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Audit finds reporting error in magnet program; board accepts single-audit and vows controls upgrade
Summary
An independent single-audit of CCSD for FY2025 found one reporting-related significant deficiency in the Magnet Schools Assistance Program; auditors say enrollment was misreported for three schools. The board accepted the report and district leaders described immediate two-step review controls and plans to modernize manual systems.
The Clark County School District Board of Trustees accepted an independent auditor27s single-audit report on March 12, 2026 that identified a single significant deficiency in federal reporting for the Magnet Schools Assistance Program.
The finding, presented by lead auditor Kurt Schlicker of ID Bailey and CCSD Chief Financial Officer Justin Dehoff, said performance data for enrollment as of Oct. 1, 2024 was reported inaccurately for three magnet schools. Schlicker characterized the issue as a reporting error that rises to a "significant deficiency" but not a material weakness or material noncompliance.
"One of those items was not reported accurately," Schlicker said. He recommended stronger internal controls, including a pre-submission review of performance data sent to the U.S. Department of Education.
Dehoff told trustees the error resulted from a manual data-entry process. As an immediate corrective step, the district implemented a two-step financial-control review so a separate person now checks entries against source records before submission. Dehoff also said CCSD is accelerating work to replace spreadsheets and manual processes with enterprise technology, including an ERP procurement initiated last year.
"Manual systems like this using spreadsheets and Google Sheets to manage billions of dollars presents enormous challenges for us as a district," Dehoff said, adding that the district has issued an ERP request for proposals and is working to modernize systems and organization around finance operations.
During committee and board discussion, Audit Advisory Committee member Anna Marie Binder asked whether similar weaknesses might exist across other reporting processes. Dehoff acknowledged the audit is a sampling exercise and committed to follow up and to provide the committee with responses to prior internal-audit recommendations from 2023.
Trustees and staff also discussed a separate but related control issue: a previously reported check-cashing fraud at a school (Desert Oasis) in which about $95,000 was lost and nearly all but $5,000 were recovered. Dehoff said the district has taken accounting steps (prepaid adjustments) and continues to monitor school banking and apply protections.
The Audit Advisory Committee voted to accept the auditors27 reports; the board then moved and approved acceptance of the single-audit findings. Dehoff said the district will return to the committee with follow-up details and timelines for implementing broader corrective measures.
What27s next: the board accepted the audit and the district has committed to a combination of immediate review controls and longer-term system upgrades to reduce manual reporting risks and improve federal-program compliance.
