LETTER: Mt. Charleston school situation stinks

I read about the Clark County School Board having trouble making a decision about the elementary school on Mount Charleston. I am a bit confused, mainly about the cost estimates surrounding the project. Estimates are in the $6 million range.

The old building is a two-room schoolhouse. Presumably there are a few other rooms (restrooms) that were likely also included in the building, maybe even an office and a storage room. Really, that’s not a huge building. Six million?

I checked real estate listings for Las Vegas and found several complete homes — featuring between 7,000 and 10,000 square feet of space — with at least five bedrooms and at least four bathrooms (most have more). All with a selling price below $3 million.

I believe that any reputable builder in the Las Vegas Valley should be able to build a two-room schoolhouse with a couple of decent-sized classrooms, restrooms, office and storage space for well under $3 million. A schoolhouse doesn’t have to have all the glitzy extras that you’d find in a $3 million home.

The young children are being bused some 40 miles each way at present. Why not bus them to a closer school? There are two elementary schools just off the exit for Skye Canyon off U.S. Highway 95 that are a lot closer to Mount Charleston than Indian Springs. Why not bus the children there?

This whole business stinks.