Las Vegas charter school owes $320K in PERS contributions, state says

The state issued a formal tax delinquency complaint last week after TEACH Public Schools failed to pay more than $320,000 in public employee retirement contributions.

It comes as TEACH Las Vegas — part of the Los Angeles-based charter school network — has faced turmoil in recent weeks, including a large number of employee and student departures.

The Public Employees’ Retirement System of Nevada submitted the complaint Oct. 23 to the Nevada Department of Taxation. The Las Vegas Review-Journal obtained the document through a public records request.

The complaint — which was signed Oct. 20 — includes estimates of how much money is owed from February through August, totaling $320,041.36. The school also owes $7,840.24 in penalties.

PERS is aware of the “retirement contribution delinquency,” retirement system general counsel Ian Carr wrote in a Monday email to the Review-Journal.

The complaint seeks to recover contribution amounts owed from TEACH Las Vegas, according to the email.

“It is now PERS’ understanding that the Nevada Department of Taxation is working to facilitate said recovery,” Carr wrote. “PERS thanks the Nevada Department of Taxation for its assistance in helping to bring entities into compliance with the applicable retirement contribution statutes.”

Officials at TEACH didn’t respond to a request for comment by deadline Monday. The Nevada State Public Charter School Authority declined to comment.

A school board agenda for Nov. 6 includes an item about the outstanding PERS liability.

TEACH Las Vegas, which opened in 2021, serves elementary and middle school students at its campus on North Rancho Drive.

Former TEACH Las Vegas Executive Director Andrea Moore resigned last month, but the school hasn’t provided a reason for her departure. Classes were also abruptly canceled for a couple of days, and police were called to campus to respond to two disturbances the same morning the closure was announced.

The school previously had more than 400 students. As of Oct. 17, 247 were enrolled, according to updates presented to the school board.

TEACH Las Vegas and Sage Collegiate — another Las Vegas public charter school — are exploring the possibility of a merger, but no decision has been made.

Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on X.