Lombardo calls for audit of public school finances

Gov. Joe Lombardo is calling for a review of Nevada’s public school district’s finances, according to an executive order signed Monday.

Under the governor’s order, each of Nevada’s 17 public schools and the state’s charter school authority must submit their external, third-party audits from last year to the Governor’s Finance Office for review by March 1.

The governor’s Division of Internal Audits will review the audits, identify deficiencies and provide recommendations to remedy the deficiences in a summary to Lombardo by Dec. 29.

The move comes during the first day of the legislative session, and after Lombardo called for increased accountability measures over Nevada’s public school performance in his State of the State address last month.

Last year, Democratic lawmakers said they would pursue their own audit of the Clark County School District’s finances after concerns from the community about management of the district’s operations.

Tod Story, a spokesperson for the Clark County School District, said the district was happy to trasparently share information from its third-party audits with the Governor’s Office, citing its audits as an annual process that the district engages in.

Contact Lorraine Longhi at 702-387-5298 or llonghi@reviewjournal.com. Follow her at @lolonghi on Twitter.