LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The fight continues to keep the only school on Mt. Charleston open.
Parents and students are worried about what will happen once the school year begins. This past school year, Lundy Elementary School students had to be bussed over an hour each way to Indian Springs while they thought Lundy was being fixed after Tropical Storm Hilary.
However, as FOX5 reported in May, parents found out through a letter that the doors to Lundy would be closed for good because the cost to repair it would be too much.
Earlier this month, the Mt. Charleston community held a meeting and talked about how difficult it is for a student as young as five to be on a bus.
“When we go to Indian Springs, I have to wake up early, like 6:15, to get on a bus,” a student said.
Now, one of Clark County School District’s very own is stepping in to help.
FOX5 spoke with Abraham Camejo, the construction liaison for the bond oversight committee for CCSD.
“We haven’t been granted a site visit inside with facilities,” Camaeo said.
Camejo’s team is supposed to be kept in the loop for schools needing repairs and how much it would cost. FOX5 asked Camejo if any paperwork came to his desk.
“No, nothing. We have not seen anything from the school district. We did not know anything about the school being closed,” Camejo said. “I found out about this closure through media, actually through you.”
Since Camejo was not given permission to go inside, he personally took the trip up the mountain to look at any exterior damage at Lundy and invited FOX5 to come along.
He took the trip after he sat through a two-hour meeting at Indian Springs which discussed the damage at Lundy.
“Nothing that says this property was inspected on this date, nothing specific, they gave us a general breakdown of what’s damaged,” Camejo said.
“Do you think it is fair to make the decision to close the school without anyone from your committee being able to assess the damage inside?” FOX5 asked.
“No, because looking at it right now, the electrical looks fine to me, the panels there, you got the metal steps there,” Camejo answered.
Camejo also pointed out that the doors were weatherproof.
Last week, a representative from CCSD told the county that the cost to fix the school would be about $10 million.
“I don’t know if any water went inside the building,” Camejo said.
Inside the school, it looks as if time stood still.
Pictures taken from the windows outside show carpets and walls intact and computers and books exactly where they were left.
“It shouldn’t be so hard for the school district to be transparent, especially with members of the bond oversight committee, that we are working together, that we are trying to assess every school,” Camejo said.
Camejo also said he believes the building is salvageable. He said that he will put together a report of what he found to his team and present it on the June 20.
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