Councilman fires back in squabble over school siting

A school controversy seemed to be settled last month when the Clark County Commission approved the location for a school site in northwest Las Vegas.

But a verbal tit-for-tat continued Wednesday when City Councilman Larry Brown accused the county of poor public policy and downright "hypocrisy."

Brown's terse remarks at Wednesday's council meeting were aimed at "clearing the record" after an accusation made at a June 21 county zoning meeting.

On that day commissioners approved plans for Myron Leavitt Middle School at the corner of Lone Mountain Road and Conough Lane amid vocal protests.

At that meeting Commissioner Lance Malone responded to accusations that he had meddled in the site selection process by blaming the school district and the city for delaying action on an alternative site for the school at Ann and Campbell roads.

"I find it unbelievable that we are blamed," Brown said Wednesday, referring to Malone's June 21 comments. "At best case, it was just untrue. At worst case it was cowardly."

Although Brown never mentioned Malone by name, he said a "county commissioner" misled those attending or watching the county meeting by trying to pin the blame on the city.

Brown also submitted a copy of a Nov. 30, 1999, letter from Malone in which he asked Brown to delay a vote on the school district's request for the Ann and Campbell site.

"We were holding it in abeyance at county's request," Brown said.

In the Nov. 30 letter Malone wrote: "Since the development for a middle school and the need to maintain park and open space have come in conflict, we respectfully ask that the city of Las Vegas, Clark County School District and Clark County meet over the next two weeks to develop options which meet the best interest for all involved."

City records show the City Council was set to vote on the alternate site in early November. Brown said the council held off on the vote at the county's request.

Brown's own family was in the middle of the school site dilemma because one of his children attends Molasky Middle School. Projected overcrowding at Molasky sparked the school district to plan the Leavitt school.

For that reason, Brown said, he was specifically angered that the city was accused of stalling the site selection.

Brown also railed against a county decision more than two years ago to block funding of a special improvement district that would have brought infrastructure improvements on Buffalo Drive from Cheyenne Avenue to Lone Mountain Road.

"The county refused to pay at the 11th hour," Brown said. "At the time the county said it couldn't support such infrastructure because there's no traffic."

Putting a school in that exact location makes the county's improvement district decision, "as hypocritical as one can get," Brown said.

"There are some problems over there related to sound public policy," he added.

Malone couldn't be reached for comment.

Brown also asked school district officials to work with the city to request that infrastructure improvements be added now that the school site has been selected.

"When we're dragged into someone else's policy decision and condemned on the record, the council should be aware of it," Brown said to his board colleagues.

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