CCSD’s chief financial officer out as district faces budget crisis

The Clark County School District has parted ways with its chief financial officer.

Jason Goudie no longer serves as the district’s deputy superintendent of business administration and chief financial officer, according to a district statement provided to the Review-Journal Thursday evening. Deputy Chief Financial Officer Diane Bartholomew will serve in the interim.

“Immediate efforts will focus on increasing collaboration, communication, and effective systems to provide support to schools during their budgeting process,” the statement read.

Goudie, who held the position since 2017, was one of the administrators that received a last-minute pay raise from former Superintendent Jesus Jara. The 24 percent raise of $51,000 brought his salary up to $265,000, according to a Review-Journal investigation.

The statement comes days after the district sent a message to schools that it had failed to account for the agreed-upon salary increase for licensed professionals in its budget, meaning many schools have higher operating costs than their budgets allow.

Clark County Education Association President John Vellardita told the Review- Journal that schools received memos from the district this week stating that the district had failed to factor in the 8 percent salary increase for licensed professionals, meaning that the operating costs would now be higher than previously thought.

“How did such an error of gross proportions occur?” Vellardita asked the Review-Journal.

The magnitude of the error was not clear. CCSD did not provide specifics of its financial impact.

Vellardita said the worst thing is if schools are forced to reduce their faculty members because of new budget needs, given that the school year already started with 1,000 teacher vacancies.

The district agreed to the salary increase with the CCEA in December 2023 after a 10-month contentious process, including a teacher strike. It included a 10 percent salary increase in the first year and 8 percent in the second. It also called for $5,000 in additional pay for special education teachers and educators at Title I schools with high vacancy rates. The total changes cost about $524 million.

Given that budgets typically are set between January and March, according to Vellardita, the pay raise had already been decided. The schools, he said, made decisions based on what the district provided to them — something they only just learned was incorrect.

The onus for covering the costs should fall on the district, which has ample sources of money to alleviate these challenges, Vellardita said.

He pointed to the $258 million in carryover dollars — unused dollars from the previous year — as well as the $150 million in the unassigned ending fund balance, half of which the district is allowed to use. He also cited the money set aside for licensed professional positions that have yet to be filled.

Contact Katie Futterman at kfutterman@reviewjournal.com.