LAS VEGAS – Listening to budget managers from the Clark County, Nevada school district, one might conclude they’ve been cutting spending to the bone.

A 2013 PowerPoint presentation by Deputy CFO Jim McIntosh claims over $564 million in spending was eliminated between 2009 and 2013. Nearly 3,400 positions were eliminated, too, including hundreds of teachers.

“Students have not been able to have a book in their hands for every subject,” one quote from the presentation said, presumably to raise the reader’s ire.

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But after looking at some of the district’s travel records during the 2013-14 school year, it’s hard to believe that all unnecessary spending has been eliminated.

According to records provided by the district, employees attended 243 different conferences around the country during the 2013-14 school year, with conference fees totaling $279,272. Two of those conferences, which are supposedly for professional development for educators, were the Confucius Institute Annual Conference in Beijing, China, as well as an Ammonia Training Program in Garden City, Kansas.

Confucius Institutes are “non-profit public institutions affiliated with the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China,” according to Wikipedia.

All told, school employees attended conferences in 73 different cities across the country, including popular destinations such as San Diego, Washington, D.C. and New Orleans, as well as others off the beaten path, like Grapevine, Texas and Coeur D’Alene, Idaho.

“CCSD’s conference expenses are yet another reason why parents and taxpayers should demand transparency in government and school choice in education. While it’s appalling that a school district would spend over a million dollars on hotel rooms — including rooms in its home city — while repeatedly pushing taxpayers to approve tax increases to pay for classroom necessities, it’s not surprising,” says Chantal Lovell, deputy communications director for the Nevada Policy Research Institute.

The district also spent $1,019,579 on hotels, including several right in Las Vegas.

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Marriott was the single largest recipient, being paid $159,221 during the school year. Hilton Hotels was second, receiving $105,577, according to school records.

Clark County schools spent $12,170 at Circus Circus Hotel & Casino, as well as $635 at the Palms Casino.

Reno was a popular destination. The school district reports spending $37,901.01 at the JA Nugget Hotel, as well as $8,051.13 at the Atlantis Casino Resort.

The district spent $8,272.80 at San Francisco’s Hotel Kabuki, described by Google as “upscale lodging with a Japanese bent boasting koi ponds, a Zen garden and an extensive on-site spa.” Another $5,335 went to the Sofitel San Francisco hotel.

District employees also stayed at the W Atlanta-Midtown, a four-star hotel, for $5,033. Another $4,182 was spent at the Riviera Resort and Spa, which considers itself “one of the most legendary Palm Springs hotels.”

Employees also racked up numerous charges in Lake Tahoe, including $5,767 and $3,020 at Granlibakken Resort, as well as $3,700 at the Harrah Casino and $260 at the Ritz-Carlton – a five-star hotel.

Over $3,000 was spent at Legoland Hotel.

Of course Clark County school employees didn’t walk to these locations.

According to documents obtained from the district, employees spent $869,404 on airline flights during the 2013-14 school year. By far the largest recipient was Southwest Air, which collected $631,470 from the school district.

The district also spent $97,213 on travel-related ground transportation. The biggest recipients included Hertz Rent a Car ($47,501) and Enterprise Rent-a-Car ($12,709). Numerous taxi, shuttle and limousine services were also hired to cart around employees.

Typically a good percentage of school district travel is funded through grants from the federal government, and school officials like to say they are not really spending district money.

Tax dollars are tax dollars, and they are being wasted on a lot of travel that seems unnecessary, particularly if, as the school district claims, Clark County students are lacking in textbooks.

“Rather than paying employees to fly across the globe to attend costly conferences, the district should put its energy behind ideas proven to produce better results, such as pushing for an alternative teacher certification program and collective bargaining reforms and implementing school choice,” according to NPRI’s Lovell.