Pools for schools
This week, the Clark County School Board is getting ready to spend $2 million of taxpayer money to help the City of Henderson build a new swimming pool.
So, where is the district getting the money?
From the taxpayer-approved 1998 Capital Improvement Bond. That’s right, 10 years and $4.9 billion later, CCSD is trading in schools for pools. But it’s not just pools. In January, the school board also approved putting aside another $5 million to help the City of Las Vegas build the Smith Performing Arts Center.
Sure, the district is getting the use of some swim lanes for school swim teams. But is money earmarked to build new schools the right funds to tap for that? How does using bond money to pay for athletic expenses—swim lanes for swim teams are athletic expenses—help the students sitting in portables or attending year-round schedules?
In 1998, voters seeking to ward off overcrowding, year-round schedules and double sessions approved a bond to build new schools and modernize old ones. Today, taxpayers will still be carrying tax obligations for repayment on that $4.9 billion until the year 2028. CCSD is still overcrowded, on year-round tracks and claiming a need for yet another new capital improvement bond to build more schools.
Perhaps, instead of pools, CCSD should use the remaining $700 million to build and fix schools—just like voters intended.
