughly 45 minutes to and from Indian Springs Elementary during the school year.
However, many parents tell Channel 13 they've pulled their kids out of the school, citing the distance and opting for homeschooling or online school.
"The building and the utilities around the site were heavily damaged," said Brandon McLaughlin, assistant superintendent of the construction and development division.
According to the presentation provided by CCSD leaders during Friday's community meeting in Indian Springs, the school sustained damage to its propane tanks, kiln room, septic tank and leach field, drainage channel, roof support beams, and electrical and HVAC system.
"We have some of our electrical system compromised, a lot of the site utilities, including septic systems," McLaughlin said. "We also see some of the foundation was washed away. I got portions of the building falling away."
District officials said preliminary estimates of the total cost of the damage come out to be between $5 and $6 million and said the insurance would cover about $1.5 million.
"Unfortunately, there's still a number of unforeseen unknown costs, and we wouldn't know those until we got into the building and started that process," said CFO Jason Goudie.
However, Camejo, who is a member of the CCSD bond oversight committee, is skeptical of the damage and costs school officials presented Friday night.
"I honestly don't believe that the numbers they are being provided are honestly not being transparent," Camejo said. " I would like to see those numbers and the financials because we are not talking about a really big school building. it's a very small building. I question the real damage. Now, could things shift because of regular construction and making these cracks, which they presented in these pictures that could be the basic facilities of the age of the building but not necessarily related to the cost of the from this flood."
Camejo is urging the school district to allow the media, parents, and other entities to be allowed to inspect the site.
"One of the recommendations that we are asking for is to do a site visit," Camejo said. " We've gone through the loops and hoops of what, you know, the school district. Transparency hasn't really been there."
Camejo said he's been asking the district for the numbers on the site assessment reports, and on Friday he asked district leaders for those documents once again.
"We assess the facility into August and into September of 2023. The report was produced and obviously to receive that report there is a public records request process through district regulation and Nevada rights statutes," McLaughlin said.
School officials said if Earl Lundy Elementary School closed its doors, students would be rezoned to Indian Springs and continue to get bused to the school.
However, they said parents would have the option to enroll their kids at a different valley school.
"With the change of school assignment, transportation is not available," said Interim Superintendent Larsen-Mitchell.
Families in Mt. Charleston have told Channel 13 they have seen firefighters training inside the school in recent months. Channel 13 brought that concern to district leaders.
"So we did have an agreement to sublease a portion of the building with the fire department for their training, and we have communicated with them and that lease has terminated recently, so they are not using it all. They have been potentially accessing the building to retrieve the equipment and such, as well, but they should not be using it at this point," Goudie said.
Many parents have previously expressed concerns that the district would use the storm damage as an excuse to close the small school.
Channel 13 brought those concerns to the interim superintendent.
"When you look at the student enrolled at Lundy, it is low but the storm Hilary was a catalyst for us looking for a recommendation for closure," Larsen-Mitchell said.
A recommendation to close the school will be made on June 27, 2024.
If community members are against the possible closure of Earl Lundy Elementary School, the district asks people to submit a written request as soon as possible. Officials said district leaders would be looking at those requests from June 28 to July 27, 2024.
