The Clark County School Board unanimously approved a $3.8 billion budget for fiscal year 2027 at a special meeting on Monday evening.
The final budget maintained the April tentative budget’s projections that the Clark County School District will have over 5,000 fewer employees as weighted enrollment drops by more than 2,000 students by the end of June 2027.
Decreased employee positions can be tied to falling student enrollment, a trend that has caused the school district to get less money from the state under Nevada’s per-pupil funding model.
Enrollment declines have caused the school district to lose more than $70 million in funding since the final budget for fiscal year 2026 was adopted, even though the per-pupil funding rate has risen.
Justin Dayhoff, the school district’s chief financial officer, said creating more reliable revenue and expenditure forecasts in recent years has helped the district make better budgets.
“We’re making sure to maximize every dollar,” Dayhoff told the board. “How do we maximize every dollar? We’re certain with the dollars that we have.”
The general fund now sits at over $3.8 billion. The special education fund is over $786 million; the English-learner weighted fund is more than $188 million; at-risk weighted funding exceeds $159 million; and the gifted and talented weighted fund is over $20 million.
Funding for special education was a concern among board members and public commenters alike. The final budget includes a transfer of more than $624 million to the special education fund from the general fund.
Superintendent Jhone Ebert told the board that federal dollars from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act currently only cover about 13 percent of the average per-pupil cost of special education — far less than the maximum proportion of 40 percent that the federal government can cover, according to the law.
She said the school district has continued to ask for special education funding increases at both the state and federal levels.
“Would we like to go above and beyond where we’re at now? Absolutely,” Ebert said. “It’s something we continue to advocate for.”
Dayhoff said costs to provide special education have risen due to an increasing number of students receiving special education services.
“When a student receives an individualized education plan, that’s essentially a contract with us with the federal government, but not necessarily one … that is fully funded,” Dayhoff said. “The reimbursement rate of which that underfunding is based on goes back to 1999.”
The school district must submit its final budget by June 8 and approve an amended final budget by Dec. 31, according to board meeting documents.
Contact Spencer Levering at slevering@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253.
