LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Last week, we told you about a letter sent by the Nevada Department of Education to the Clark County School District to show their work in determining and mitigating budgetary shortfalls amid district issues.
The state gave CCSD until Oct. 21 to answer questions on pressing concerns that locals have, such at-risk funding miscalcutions for local school precincts and the omittance of teacher raises into school budgets.
Now, the school district has responded.
According to CCSD interim superintendent Dr. Brenda Larsen-Mitchell, these mistakes were preventable.
As the district grapples with its central budget deficit from legal and cybersecurity expenses, a more immediate impact on local schools has already been felt with an entirely separate budgetary challenge — allocation discrepancies.
According to Dr. Larsen-Mitchell, all of these budget issues are due to two "root causes" in the district she labeled as "insufficient process documentation and communication" and "organizational and process silos."
At-risk funding issues
When the state asked in their Oct. 14 letter about at-risk funding allocation issues, the district said it was due to miscalculations.
The district had previously told the state that at-risk funding was miscalculated through the incorrect use of Free-and-Reduced-Lunch (FRL) eligibility over state-standard GRAD score.
The state asked the district to elaborate on this mistake.
CCSD said they knew about the switch from FRL to GRAD score to identify at-risk students when it became effective on July 1, 2023, statewide.
Yet, the district said they confirmed on Sept. 23, 2024, that FRL was still used as the process to allocate at-risk funding for local schools at the time January 2024 school budgets were developed.
Dr. Larsen-Mitchell said the mistake was corrected in the release of school budgets on Sept. 16, 2024, with correct at-risk funding allocation through verified GRAD score.
Teacher salary increases
The district said the average salary cost of positions was under-projected for the spring budgets released in January 2024.
CCSD said this mistake was corrected for the fall budgets released in September 2024 to reflect accurate salary increases required by collective bargaining agreements with the teachers' union.
In the state's Oct. 14 letter, they asked the district why they did not factor in the teacher salary increases into the budget development process.
The district said they did — both in a tentative budget released on April 11, 2024, and a final budget released on May 20, 2024.
However, according to Dr. Larsen-Mitchell, the problem with teacher salaries lies in a communication error.
Larsen-Mitchell said on Sept. 12, district and principal leaders held a meeting where it was determined that average salary costs for licensed positions (teachers) were under-projected by nearly $5,700.
She said it was discovered on Oct. 18, 2024, that the average salaries were recalculated on Sept. 6, 2024, and she was never told — which she provided as an example of "insufficient process documentation and communication."
This discrepancy meant the cost for licensed employees was actually higher than principals were initially told, Larsen-Mitchell wrote.
Principals determine how they spend their school's budget, the interim superintendent noted in her report — which means they also determine how to make up for an accounting error like this.
Preventable and foreseeable errors
Putting it plainly, the state asked Dr. Larsen-Mitchell, "In the judgment of the interim superintendent, were these errors in budget preparation foreseeable/preventable or defensible/acceptable?"
This is what Dr. Larsen-Mitchell said:
"In my opinion, the errors in the budget preparation were not foreseeable because they were caused by mistakes; however, the mistakes were preventable. In my opinion, the mistakes were a result of insufficient process documentation and communication and organizational and process silos. The mistakes were not acceptable and should not have occurred."
Below are CCSD interim superintendent Dr. Brenda Larsen-Mitchell's responses to the state:
CCSD NDE Budget Follow-Up Response Letter 10.21.24 by christian.hudspeth on Scribd
State hearing into the district budget
In a separate letter — also sent on Monday — state lawmakers said they will be reviewing CCSD's budget in December.
Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro and Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager announced that a hearing into the district's budget shortfall will be held by the Interim Finance Committee's Subcommittee on Education Accountability.
There is a legislative audit currently underway across the state for certain school districts. In a September letter, Gov. Joe Lombardo requested the state legislature to add CCSD's budget challenges to the scope of the audit.
However, state lawmakers said this requires faster action as the audit will likely not be completed before the 2025 Legislative Session.
In their response to Gov. Lombardo, Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro and Speaker Steve Yeager said:
“While we appreciate the Governor’s interest in the on-going audit, we think it is unwise to wait so long to seek answers as to why, despite record State funding, the Clark County School District seemingly found itself surprised by an unforeseen budget deficit for the 2024-2025 academic year. The issue is affecting students, families, teachers, and staff now, and it demands more immediate answers."
The hearing is scheduled for Dec. 16, 2024.
You can read the full letter below:
AB517 Response Letter on Oct. 21, 2024 by christian.hudspeth on Scribd
