Nevada governor orders collection of all K-12 school audits
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo has ordered all Nevada public schools to collect and report third-party audits to his office, a move in line with calls during his campaign to evaluate K-12 resources statewide.
Lombardo's office will consolidate audits already required into one report, with recommendations on how to improve public K-12 education in Nevada, a state that routinely sits toward the bottom of national rankings in several metrics.
Several school districts welcomed the order but noted many or all of the requirements are nothing new.
“We do not have a problem compiling these reports, however, all of these reports are already submitted to a state agency or audited by a state agency,” Ray Ritchie, chief operating officer of the Nye County School District, said in an email. “This seems to be a duplication of efforts, but we will comply.”
In an emailed statement, Lombardo's spokesperson Elizabeth Ray said the order comes as part of the governor’s calls for “increased transparency and accountability.” She did not address a question asking for elaboration on the order, including what materials the office is requesting that are not already reported to the state.
In his State of the State address last month, Lombardo proposed $2 billion of his $11.4 billion two-year budget to K-12 education while vowing to take action in K-12 leadership if the funding did not lead to improvement, though he did not say how that would be determined.
The 14 types of requested audits include civil rights and financial compliance, and performance for English language students and students with disabilities. Lombardo wants them submitted by March 1 to the governor's auditing division, which will summarize the findings and submit recommendations by Dec. 29 on how to...