LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The spotlight remains on the Clark County School District as some employees are left looking for a job due to cuts from a district budget shortfall.
To get some answers for you, I caught up with one of those employees and talked to former CCSD Trustee Mary Beth Scow to understand how a budget gets to this point.
"I do love working with kids, and I love the school that I work at. It is unfortunate that I have to say goodbye," said Holly Hosmer, who is losing her job due to the district budget issue.
Hosmer is an instructional assistant at Shiela Tarr Academy near Lone Mountain. She recently learned her last day will be October 18.
She is just one employee of many who are losing their jobs due to the budget shortfall at CCSD.
"I wasn't really expecting to come to work that day and being told 'you don't have a job anymore,'" Hosmer said.
She said four others are in the same boat from her school.
Rapid adjustments at a number of campuses continue as CCSD realized the extent of their budget problem. Some schools are now operating with shortages as much as $1 million. Channel 13 has learned many campuses are now forced to save money by cutting back on school supplies, and other schools are cutting staff members.
WATCH: Local parents told Jhovani Carrillo about how the budget shortfall is already impacting schools:
Former chief financial officer Jason Goudie, who was recently terminated by the district, told Channel 13 he blames the possible deficit on a timeline that was too tight for the budget process, late negotiations for teacher raises, and the superintendent departure.
I sat down with former Trustee Scow and asked her if the lengthy teacher contract negotiations with the union could have played a role. I wanted to know if she found Goudie's reasoning surprising.
"No — if that is the truth — because that all came out after the budget was formulated, the amended final budget in May..." Scow said.
She said while the district's budget can change over the year, it starts with the board.
"The board approves the budget. They are aware of the changes that occur during the year's timeline, but the biggest role they play is in the beginning — the board sets the vision," Scow said.
WATCH: Former CCSD CFO wants to clear up 'misinformation' about his departure:
"The other thing the CFO had cited in an interview with our station is a superintendent switch. Would a superintendent play a big role in a budget like this?" I asked Scow.
"Absolutely, it is really the CFO and the superintendent that begin building the budget. The board sets the expectations and then it is actually built by the staff. So the superintendent does have a huge role to play," Scow said.
Scow said budget adjustments aren't uncommon after a school year starts, so it's easy to imagine a superintendent change wouldn't help — and now many are left scrambling.
Hosmer, the employee laid off from Sheila Tarr, told me she was told she might be able to relocated to another school.
"I haven't found anything I qualify for," Hosmer said. "I remember being told that most of the open positions within my position are in Henderson, and that is 30 minutes from where I live. That is a lot."
