LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Clark County School District now faces corrective action over budgeting issues that caused problems for the 2024-25 school year.
As Channel 13 previously reported, the district admitted to budget miscalculations that led to the firing of its chief financial officer, Jason Goudie, in September.
Gov. Joe Lombardo and the Nevada Department of Education expressed concern over the budget problem and questioned how the district could experience a shortfall given "historic" education funding allocated in the state's most recent legislative session.
The district's interim superintendent, Dr. Brenda Larsen-Mitchell, was asked to respond to a series of questions from the governor and the Department of Education to explain the budget shortfall and check CCSD's compliance with state law.
"After reviewing CCSD's response, [the Nevada Department of Education] remains concerned about the district's leadership, policies, and processes that prevented CCSD's local school precincts from receiving timely and accurate funding information prior to the state of the 2024-25 school year," wrote Jhone Ebert, state superintendent of public instruction.
WATCH: Channel 13 anchor Joe Moeller breaks down CCSD's response to questions about its budget shortfall
CCSD will be required to submit a corrective action plan to address its budgetary woes, and a compliance monitor will be appointed to ensure its budgeting process is repaired.
"Clark County students, teachers, and families deserve to have confidence in their school district," Lombardo stated in the prepared release. "To help CCSD meet compliance standards, we have appointed a Compliance Monitor to the district, and we will require CCSD to develop and implement processes to improve communication and transparency through a corrective action plan.
"As I've reiterated since taking office, unprecedented funding requires unprecedented accountability, and we will not accept a lack of accountability for our school district," the governor added.
The Nevada Department of Education has ordered CCSD to do the following:
- Develop a corrective action plan, in coordination with the appointed compliance monitor, and submit it to the superintendent of public instruction by Friday, Dec. 27, 2024.
- Begin implementation of the state-approved corrective action plan by Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025.
- Review the compliance monitor’s written reports as an agenda item at each school board meeting.
- Allow the compliance monitor to attend any meetings related to the reorganization and operations of CCSD.
- Compensate the compliance monitor and provide the compliance monitor with access to district buildings, information, and resources as needed.
