SPARKS, Nev. — Washoe County School District officials are reviewing school intercom systems after investigators found the one at Sparks Middle School wasn’t working the day of a fatal schoolyard shooting in October.
The Reno Gazette-Journal reported Monday as of last year the intercoms were fully functional in less than half of the district’s 93 schools.
The newspaper cites documents the district released last year during its campaign urging higher taxes to finance school repairs. They show 35 had intercom systems listed as “expired.” Another 25 were listed as “expired but serviceable.”
District operations chief Pete Etchart says that doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t work. He says it means they no longer are economically serviceable and need to be replaced.
The Sparks school’s principal says she tried to announce a “Code Red” but the intercom didn’t work.