LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Mt. Charleston parents fought a long battle to reopen the only school up on the mountain.
Lundy Elementary closed when tropical storm Hilary tore through the area back in 2023 and is now back on track to reopen in August.
It took months and several different meetings for parents to change the school district’s mind.
However, that only happened after Trustee Nakia Jackson-Hale started to question the decision and the documents that reportedly supported it.
“There’s too many issues with the way this was all handled,” Jackson-Hale said in a Dec. 4th CCSD board meeting.
Jackson-Hale, a temporary trustee took her seat after the board ousted Katie Williams for living out of state.
“We have been without a trustee in this area for so long, and my predecessor never talked to them. I think that the community was very resilient and very patient and I wanted to hear them out and give them a fair shake,” Jackson-Hale said.
Jackson-Hale did shake things up, by doing her own research about why repair estimates topped $6 million.
“So there were things that were pre-existing to the flood that were included in the estimate,” Jackson-Hale said in a Dec. 4th meeting.
Jackson-Hale showed us a document on her phone she was given that had red marks from a marker on it that showed the $6 million estimate.
According to Jackson-Hale when she asked the district for an official document she was told that was the estimate given from construction company Martin Harris.
“The whole situation didn’t sit right with me a little bit,” Jackson-Hale said. “This is only my opinion but I think that the district wanted to close Lundy, and for the lack of a better term the storm that came was the perfect storm.”
In a 113-page damage report FOX5 obtained, the engineer had stated “The main structure may be occupied when the temporary measures of supporting the storage room are completed.”
“That was the one thing that stuck,” she said.
Jackson-Hale also referred to images she was given of inside the school that were redacted from the report.
Her persistence to bring Lundy back on the voting board paid off as the school voted to repair and reopen it.
“I think having trustees in their seats who are active in their community makes a huge difference,” Jackson-Hale said.
Jackson-Hale’s last school board meeting was Dec. 4th and she tells FOX5 she acknowledged the role she played in Lundy’s reopening.
She also tells us she recognizes the appreciation shown by students and parents.
In January, school officials gave Lundy parents an update and said there will be repairs and electrical upgrades but the weather will determine how soon crews finish the work.
Right now the goal to reopen Lundy is still set for August.
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