Steve Marcus

Henderson International School officials want to convert part of a classroom building on its Sandy Ridge Avenue campus into dorm rooms. It had hoped to move students in by January, but a Planning Commission recommendation is delaying that.

By Mike Trask

Fri, Nov 7, 2008 (2 a.m.)

A plan by Henderson International School to become a boarding school for 60 students — mostly from the Far East — is riling neighbors who don’t want to welcome more teenagers to their streets.

Steve Marcus

Henderson International Head of School Jon McGill says he's surprised at the negative reaction he's received from the school's neighboring residents over plans to convert classroom space to dormitory rooms at the campus on Sandy Ridge Avenue.

The school would convert more than a dozen classrooms on the second story of a middle school building into dorm rooms.

It would be the first prep boarding school in Nevada.

But for whatever prestige that might bring Henderson, residents fear the prospect of a Pencey Prep filled with rebellious Holden Caulfields.

The concerns about boarding, some neighbors say, are only the latest chapter in a contentious relationship with the school.

School administrators say they’re being caught by surprise.

“We were a little naive about the local residents’ concerns,” said Jon McGill, head of school. “We had looked at this as an enhancement to Henderson.”

More than 20 residents attended the city Planning Commission meeting this month to protest the project. The Planning Commission recommended denying a special use permit for the dorms.

The school has appealed the decision to the City Council, which will make a final decision this month.

“I know a lot of neighbors are upset,” said Councilman Andy Hafen, who represents the area. “And there are some neighbors with children who attend the school and they support it. I want to see what both sides have to say.”

Henderson staffers suggested that fewer students live on campus for a six-month trial period. Neighbors rejected the idea, figuring once the dorms are built, they will be permanent.

And so will the teenage neighbors.

“I don’t care if they are international students from wealthy families or not,” said neighbor Mark Hostetler, 33. “Kids are going to be kids.”

Residents fear the students will run hog wild around their neighborhood. They have complained about teenagers skateboarding and hanging out in a wash that runs through the area.

McGill says neighbors should be careful about what they complain about — those are their children.

Residents also say events at the school cause increased traffic in the neighborhood, including weekend softball games that lead to parked cars lining the streets.

Kathy Ogle, a board member on the surrounding Sunridge at McDonald Ranch Homeowners Association, said problems with the school began when Meritas, an international organization of private schools, purchased the campus site from another private school two years ago.

Other homeowners said Henderson International had not discussed the recent construction of a pair of buildings with the association.

McGill said the school does not need the association’s permission for construction projects or the creation of dorms. He added that the school tries to work with the association and allows it to use school facilities for meetings.

The campus on Sandy Ridge Avenue serves about 220 students in grades 5-12. Another 600 younger students go to a pair of affiliated campuses elsewhere in the city.

McGill said the school accepts only high-caliber and high-character students. All of last year’s 18 graduates enrolled at four-year colleges.

McGill said many Asian families are attracted to the Las Vegas area because it is a closer trip than the East Coast. He also said UNLV’s popular hotel management program could help draw students.

Parents would pay more than $30,000 per school year for housing, meals and tuition.

Students living on campus would be monitored by live-in staff and would be forbidden to leave campus without supervision, McGill said.

Some neighbors question whether the school’s teenagers would toe the line.

“Anyone who has dealt with teenagers knows that it is quite a task,” said Arlan Rathke, a 72-year-old neighbor. “And these are foreign kids away from their families. They are going to spend all their time studying? That’s a bunch of baloney.”

McGill had hoped to enroll the first boarders in January, but it looks like that will be pushed back to August. He has contacted UNLV about housing some students in the meantime.

The residents are hoping the Henderson City Council rejects the plans.

“In essence they are putting an apartment complex in next door,” Hostetler said. “I wouldn’t want that in my neighborhood.”