LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The Clark County School District is currently facing more than 100 lawsuits. FOX5 uncovering that staggering number through a law that requires the release of information through the Freedom of Information Act. We started digging into lawsuits against CCSD after the district said unexpected expenses, including litigation and a cyberattack, led to a multimillion-dollar budget deficit.
Right now, an auditor appointed by the governor is in the process of doing a deep dive into the district’s finances after a major budget discrepancy first estimated at $20 million then $10 million was discovered last fall and the district’s Chief Financial Officer fired. For months, FOX5 has also been working to get more information about the district’s financials and thanks to publicly filed requests we now have answers.
FOX5 asked the district exactly how much it has paid out over the last two years. The district approximates nearly $28 million dollars. That was from 102 lawsuits all now settled. Currently, the district is facing approximately 117 more lawsuits.
CCSD also blamed unanticipated expenses on cybersecurity costs after a district-wide cyber hack. One employee who works in the district’s technology department, who is also suing them under whistleblower protections, sat down with FOX5 along with their attorney.
Rick Allen, User Support Services Director III spoke to FOX5 about what he says are contributing factors to the district’s financial woes. Allen claims a consultant warned the district multiple times starting a year before the cyberattack that exposed the private information of students and teachers.
“It was really just a simple setting that needed to be changed to limit the damage,” Allen described. Allen also claims the district also spent millions it didn’t need to.
“There was $30 million that was budgeted for Chromebooks which I pointed out after a technology upgrade from Google, we didn’t need to purchase all those. They weren’t going to go out of date, they weren’t going to expire…There’s about 40,000 sitting in a warehouse that have been gathering dust since November,” Allen revealed.
“How much would that be worth?,” FOX5’s Kim Passoth questioned.
“34,100 Chromebook was like $13.3 million,” Allen estimated.
FOX5 put in a request for an account of Chromebooks in the district. We asked how many are not currently being used and are being held right now in storage.
The response: “As of December 3, 2024, the Clark County School District had 478,436 Chromebooks in use… and 34,423 devices held in reserve… We anticipate that the current central inventory of Chromebooks will be fully distributed by June 2025.”
The district says it doesn’t comment on pending litigation.
Right now, CCSD is in a major time of transition for their leadership. Superintendent Dr. Jesus Jara was asked to resign almost a year ago and the search for his replacement is still underway. Also, four out of seven new voting school board trustees were also sworn in last week.
CCSD said it will dip into reserves to cover its 2025 budget and the approximately $10 million shortfall. Due to its budget issues, CCSD was required to submit a Corrective Action Plan to the state last month and have it implemented by January 9th.
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