McKay, former schools AD, is indicted

Monday, March 7, 2005 | 8:15 a.m.

Former Clark County School District athletics director Larry McKay was indicted by a grand jury Thursday on four felony counts of mishandling public funds, charges that carry a potential penalty of 40 years in jail.

McKay, who retired in June 2003 after 30 years with the district, became the target of an internal investigation after questions arose regarding his handling of the Holiday Prep Classic basketball tournament. McKay founded the tournament and served as its director, holding games in school gyms.

According to the grand jury indictment filed Friday in District Court, McKay improperly used $94,147 in funds intended for the athletics department to pay School Police officers to serve as security for tournaments between 1998 and 2001.

McKay could not be reached for comment Friday. In an interview with the Sun in fall 2003, as the district's investigation widened, he maintained he had done nothing wrong.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Erik Jorgensen said McKay remains free on $10,000 bail and is due in front of District Judge Joe Bonaventure in two weeks.

The district's audit of McKay's activities revealed shoddy and at times nonexistent bookkeeping, investigators said. Schools Superintendent Carlos Garcia said in an earlier interview with the Sun it may never be known exactly how much of the district's money was mishandled because the paper trail is so sparse.

According to the audit report, McKay mixed money from the Holiday Prep Classic with funds from Big Time, a summer basketball tournament he operated that was not affiliated with the district. He also inappropriately reimbursed himself for expenses charged to a personal credit card, according to the report.

McKay's indictment will not immediately affect his employment at Odyssey Charter School, where he teaches mathematics, said the school's executive director, Craig Butz.

"We're going to wait for the justice system to do its work," Butz said Friday. "If he (McKay) goes to trial and can't work or if he's convicted, obviously that would make a big difference (in his employment status)."

McKay has done a "very good" job at the school, Butz said.

"He's an excellent teacher, the kids like him and he works hard," Butz said.

Also working at Odyssey is Daniel Reese, a former Moapa Valley High School principal charged with embezzling nearly $12,000 in student-generated funds. Reese repaid the missing money.

Bill Hoffman, senior counsel for the School District, said his office's involvement ended when the internal investigation's findings were forwarded to the district attorney's office for review.

"We turned it over for the purpose of seeing whether there were criminal charges to be brought," Hoffman said. "The D.A. thought that there were and so did the grand jury. The School District awaits the next step in the legal process."