Months after closing, the future of historic Goodsprings Elementary School remains undecided as library talks continue

What happened

More than six months after the Clark County School Board voted to close Goodsprings Elementary School, no one has settled what will happen to the historic building, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. The Clark County School District and the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District are in early exploratory discussions about converting it into a library for Goodsprings, according to spokespeople for both districts.

Goodsprings is roughly 40 miles southwest of Las Vegas. Both districts told the Review-Journal that no decisions have been made and that there is no timeline for reaching an agreement.

Why the school closed

A century-old rural campus

The schoolhouse was open for 113 years and was recognized as the longest-operating school in Nevada, according to the Review-Journal. It is also listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The cost decision

The school officially closed on June 30. School district officials decided the $1 million cost of keeping it running was not worth it to teach the one student who would have attended this school year, the Review-Journal reported. Readers following district spending can find more coverage in our schools section.

Talks over a possible library

What the library district says

The library district already runs a small library next to the school. Library district spokesperson Lisa Jacob told the Review-Journal in an email that the district is doing discovery and due diligence on the operational, financial and facility questions tied to the opportunity.

Jacob said the district wants any future decision to rest on a clear understanding of the benefits, responsibilities and long-term impacts for both the library district and the Goodsprings community. "Our priority is to complete a thoughtful review," she wrote.

Who pays for upkeep in the meantime

Even with no students, the school district remains responsible for maintaining the facility. According to reference materials tied to the closure plan, the district would need an agreement with another operator to be relieved of those maintenance costs, the Review-Journal reported.

Asked how much it spends each month on the campus, a district spokesperson said existing staff from nearby schools handle the minimum necessary maintenance. Because of that, the spokesperson said, no specific dollar amount can be attributed to maintaining the schoolhouse.

Historical society seeks a role

Displaying the town's past on site

The Goodsprings Historical Society has also spoken with both districts about using the building to display artifacts from the old mining town, the Review-Journal reported. Society president Steve Fleming, who attended the elementary school, said both districts have been receptive to giving the group space to showcase pieces of the school's and town's history.

Fleming said the society has compiled a history of the school over the last 40 years. He told the Review-Journal he would rather show school materials inside the schoolhouse than at the society's museum, which is in Goodsprings' original post office, because he finds it meaningful to preserve history where it happened.

Hopes for the building

Fleming said he hopes the schoolhouse bell rings again if the building reopens. "It certainly has the capability and, I believe, the potential to be a great plan," he told the Review-Journal, adding that it would give the library a good facility and the society a home in the community's most historic building. More local stories are in our community section.

What to watch next

• Whether the school district and library district reach an agreement to convert the schoolhouse into a library; both say no decision or timeline exists yet.
• Whether a deal with another operator relieves the school district of its maintenance responsibility for the building.
• Whether the Goodsprings Historical Society is given space in the building to display school and town artifacts.