By Hillary Davis (contact)

Monday, Nov. 13, 2023 | 2 a.m.

The Clark County School District is spending close to $4 million on about an acre of property in downtown Las Vegas to accommodate a construction yard for a planned modernization and expansion project at the historic Las Vegas Academy of the Arts campus.

The district will spend $3,930,000 to purchase five parcels on South 9th Street between Carson and Bridger avenues, according to a purchase and sale agreement that the School Board approved last week. The lots, which combine for 0.92 acres, are in a residential area about a block from LVA, which is on Seventh Street off Bridger.

LVA occupies buildings that are up to 90 years old and operated from 1931 to 1993 as Las Vegas High School; today’s Las Vegas High is located in the east valley on Sahara Avenue off Hollywood Boulevard. The LVA campus is recognizable for its striking art deco main building and gym that are on the National Register of Historic Places. 

It is the oldest public school campus in Clark County, although not all buildings are historic or adequate for modern students.

Upgrades will be done in phases over about 10 years. The first phase, which is set to begin construction this month, will focus on a parking garage and new gym. The School Board OK’d a $63.3 million construction contract, also on Thursday, with The PENTA Group to build out the first phase. 

The purchase and sale document shows that the 9th Street real estate purchase will give CCSD and its contractors a convenient place to store and access construction materials and set up an office for the lengthy planned project.

The addresses of the parcels are 211, 215, 219, 223 and 227 S. 9th St. Two of the five parcels are vacant, while the other three have houses on them. The purchase and sale agreement indicates that the seller will pay the tenants $10,000 per property to relocate.

The LVA buildings coming down are the Knapp building, which is adjacent to the main building facing Seventh Street; the expansion on the old gym; the locker rooms; a cluster of portable classrooms; the visual arts and music buildings; the black box theater; the addition to the vocational building; the cafeteria; and the Post building just behind the cafeteria, plans show.

The campus will get a modern gymnasium, a 542-space parking garage, administration building, student union with classrooms and lunchroom, a black box theater, spaces for dance, drama and music instruction, and a new central plant, which is a hub for physical operating systems like heating and air conditioning. The campus will also get a new courtyard and grass field.

The oldest buildings on campus — the original gym, main building and adjacent Frazier Hall, which prominently faces Bridger Avenue — will be renovated.

The project is being financed by bond sales.

CCSD schools honored for AP achievement

Nine CCSD high schools were named to the 2022-23 Advanced Placement School Honor Roll.

The schools demonstrated a commitment to college-going culture, provided opportunities for students to earn college credit, and maximized college readiness, the district said in a press release. 

Advanced Placement courses allow motivated students to take more rigorous courses and earn college credit by exam while still in high school.

The honored schools were given a platinum, gold, silver or bronze distinction. Several also received the AP Access Award for showing commitment to equitable access to advanced coursework.

CCSD had more than 17,800 AP course enrollments last school year, the district said.

The winning schools are:

• Advanced Technologies Academy: Platinum, with Access Award
• West Career and Technical Academy: Platinum, with Access Award
• Las Vegas Academy of the Arts: Gold, with Access Award
• Veterans Tribute Career and Technical Academy: Silver, with Access Award
• Coronado High School: Bronze, with Access Award
• Southwest Career and Technical Academy: Bronze, with Access Award
• Sierra Vista High School: Platinum 
• Northwest Career and Technical Academy: Silver
• Rancho High School: Bronze 

Enrollment update

Overall CCSD enrollment has rebounded slightly as of November, though trends are uneven.

Total district enrollment sat at 299,471 as of Nov. 1, according to a report by the district’s demographics and zoning department. CCSD had 298,065 students as of Sept. 1, when the district took its first monthly enrollment report for the year.

The growth was largely fueled by a 2,210-student increase at the elementary level between September and November. Middle schools were essentially flat with a districtwide increase of 28 students, while special and alternative schools, which serve all grade levels, climbed by 297 students.

High schools, however, lost 1,129 students between September and November, bringing the district’s net growth to 1,406 students. That’s a change of about 0.5%.