CCSD grapples with issue of homeless

Mthan once during his high school years, Marquan Ellis considered simply giving up.

He had been through a lot. His mother struggled with a drug addiction that was later compounded by gambling problems when they moved from California to Las Vegas, he said. He barely had enough money for school clothes and supplies. Then just before graduation in 2014, his mother and her boyfriend got evicted.

It wasn’t the first time he had to face housing instability. Before moving here in his junior year, he said, he lived with a friend while his mom slept in a car.

The most troubling aspect of Ellis’ story: He’s not alone.

Last school year, the Clark County School District identified 15,019 homeless youths — as defined under the Mckinney-vento Homeless Assistance Act — among its students.

That isn’t just kids living in a car or on the streets.

It’s also children living with friends, in a hotel or motel or in a shelter. And 529 of those students were unaccompanied, meaning they were without a parent or guardian.

“There’s not a lot of options for these students,” Margaret Pike, a coordinator with the district’s Title I Homeless Outreach Program for Education (HOPE), told the School Board on Wednesday. “A lot of them end up staying with friends or family and hopping from place to place, and often sitting in class wondering not only where is the next meal going to come from, but where am I staying tonight?”

Another alarming fact: Nevada has the highest rate of unsheltered, unaccompanied youth, according to a 2017 report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The district supports these students through HOPE, using federal money and Mckinney-vento grants.

That pays for services such as school supplies, summer school, clothing and academic fees.

But the district relies heavily on these children self-identifying as homeless. That explains why the number of identified homeless peaks in elementary school, when students are eager to share their life stories, Pike

PAK-HARVEY

Denton said. “But we haven’t gotten to that point yet.”

When Paddock killed himself shortly after the attack, which left more than 800 injured, he did not have a will, so his mother inherited his assets. But she wanted nothing to do with the money and said it will go to the estates of those who died in the mass shooting.

The latest estimate, outlined in a recent court filing, also includes the more than $455,000 that remained in Paddock’s 13 bank accounts at the time of his death. The smallest amount left in an account was $30.95. The largest amount was $102,584.51.

Las Vegas police have said Paddock had 14 bank accounts. The source of the discrepancy remains unclear.

Police also have said Paddock spent the last two years of his life spending most of the more than $2 million he once had on hand. Most of it went to casinos, credit card companies, firearms purchases and his girlfriend, Marilou Danley.

Danley received three separate transfers from Paddock in September that totaled $150,000, police have said.

Two Mandalay Bay gaming vouchers also were factored into the gunman’s assets, one worth $29,900 and one worth $226.50. Both were dated Oct. 1.

Paddock’s van, which was found in a Mandalay Bay parking garage filled with explosive materials, was valued at $2,500. The documents note that the van was “listed at salvage value due to FBI dismantling entire vehicle.”

Investigators found nearly $3,000 worth of weapons and firearm accessories in Paddock’s Reno home, more than $18,000 worth of weapons or accessories in his Mesquite home, and about $41,000 worth of weapons or accessories in his hotel suite.

A property investment worth about $90,203 also was included in the estimate.

The gunman’s Reno and Mesquite houses previously were valued at a total of about $758,000, and a judge in July allowed them to be sold. No offers have been made on the properties, and both remain on the market.

More details on the gunman’s worthareexpectedatahearingnext week.

Contact Rachel Crosby at rcrosby@ reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3801. Follow @rachelacrosby.