The Clark County School District Board of Trustees recently voted unanimously to close three behavioral schools in the valley; Biltmore Continuation, Morros Behavior and Southwest Behavior
The board cited that the closures are a response to declining enrollment numbers and an effort to free up $2.5 million dollars for other schools.
Tammy Malich is the assistant superintendent of the Education Services Division. She told KNPR's State of Nevada that the division was spreading resources too thin as enrollment dropped.
They felt like they could give students "more opportunities at fewer campuses."
The behavior schools provide an alternative education for students who have been given a long-term suspension or who have been expelled.
Malich said the three schools were also chosen because of their locations. They are all portable classrooms, not actual school buildings.
The staff at the schools can apply to stay in the division or apply for another job within the school district, Malich said.
Malich said the drop in enrollment has a lot to do with how students with behavior issues are now disciplined. Instead of a zero-tolerance policy for violence, many principles and administrators are using a 'restorative model,' which focuses on teaching kids the right way to respond to situations.
There are still three reasons a student can be expelled, sometimes permanently . They include battery of a school employee causing bodily harm, distribution of a controlled substance or possession of a firearm or deadly weapon on campus.
"We’ll always have a need to provide education to students in an alternative site," Malich said, "Our plan is not to reduce down beyond this.”
Tammy Malich, assistant superintendent , education services division, Clark County School District