LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The budget debacle continues as the Clark County School District now blames their possible budget deficit on unexpected expenses.
Friday, we learned Gov. Joe Lombardo is demanding an investigation into what went wrong, and I met with the president of the Clark County Education Association, Marie Neisess.
"We know what the money was," Neisess said.
Despite getting teacher raises this year and a bigger education budget from the state, Clark County School District is still suffering from budget difficulties.
A statement sent to us late Friday explained what administrators think happened. It reads in part:
"The Clark County School District (CCSD) identified a potential central budget deficit due to unanticipated increases, such as litigation and cybersecurity expenses...
It continued to explain...
"Enrollment changes, salary increases, and a correction of an allocation resulted in some schools unexpectedly receiving both less money and higher payroll costs."
"This alleged deficit is alarming because we don't know what is happening because there is no transparency," Neisess said.
Friday morning, Gov. Lombardo pushed lawmakers for an audit of the district budget, saying a deficit was "unacceptable."
Every September, the district does a count of how many students are enrolled for the year. There are about 5,000 less students according to the district's data website. Staffing changes have to be made because less students means less money.
Earlier this week, I told you about some schools making staffing cuts or changes to academic programs.
"We are just concerned about why is a teacher being asked to move. Is it due to student numbers being low or is it due to this budget situation?" Neisess said.
Joe: What sort of deficit are we in, do you know how big the deficit would be?
"We have no idea. We are the bargaining unit. We represent all the educators in Clark County. Our executive director reached out to their now-temporary CFO and he also reached out to Dr. Larsen-Mitchell and no response," Neisess said.
Each school has a team that helps with that school's budget. Friday was the deadline to submit a revised budget for the year.
Joe: Do you think we could see more cuts?
"It is hard to say. We don't even know how many schools are impacted by this. None of that is being shared," Neisess said.
Like some parents, Neisess was upset the Board of Trustees didn't address the budget at Thursday's board meeting.
"Parents deserve to know, it is our money," Neisess said.
From teacher recruitment to teacher raises, she worries about what this chaos could mean for future budgets.
"Once again, we have to break out and fight and be prepared for the legislative session and oncoming negotiations. What is that going to look like?" Neisess said
Now the governor is directing the state Department of Taxation to take action on these budget woes. Lombardo is calling on the department's Committee on Local Government Finance to add the issue to the agenda at their next meeting.
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