LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The Clark County School District is now answering for their nearly $11 million budget shortfall. The district cites a number of reasons why their budget projections were so far off.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jhone Ebert sent a letter asking CCSD Interim Superintendent Dr Brenda Larsen Mitchell to “identify discrepancies” and what lead to such a massive shortfall, demanding answers to 22 questions.
In a 13-page response, Dr. Larsen-Mitchell wrote they do not “have the right processes and procedures in place.” Among the issues leading to the miscalculation: average teacher salaries.
From March to December last year, teachers staged multiple rallies fighting for a new contract but the district underestimated how much those raises would cost them.
In January 2024, the district projected the average licensed employee salary at about $115,000 thousand dollars now that estimate is about $121,000 a difference of about $5,700 per employee.
Legal fees were also substantial for the district dealing with the teacher contract negotiations and lawsuits like that filed by parents after a cyber hack on the district.
Enrollment numbers are down, less than projected, meaning less money is coming in. Numbers were also off for students identified as “at-risk” who receive more funding.
Dr. Larsen-Mitchell concluding: “The errors in the budget preparation were not foreseeable because they were caused by mistakes; however, the mistakes were preventable…the mistakes were not acceptable and should not have occurred.”
Dr. Larsen-Mitchell said in the letter an amended budget for the 2025 fiscal year will be presented during a meeting before the Board of Trustees on December 12th.
The budget issues are happening while the district is in the middle of the search for the next leader of the district.
CCSD’s Chief Financial Officer was let go when the budget deficit was discovered but he has repeatedly said he did nothing wrong.
Monday, FOX5 asked the Nevada Department of Education what they thought of the letter. They said they have no comment at this time.
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