CCSD Feels Budget Effects of Growing Charter School Population

The Clark County School District (CCSD) continues to feel the budget effects of a growing charter school population. Approximately 1,400 fewer students than expected enrolled in CCSD in the 2017-18 school year, adding to the district’s budget shortfall.

The district receives approximately $5,700 per pupil in state funding, and the loss of roughly 1,400 students equates to about $8 million less in the district’s budget.

Not only does CCSD lose a per pupil amount for students who leave the district to go to charter schools, but the state also deducts from the overall amount it pays CCSD $1,023 for every student who lives in Clark County and attends a charter school. This creates an additional $4 million impact on the current budget due to increases in charter school enrollment.

At their Nov. 30 meeting, the Board of School Trustees will be presented with approximately $22 million in reductions, which will be in addition to the reductions approved at the Aug. 24, Sept. 14 and 28 meetings.

In September, district officials notified the public that those cuts were not enough to cover the district’s budget shortfall of $50 to $60 million, and that additional cuts would need to be made in November.

In October, the district eliminated the positions impacted by the budget cuts approved by Trustees in August and September. It took some time for the district to determine the actual savings realized from those cuts because CCSD was already more than a quarter through its fiscal year. Also, CCSD had to move employees in compliance with its contracts with employee associations, which create a surplus process that moves employees based on seniority.

District officials also have been careful to reduce the budget enough to address the shortfall but not too much to have a surplus and eliminate more positions unnecessarily.

Here are the causes of the district’s current budget shortfall:

The original projected shortfall was $60 million, and CCSD realized about $40 million in savings from the cuts made on Aug. 24, Sept. 14 and 28. This left a shortfall of about $20 million.

The state reimbursed CCSD for full-day kindergarten funds in October, for a total of $11 million, which brought the shortfall to $9 million.

CCSD also experienced the following revenue changes:

• CCSD received a lower than estimated amount of per pupil funding for special education students, which was partially offset by increases in other revenues: $1.5 million
• CCSD’s student enrollment was 1,400 students lower than expected: $8 million
• Additional reductions to CCSD for students who live in Clark County and attend charter schools: $4 million

In all, these revenue adjustments added $13.5 million to the budget shortfall, meaning CCSD needs to cut a total of $22 million to balance its budget and restore its ending fund balance to 1.75 percent.

For more information on the previous budget cuts that were made and on the reasons for CCSD’s budget shortfall, visit budgetshortfall.ccsd.net.