Lyon district considers three possible Silver Springs High sites

SILVER SPRINGS -Lyon County School District officials are considering three sites for a new high school, but they're remaining tight-lipped about the details.

"We're still negotiating and we don't want to negotiate in the paper," Lyon County School District Superintendent Nat Lommori said Monday.

He did not disclose either the proposed locations or the land prices. The district is expected to select a site by early next year.

Land in the Silver Springs and Stagecoach areas cost between $5,000 and $7,500 per acre, said an official from the Lyon County Assessor's Office.

The school district is looking for a 30- to 40-acre site.

A handful of suitably sized lots remain in the Silver Springs and Stagecoach areas, the official said.

Among the considerations when designing the school are additions that may be built as the surrounding community grows, Lommori said.

Lyon County could build a school for 600 students and enroll 400 students on the first day. It could take several years to reach capacity.

Washoe County and Clark County school districts, in contrast, open schools that are often close to capacity on day one, Lommori said.

The future of a new high school is contingent on Lyon County voters approving a bond in the 2000 election.

Given Lyon County's rapid growth, the school district could raise between $20 million to $25 million while retaining property taxes at 73 cents for every $100 of assessed property value, Lommori said.

The bond's proceeds would pay for the proposed high school and improvements to the district's existing 15 schools. Lommori did not know how much a new high school would cost.

Silver Springs needs a high school, Lyon County School Board Trustee Kim Sayre said.

Students living in Silver Springs and Stagecoach spend their elementary and middle school years together, before they are split between Dayton and Fernley high schools.

"It would provide continuation for our students who can start school and end school together," she said. "A school is the hub of a community."

School board trustees are in the process of preparing the bond question for the July 2000 deadline to appear on the November ballot.

"I have to commend our superintendent. He is very efficient in spending our bond money. But we have five satellite areas -unlike Carson City -in our county. We're obliged to provide each area with improvements to ensure it (the bond) is worthy of their votes."