LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Clark County School District Trustees voted to reopen Mount Charleston’s only school, Lundy Elementary, more than a year after damage from Tropical Storm Hilary forced it to shutter.
After several hours of discussion, the motion to make a major move on the mountain passed 5-1 Wednesday night.
“It was a very exciting night,” Brenda Talley said.
Talley was one of many who attended the meeting. She is a longtime Mount Charleston resident and member of the Town Advisory.
“Another testament to the resilience of the Mount Charleston community,” CCSD Board of Trustees President Evelyn Garcia Morales said of those attending and voicing their concerns.
The decision is a reversal from the board’s August decision to close the campus, citing rebuilding costs, which were once listed at around $7 million, along with low enrollment numbers.
Two trustees who originally voted to shutter Lundy Elementary, Lola Brooks and Katie Williams, the area’s former representative, have since resigned.
Talley told 8 News Now she is grateful to Nakia Jackson-Hale, the person appointed to finish the remainder of Williams’ term.
Jackson-Hale placed the Lundy Elementary vote on the board’s agenda for reconsideration, saying it was in the children’s best interest on the mountain.
“We have different issues and concerns than down here in the valley,” Talley explained. “And you need to address those if your mission is to provide each student with quality education.”
Now that the community has gotten the green light to repair the school, Talley told 8 News Now many students who were originally enrolled are relieved.
“I think the parents were getting worn out,” she said.
She said she hopes to see much more happen in the coming months.
“Let’s get this ball rolling,” Talley concluded. “For sure.”
Students who were attending Lundy Elementary were re-zoned to Indian Springs Elementary or other schools in the Las Vegas valley when it closed.
Talley told 8 News Now some were also homeschooling their kids; she cited both these options as difficult to maintain, especially when dealing with snow in the winter months.
The district has not released an updated estimate on repair costs, but it hopes to have the school open by the fall of 2025.
