CCSD board hears from parents about school violence

Students, parents and teachers addressed the Clark County School Board on Thursday night, asking trustees to take action to address recent violence in area schools.

Though there was no agenda item about the issue, residents spent most of the public comment section at the beginning of the meeting talking about violence at schools and other concerns.

Angela Mobley, a teacher-librarian at Sedway Middle School, said she’s worked in Clark County for 28 years but had never addressed the board before Thursday night.

“Students are being bullied, they’re wandering through the hallways, they’re just breaking out of the doors, dancing on tables, not attending class,” she said. “No one’s doing anything about it. “

At the previous School Board meeting, on March 10, trustees heard a presentation about school violence amid an increase in fights on campuses. But instances of school violence have continued. On Monday, school police officers used pepper spray after a lunchtime altercation at Foothill High School that was captured on video and later posted to an account called “Foothill fight club.”

Many of the speakers discussed the recent violence at Desert Oasis High School, which was locked down on two consecutive days this month. Jalissa Oberlay, a student at Desert Oasis, called on board members to take action.

“I used to believe this idea that my school was safe, or that the unthinkable could never happen to me,” she said. “Yes, we practice hard lockdowns in school, but it could never happen to me. Not my school, not my friends, not my classmates. This school was safe. Safe is no longer a word I would use to describe this place, as I heard the words ‘lockdown in progress’ repeated by the man on the intercom, the sirens blaring out of the speakers.”

Oberlay, who got a round of applause, described a recent lockdown at the school and the mental toll it took on students.

“Why should I have to text my parents I love them from underneath the desk?” she said. “Why should we have to comfort each other in the darkness of closets, the floors of classrooms, the corners of lunchrooms? I don’t want to spend every day living in fear in a place that was meant to feel safe.”

Trustees were mostly muted during public comment, even as some remarks were directed at specific board members and Superintendent Jesus Jara.

“You guys have educations, Ph.D.s,” said parent James Bayliss. “But where’s the brains?”

Later in the meeting, trustees discussed budget issues, among them a potential relocation bonus for new hires to the district. The board also received bids for a small parcel of land in the southwest Las Vegas Valley that, under its patch of dirt, has a Cold War-era bunker. After a bidding war midmeeting, US Express Carriers won with a bid of $1.9 million.

Contact Jonah Dylan at jdylan@reviewjournal.com. Follow @TheJonahDylan on Twitter.