School District is getting its due

Thursday, Dec. 1, 2005 | 7:15 a.m.

Two years after an internal audit of the Clark County School District's construction department determined sloppy oversight had let more than a quarter of a million dollars in reimbursements for utilities work go unclaimed, the outstanding balance has been trimmed to $54,845, according to School District records.

In an internal audit conducted in the fall of 2003, the district's construction department was rebuked for failing to keep adequate track of reimbursements that were owed and not negotiating better deals in advance of completing the work. At that time, construction department records indicated at least $230,000 in outstanding reimbursements.

To address the problem the district created a position for a full-time utilities coordinator to oversee agreements and keep track of payments. The computerized database used to track the agreements was also updated so that files with unpaid balances are automatically flagged for review at regular intervals.

It appears the more diligent oversight came too late in at least one case. In a 1998 agreement with Nevada Power, the district was supposed to receive up to $412,427 in refunds as developers tapped into lines near Centennial High School. But the agreement appears to have expired in 2003 without a single payment finding its way into the district's coffers.

Fred Smith, construction manager for the district, said he was looking into whether developers had in fact made use of the district's power lines serving the Centennial Parkway campus and if payments should have been collected. But it's probably too late to do much more than that, Smith said.

"Unfortunately, once the agreement expires the window closes," Smith said.

Sonya Headen, spokeswoman for Nevada Power, said the company was searching its files to determine whether it had inadvertently withheld payments.

"We are in the process of investigating whether we received an invoice that slipped through the cracks," Headen said. "If that's the case, obviously we will make good on the agreement."

The School District is often the first to install utilities and begin building in outlying areas. It pays the full cost of building water, gas, sewer, power and telecommunication lines. As new development comes in and ties into those lines, the district can be reimbursed for part of the cost if there's an agreement in place with the utilities.

Much of the balance of what is owed to the School District is $44,823 for conduit work at one of the district's alternative schools. Construction officials said they have a meeting scheduled with Nevada Power this month to discuss the claim.

While the dollar amounts may seem paltry when compared to the district's total $3.5 billion capital improvement plan, every penny counts, Smith said.

"We have an obligation to be good stewards of taxpayer money and go after even the smallest reimbursements," Smith said.

Emily Richmond can be reached at 259-8829 or at emily@ lasvegassun.com.