Athletic director under investigation

Emily Richmond and Adam Candee

Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2003 | 11:33 a.m.

Larry McKay, the Clark County School District's athletic director who retired in June, is being investigated for allegedly mishandling funds intended for the Holiday Prep Classic basketball tournament.

Schools Superintendent Carlos Garcia said this morning the results of an internal audit of the tournament turned up numerous improprieties, including shoddy bookkeeping and paperwork that suggests that McKay improperly used district funds to reimburse himself for expenses he incurred on a personal credit card.

"Mr. McKay had his own procedures, they were not district procedures and they were not consistent with the principles of responsible fiscal management," Garcia said. "We don't even know how much money we're talking about here because some of the bookkeeping was so poorly done."

In an interview this morning, McKay denied any wrongdoing.

"The bookkeeping wasn't up to standards, that's for sure," McKay said. "But there was never any money funneled into private accounts."

McKay, who worked 30 years for the school district as a teacher, assistant principal and for four years as athletic director, said he was first notified about the audit in March. His June retirement was unrelated, McKay said.

The audit also showed McKay had a potential conflict of interest between his position with the district and The Big Time, a privately run summertime basketball tournament he managed, officials said.

The summer tournament is considered a showcase for local talent and is frequented by college scouts. The tournament used school sites for games, but is not affiliated with the district. District funds and monies collected from the summer tournament wound up in the same account maintained by Big Time, according to the audit.

McKay said the only time that any money was commingled was in the money market account for the purpose of growing leftover profits from previous Big Time and Holiday Prep Classic tournaments. Though the money was mixed, he said he kept a ledger of which money belonged to which tournament. He said that by using the money market the account generated between $4,000 and $5,000 in gains.

Profits from summer tournament helped keep the district's Holiday Prep Classic afloat, McKay said.

The audit's findings and evidence gathered by theschool police have been turned over to the Nevada Division of Criminal Investigations, Garcia said.

"We felt overwhelmingly that he had overstepped the authority of his position," Garcia said. "We suspect some wrongdoing, but we don't have the power to issue subpoenas. That's why we need someone to get involved at a higher level to determine whether things are as bad as they appear."

Clark County District Attorney David Roger said he has spoken with School Police Chief Elliot Phelps about the internal investigation.

"If (state investigators) believe charges should be pursued, we will review the case," Roger said.

Phelps said this morning he has asked for investigative help from both the state and Metro.

"The issue is whether anything was criminal in nature, and to show that takes a lot of legwork," Phelps said. "We don't know what direction this is going to go, or how extensive the situation is, and something like this could quickly outstrip our resources. So far we've only been looking at documents related to district funds. There could be a whole other level out there than needs to be examined, and that's where outside agencies are essential."

Garcia said he ordered an audit of the annual tournament after Christmas last year when a principal told him of supposed improprieties.

No decision has been made on whether the Holiday Prep Classic will take place in December as scheduled, Garcia said.

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