Six of a kind: Elementary schools under construction in and around Las Vegas

Feb. 24, 2017
Several years after school construction came to a halt in the Clark County (Nev.) district, six new elementary schools will open later in 2017.

For the first time in seven years, new school campuses are scheduled to open later this year in the Clark County (Nev.) district.

The district says six new elementary schools are being built and officials anticipate the campuses will welcome students in August 2017.

Scroll through the gallery to see more information about the six campuses.

Clark County, the nation's fifth-largest district, had many years of uninterrupted rapid growth—in some years adding as many as 14,000 students. Enrollment surpassed 300,000 students in 2007-07, but as the economy slowed, so did Clark County's growth. The district planned a $7 billion bond election in 2008, but before it was submitted to voters, the board canceled it, citing poor economic conditions. Later that year, the economy crashed, and the Las Vegas area was especially hard hit.

The district had little money for construction, but with several years of much slower enrollment growth, the demand for facilities was not as strong.

By 2012, the Clark County board was ready to return to voters with a funding request for school construction. But voters overwhelmingly rejected the $720 million proposal. It was until the legislature approved a $4.1 billion plan in 2015 that Clark County secured the funding needed to begin addressing its space needs. The money will enable the district to build 17 new schools over five years, as well as renovating or replacing aging classrooms.