Carson school district cited for budget violation

The Carson City School District approved the corrective action plan for the fiscal year 2022 budget violation in its Debt Service Fund after being notified by the Nevada Department of Taxation the fund’s expenditures had exceeded $30,000.

District Chief Financial Officer Spencer Winward, who was hired in July, along with other staff members in the Carson City Treasurer’s Office, brought the item forward during the Feb. 14 school board meeting. Winward reported the district had received a letter of notice of a violation, which occurs when expenditures exceed the total amount budgeted.

The Department of Taxation had made changes to the Pupil Centered Funding Plan had created changes to how taxes typically earmarked to counties and school districts before now are being dedicated to the PCFP.

The letter, addressing a review of the district’s annual audit to make sure it complies with Nevada’s statutes, found CCSD in violation of NRS 354.626 exceeding the Debt Service Fund by a total of $31,491.

Carson City’s Debt Service fund, or Fund 400, for the Carson City School District is managed by the Carson City Treasurer’s Office, for which staff members oversee receipts and expenditures for this account. As the implementation of the PCFP changed how revenues to the school are disbursed to the state, impact fees formerly sent to the state should have stayed with the state but were recorded as an expense and marked in the overspent budget category.

Winward said the district found out it was $30,000 overspent and $1,400 in Debt Service funds to pay agents for maintenances of this fund to add up to that actual $31,491.

He also ensured the board of immediate corrective action to avoid any future budget violations and said the district is working to recoup its $30,000.

“We’ve already improved communication with the treasurer to get our updates at the end of the year,” Winward said.

Trustee Joe Cacioppo said he understood and did not believe it was intentional.

“I get it,” he said. “You hate to have something like this happen, but it seems given all the different things going on, I can understand how it would.”

The motion was approved 6-0 with Trustee Molly Walt absent.