Clark County School District’s Chief Financial Officer Jason Goudie was ousted Thursday night, just days after the district told schools that they are facing a potential budget deficit.
Deputy Chief Financial Officer Diane Bartholomew will serve in an interim capacity, the district said in a statement, adding that “immediate efforts will focus on increasing collaboration, communication, and effective systems to provide support to schools during their budgeting process.”
Goudie’s departure came after several principals voiced concerns that teacher salaries were not accurately reflected in their spring 2024-2025 budgets — a miscalculation that could lead to staff reductions and affect school programming. According to the Clark County Education Association, the district failed to account for an 8 percent salary increase for licensed professionals, derived from SB231, which gave Nevada school districts a historic $250 million in funding.
John Vellardita, executive director of CCEA, called Goudie a “political scapegoat” during a Friday press conference, claiming that the superintendent and trustees must also be held accountable for these errors.
“They are either negligent in their duty or they’re incompetent,” Vellardita said during an interview with The Nevada Independent. “They approve the budget.”
Vellardita said he asked Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo to investigate the district’s budget issues, and called on CCSD interim Superintendent Brenda Larsen-Mitchell to withdraw as a candidate to permanently fill the position left vacant by the resignation of Superintendent Jesus Jara in February.
He also said CCEA plans to introduce legislation this upcoming legislative session related to the oversight process.
In a press release, CCEA said that Goudie’s firing is part of a “larger systemic problem of mismanagement.”
This past year, Jara’s administration faced criticism regarding lagging student achievement, lack of transparency and for giving some executive cabinet members raises of more than $100,000.
Goudie was one of the administrators who received such a raise, with his salary jumping from $51,000 to $265,000, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Vellardita ultimately questioned if a deficit actually exists and said that the “school district is sitting on money.” In May, the CCSD board approved a $3.5 billion 2024-2025 budget, with the majority allocated to employee salaries and benefits.
CCSD started off the school year with 1,000 teacher vacancies, even after a hiring spree, and Vellardita said the school district still has the money from these vacancies.
“How could there be a deficit when the school district received a significant amount of money?” Vellardita said.
