Clark County School District hires Nikki Thorn for top finance position

The Clark County School District has tapped former deputy chief financial officer Nikki Thorn to lead the district’s finance department during a critical transition period.

Thorn replaces Jim McIntosh, who left in July for the job of finance director with the city of Henderson.

“I’m really excited about the challenge and looking forward to helping the children in Clark County receive the best education possible,” she said.

Thorn, who’s worked in the district for two years, assumes the chief financial officer position as the district begins a mandated reorganization.

The effort will decentralize the school system, giving schools more power over their budget. In its first year, the overhaul requires an 80-20 split of finances between individual schools and the central office.

That means district staff are going through the $2.3 billion operating budget to determine which services are strictly for schools and which fall under central office.

Yet Thorn noted that another obstacle is dealing with the state’s property tax caps, which present financial challenges for government services.

Those caps, which resulted in an increase of just 0.2 percent for fiscal year 2017, meant a loss of anticipated funds for the school system.

Along with the district reorganization, Thorn sees the tax issue as one of the biggest challenges facing the school district in the future.

“Tax abatements will be critical as we look to see how the (property tax cap) law, as it was originally put in, actually no longer ties the assessed valuation to the actual revenue,” Thorn said.

Thorn’s position pays a salary of $143,326, according to the district’s online financial records.

Contact Amelia Pak-Harvey at 702-383-4630 or apak-harvey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AmeliaPakHarvey on Twitter.