Audit shows where schools can pinch pennies

Emily Richmond

Monday, Oct. 16, 2006 | 7:25 a.m.

Emily Richmond

A penny saved is still a penny earned, even when your operating budget exceeds $1.8 billion.

That's why taxpayers should expect the Clark County School District to do a better job conserving energy, feeding students and kicking the tires of its transportation fleet - all recommendations stemming from a new audit.

MGT of America, a company that specializes in auditing the business side of school districts, was hired by the Nevada Legislature to examine the financial management of the Clark County School District. The results of the eight-month study, released last week, were generally favorable, with auditors making 86 recommendations for improvement and finding 77 examples to praise.

Most significant among the recommendations: that developers provide free land for schools. That would require legislative action, and could save the district more than $350 million over five years.

"It's going to be interesting to see how lawmakers respond to that, since the recommendation is coming from their own auditors," said Clark County School Board Vice President Sheila Moulton.

Individually, some of the smaller recommendations will yield savings of as little as $40,000 annually - not enough to have a significant effect on the general fund that supports student programs and services.

But added together, the potential savings to the general fund could top $50 million over five years. Another $54 million could be saved in the food services division, which is required to be self-sufficient and independent of the general fund.

"It is public money - no matter how small the amount, if there's a way to save money it should be done," said Carole Vilardo of the Nevada Taxpayers Association. "Whether it's $10, $1,000 or $1 million, if it's not being efficiently used that expenditure should be eliminated."

Some of the auditors' suggestions fall into the "no-brainer" category, such as discontinuing one of the district's two e-mail systems so messages no longer need to be sent twice. The district is currently spending about $40,000 annually to license and maintain the second e-mail system.

Other recommendations, such as setting up regional centers for maintenance crews, would carry hefty price tags initially but could yield long-term savings in transportation costs and improved efficiency. Superintendent Walt Rulffes said he will investigate the feasibility of the maintenance centers, and may enlist the help of an outside investment specialist.

The district doesn't have the tens of millions of dollars on hand that it would likely cost to set up the centers, Rulffes said.

"Would it be cost-effective to borrow the money to build those and net the savings?" Rulffes asked. "Is the benefit sufficient? Those are the kinds of questions we need to get answers for."

Among the recommendations:

Rulffes isn't sure he likes the idea of turning cafeterias into retro automats.

"I'm not a strong advocate for vending food," he said. "A lot of times it doesn't meet the freshness standards, and you can't get anything custom-ordered. They put mayonnaise on things, and I don't like mayonnaise."