LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Clark County School District board meeting is underway:
WATCH PAST LIVESTREAMS | CCSD Board of Trustees Meetings
A number of issues are planned to be addressed at this meeting including a board vacancy and the search for the next superintendent.
The firm helping with the search is asking for an extended timeline amid instability on the board. This is the first meeting since we learned the district is in a budget shortfall for the year.
Channel 13 has reported on the financial deficit the district is facing— leaving schools scrambling to make new budgets after they learned they won't be getting as much money as they initially thought. The district's CFO has been terminated due to the issue.
Some parents plan to come out and voice their opinion despite the budget issue not being on Thursday's agenda.
Channel 13's Joe Moeller caught up with Rebecca Dirks Garcia, a parent and a part of "SOT" which stands for School Organizational Teams, consisting of parents, teachers support staff and community members.
Each school has one of these teams that basically have input on the school's budget. Garcia said schools now have until Friday to come up with a new budget. As a result, many schools have already laid off some employees or are making other cuts such as school supplies.
Joe: You told me you wanted to be at the board meeting. Why is that?
Well tonight, the budget is not on the board meeting and I think that is a disservice to the community as well. There was enough time being aware of this error that the board could have added it as an emergency item on the agenda, but they didn't.
Garcia continued to say that it is a real challenge because the community is lacking clarity from the board and what actions are taken for it being resolved.
The CFO who was terminated blames the deficit on a tight timeline for the budget process, lengthy union negotiations that were settled late in the year for teacher raises and the superintendent's departure.
Garcia said those reasons could be valid, but also said less students are enrolled this year and that should positively influence how much schools are getting.
Looking at the district's data dashboard found online— in September, there were 5,000 less students enrolled than what they show for last year.
Some have questioned what sort of role the Nevada Department of Education and Governor's Office can play in helping address the budget chaos.
Channel 13 has reached out a few times about that, but have yet to hear back.
