LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Most Las Vegas locals have ties to the Clark County School District — whether it's through a job, a child enrolled in school, or your tax dollars funding it.
When it comes to those tax dollars, some are questioning the way they've been spent. And now we have new information about the district's spending on teacher recruiting trips at beachfront locations.
We brought you our first investigation of the district's out-of-state trips in December. Two of the destinations — Miami beach and Hawaii — raised some red flags and left lingering questions. After multiple delays, the district finally provided detailed answers as to exactly how the money was spent and what the results were.
"The educators in Hawaii are living under poverty, so why not bring them here, where they can be successful?" said Supt. Dr. Jesus Jara when I had a small window of time in January to ask him why CCSD was trying to recruit teachers from Hawaii.
Now, thanks to new documents, we're getting more insight on those trips.
The district sent groups of staff members to Oahu twice in 2023. The most recent trip — last September — included eight district employees.
Total taxpayer cost: a little over $31,000.
So how does that break down? According to documents we obtained from the district, airfare was $786 per person. Each room at the Twin Fin Hotel on Kuhio Beach cost about $1,120 for the five-night stay.
On top of that, every employee on the trip was given a $772 allowance for food and other incidental expenses.
Documents show the district based that on Defense Department standards for daily allowances for government travel.
What was the return on that investment for the school district? I asked Dr. Jara about that in my brief interview with him in January.
DARCY SPEARS: Any travel outside the continental U.S. has to be approved in advance by the superintendent of schools, according to CCSD regulations. You approved those Hawaii trips?
JESUS JARA: "Absolutely. Absolutely."
SPEARS: Were those successful?
JARA: Well, I don't know what the return was.
We know now. The district tells us 100 people attended across four events; three at colleges on the island and one in the hotel conference room. Two resumes were collected and three candidates are going through the application process as we speak. But an actual hire is contingent upon the candidates' qualifications.
The district did not provide any results for the approximately 30 trips staff members made after Hawaii, from September through the end of the year to other locations across the country.
The district's use of federal funds on several recruiting trips is now under further scrutiny by the U.S. and Nevada Departments of Education.
This controversial spending with little to show for it is one of several recently raised concerns leading up to Jara's sudden announcement that he will resign before his contract is complete.
CCSD's Board of Trustees will debate conditions for his early resignation at Thursday's board meeting.
