Could Someone Please Pay Attention? Veterans Memorial Elementary is on the Chopping Block.

Reno Evening Gazette Date: September 10, 1949

The Washoe County School Board Strikes Again

At this point, asking the Washoe County School Board to “protect and serve” students might be too ambitious. Most of them seem far more focused on climbing the political ladder than on keeping kids in classrooms that actually mean something to this community.

Last Tuesday, October 14th, the board met—to find creative new ways to spend taxpayer dollars. This time, they voted to move forward with the Administrative Facilities Modernization Plan. Translation: “We’ve decided to modernize the things we probably should’ve modernized decades ago.”

But wait, there’s more. The board also voted to rebuild Echo Loder Elementary, modernize Libby Booth Elementary, and—here’s the real gut punch—close and repurpose Veterans Memorial and Roger Corbett elementary schools for “future district and community use.”

Veterans Memorial. Let that sink in.

Opened in 1949, Veterans Memorial Elementary was one of the first schools built in Nevada after World War II—named to honor former students who gave their lives in that war. It’s not just a school; it’s part of Reno’s living history. In fact, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

But sure, let’s shutter it. Forget its legacy, erase the tribute, and hand the property over for whatever “repurpose” suits the district’s next PowerPoint.

And as for who’s guiding these enlightened decisions? None other than Adam Searcy, the district’s Chief Operating Officer—and, as irony would have it, the husband of Dana Searcy, the recently “did she resign or was she pushed out?” overseer of the Nevada Cares Campus debacle.

One of our Picon writers, who lives near Veterans Memorial, put it best: “You see parents walking their kids to school, chatting on the sidewalks, waving at neighbors—it feels like community.”

But the board isn’t interested in community. They’re interested in optics. They can tell you how many millions are in the modernization plan, but ask them who Russell Mills was—the architect who designed Veterans Memorial after working for Frederic DeLongchamps, one of Nevada’s most iconic architects—and you’ll get blank stares.

Because history doesn’t fit into their agenda. Heritage doesn’t come with campaign donations. And honoring veterans doesn’t earn headlines at ribbon cuttings.

So go ahead, trustees. Close the school named for Reno’s fallen heroes. Erase the legacy, bulldoze the memory, and call it “progress.”

Just don’t expect anyone who actually remembers what service looks like to be impressed.