Former Green Valley High School banker resigns from CCSD amid investigation
Green Valley High School’s former banker resigned from the Clark County School District Tuesday amid an investigation that tens of thousands of dollars are missing from the school’s coffers.
The district confirmed late Tuesday that Melissa Traylor had resigned a month after she was removed from her job at the high school.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal first reported last week that school police were investigating a report that at least $70,000 in student-generated funds was stolen from the banker’s car sometime last year. Multiple sources have told the Review-Journal that the theft was only recently reported.
A district official confirmed an audit of the school’s finances is ongoing and the investigation into the missing cash remained open. The district has declined to comment further because of the ongoing investigation.
Public records requests showed that Traylor stopped being assigned to a job within the district on Feb. 9. Because Traylor is a support staff worker, not being assigned meant she was not being paid.
Traylor has not responded to messages seeking comment through the social media website Facebook.
As a banker, Traylor collected and tracked free-floating cash at the school, including money from the cafeteria and school bookstore, the gate take at sporting events and profits from student fundraisers.
District and school officials have not disclosed what impact the missing money has had or whether it caused sports teams or other clubs to cancel trips or activities.
Traylor, the daughter of former Green Valley assistant principal and current principal of Greenspun Junior High School Jackie Carducci, had worked for the past three years as the high school’s banker and in 2013 received $58,000 in total pay and benefits, according to Transparent Nevada, an online database of public employee salaries.
Prior to that, Traylor worked as registrar at Desert Oasis High School and has held various district jobs, including that of custodian, since 2000.
Traylor’s theft report was made as an audit loomed at the high school, a not uncommon practice when schools change principals. In this case, current principal Kent Roberts was assigned to take over for departing principal Jeff Horn in September.
Under certain circumstances — such as problems in reconciling a school’s bank or cash on hand balances — district policy permits an incoming principal or school banker to request an audit. District regulation 3231 states: “The outgoing and incoming principals and/or the outgoing school bank custodian, as appropriate, will acknowledge in writing their agreement on the cash, bank, and book balances at the time of the transfer of responsibilities. If such agreement cannot be achieved, the Internal Audit Department will be requested to assist in the reconciliation process.”
Horn was promoted to a supervisory administrative position after leaving the high school. He is now an assistant chief student achievement officer and oversees several Henderson schools, including Green Valley.
Contact Francis McCabe at fmccabe@reviewjournal.com or702-224-5512. Find him on Twitter: @fjmccabe
