Historic Nevada elementary school to close this summer

A century-old Southern Nevada elementary school will shut its doors this summer after the Clark County School Board approved its closure Thursday.

Goodsprings Elementary School, said to be Nevada’s longest-operating school, will close June 30 after the board voted 6-0 to cease operations at the rural schoolhouse. Trustee Brenda Zamora was absent.

Located about 40 miles southwest of Las Vegas, Goodsprings Elementary had just two students this school year and was expected to have just one student next school year. That remaining student will be rezoned to attend Sandy Valley School, a K-12 school about 12 miles west of Goodsprings, under the plan approved by the board.

Tammy Flanagan, principal of Goodsprings Elementary, said closing the rural school will allow its remaining student to access more social opportunities through clubs and activities.

“Goodsprings Elementary School is a special place to me, and one that I want to preserve with the hope that many people will be able to experience the 113-year-old building and its history,” Flanagan said. “We need to be fiscally responsible. The cost of operating, and the upkeep of the school, is substantial when considering only one student.”

$1 million a year to operate school

The Clark County School District spends about $1 million per year to operate the rural school, district chief of facilities Brandon McLaughlin previously said. Closing Goodsprings will allow the district to redistribute that money to other schools, and the cost of transporting its sole student to Sandy Valley will be cost-neutral for the district, he added.

Goodsprings Elementary began inside a tent in 1907 before its current building opened in 1913, according to its website.

The approved plan did not determine what will become of the schoolhouse, but McLaughlin said the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District has shown interest in relocating its nearby facility into the schoolhouse permanently. McLaughlin added that Goodsprings residents said they would like to turn the building into a community space or a location for the town’s historical society.

If another entity were to take ownership of Goodsprings Elementary School, they would be responsible for any maintenance costs, according to reference materials associated with the plan. The schoolhouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Goodsprings Elementary has two employees: one licensed educator and one part-time custodian and food service worker. Both have already accepted new positions in the district, school officials previously said.

‘We have seen the writing on the blackboard’

Former Goodsprings students reflected on the school’s history during public comment, but acknowledged the strain keeping it open would have on the district.

“I am deeply saddened that we’re facing closure … but we have seen the writing on the blackboard,” said Steve Fleming, a Goodsprings Elementary alumnus whose father was a teacher at the school.

His sister, Mary Blake, who is a member of the Goodsprings Historical Society, urged trustees to visit Goodsprings Elementary and see firsthand what it means to the town’s residents.

“It’s more than just a little school. It’s an important cultural part of the Goodsprings community,” Blake said. “There’s nothing else there except the school.”

In first grade, Bobbie Poole said, she met her future husband while they were students at Goodsprings Elementary. She called the school a cornerstone of Goodsprings that has helped preserve the spirit of rural Nevada life.

Poole called on the school board to ensure the rich history of Goodsprings Elementary does not disappear.

“Once a building like this is unused, it quickly falls to disrepair,” Poole said. “We have an opportunity right now to do something different.”

She added: “Closing a school does not mean we have to lose it.”

The school district previously said district leaders will visit Goodsprings Elementary to celebrate its history on May 2 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The last day of school at the campus is scheduled for May 21.

Contact Spencer Levering at slevering@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253.