Last night, Governor Joe Lombardo wrote to Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro to request that the Legislative Commission amends its audit of Clark County School District (CCSD) to include an investigation of its budget shortfalls.

During the week of September 16, CCSD sent numerous warnings to principals around the district of a budget shortfall due to the district’s failure to account for an eight percent salary increase for licensed professionals, resulting in higher operating costs than school budgets would allow.

In the letter (see below), Lombardo highlights his concern that the current budget issues “will potentially result in the release or elimination of teachers and other staff positions,” further noting the historic funding provided for during the last legislative session.

As we continue to consider actions to address CCSD’s immediate budget issues, I’m officially requesting the Legislative Commission consider amending the scope of the ongoing audit to include an investigation of the recently identified potential budget shortfalls, so that we can identify ways to address these issues in the long-term.

Specifically, I’m asking that the audit consider: the processes in which CCSD allocates funding to individual schools; what happened with the process to cause the current issues; what actions CCSD can undertake to avoid similar circumstances in the future; and what, if anything, should the Legislature and the Executive Branch consider to prevent this from happening in the future.

Passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Lombardo last session, Assembly Bill 517 required the Audit Division of the Legislative Counsel Bureau to conduct an audit of certain school districts, including CCSD. Though CCSD’s current budget issues are outside the scope of the original inquiry, the Legislative Commission can amend the scope of the ongoing audit, so that the audit now includes an investigation into CCSD’s current budget.

“We are concerned with reports that CCSD’s current budget issues will potentially result in the release or elimination of teachers and other staff positions. Given last session’s unprecedented increase in funding for education, such a scenario would be unacceptable,” wrote Governor Lombardo. “As we continue to consider actions to address CCSD’s immediate budget issues, I’m officially requesting the Legislative Commission consider amending the scope of the ongoing audit to include an investigation of the recently identified potential budget shortfalls, so that we can identify ways to address these issues in the long-term.”

In one of his first Executive Orders last year, Lombardo mandated an audit of Nevada’s 17 Public School Districts and the State Public Charter School Authority.

The Executive Order cites, “Nevada taxpayers invest over $5 billion annually in the operations of the State’s public schools; and, K-12 education accounted for $3.2 billion in general fund appropriations approved by the Nevada State Legislature for the 2021-23 biennium, more than any other function of state government.”

Following his executive order, Lombardo signed a historic K-12 education budget, investing $12 billion over the next biennium, adding an additional $2.6 billon to the budget.

Last September, Lombardo and State Superintendent Jhone Ebert announced an “Acing Accountability” intiative. The initiative established accountability metrics related to the $2.6 billion investment in K-12 education. The metrics were designed to ensure that “resources are tied to performance.” Yet, an audit conducted earlier this year found the investment to be a “waste of money.”

Lombardo’s letter follows Ebert’s letter to CCSD demanding accountability and updated budget information. In her letter, Superintendent Ebert demands a response from CCSD no later than Thursday, October 3, 2024.