Records Show Treasurer Candidate Tya Mathis-Coleman Funneled Tax Dollars To Nonprofits She Was Affiliated With
October 28, 2026
Emails show district purchasing, funding requests, staff time and other Clark County School District resources tied to groups Mathis-Coleman led or volunteered with, echoing the scandal that rocked the Nevada Legislature.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: rserrano@axiomstrategies.com
LAS VEGAS – Newly obtained Clark County School District records raise serious questions about Nevada State Treasurer candidate Tya Mathis-Coleman’s judgment and stewardship of taxpayer resources.
The records show that while Mathis-Coleman served as a CCSD Human Resources and Recruitment Director, she repeatedly used district staff, email, money, and other taxpayer-funded resources in connection with four organizations with which she had personal leadership or volunteer ties: the Junior League of Las Vegas, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Black Community Organizations Network (BCON), and Les Femmes Douze.
Nevada taxpayers are still reeling from a similar scandal that engulfed members of the Nevada State Legislature during the 2023 legislative session, when lawmakers steered taxpayer dollars toward groups they were personally involved with and, in some cases, compensated by.
Mathis-Coleman’s focus on directing tax dollars to nonprofits she was involved in appeared to affect her ability to perform her actual job of recruiting new teachers to CCSD. Before she began working as a recruiter for CCSD, the district had 171 teacher vacancies. When she left CCSD to take her current role in the Nevada State Treasurer’s Office, the district had 761 unfilled teacher positions, representing a 345 percent increase in vacancies under her disastrous leadership.
While Mathis-Coleman claimed she recruited 13,000 teachers as CCSD Director of Recruitment, the Clark County Education Association, the union representing educators in the Clark County School District, stated she lied about those numbers.
“Mathis-Coleman couldn’t manage a few thousand dollars at CCSD without engaging in corruption. I can’t imagine how she would rip off taxpayers if she were overseeing $12 billion as our State Treasurer,” said Republican State Treasurer nominee Drew Johnson.
The records show:
Junior League of Las Vegas: In a November 2018 email concerning the Junior League’s Paint the Town Red event, Mathis-Coleman wrote that although she could not attend, she wanted to move forward with using CCSD funds to purchase an ad in the event’s program. She then directed CCSD staff to develop the ad. In January 2019, after noting that available purchasing cards were in the district’s name, a CCSD employee reported: “I was able to make the purchase. The receipt is #D358641.” Mathis-Coleman was an active Junior League leader during her CCSD years and later served as the organization’s president.
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.: Mathis-Coleman had an extensive leadership relationship with Delta Sigma Theta. A June 2019 CCSD email identifies her as Nevada State Coordinator and Immediate Past President of the Las Vegas Alumnae Chapter. In November 2019, Mathis-Coleman asked CCSD staff to obtain a full-page advertisement for a Delta Sigma Theta “Mr. 1913” pageant held in Greensboro, North Carolina, implausibly claiming the ad would be useful for recruitment and directing staff to, “Please complete funding request.” The following day, a CCSD employee reported that the funding request was complete, with Clark County School District listed as the advertiser.
Black Community Organizations Network (BCON): CCSD scholarship materials identified Mathis-Coleman as BCON Scholarship Chairperson and directed scholarship applications to her at CCSD’s Edward Greer Education Center. Records also include a “BCON Program 2019” printing estimate handled through CCSD channels. In another BCON-related exchange, a Centennial High School administrator wrote that “Centennial is donating $750 to each of your organizations” and that checks were ready, with Mathis-Coleman involved in coordinating pickup. Additional records show repeated BCON activity through her CCSD account during work hours, including BCON-related meetings and emails.
Les Femmes Douze: Mathis-Coleman has publicly identified her volunteer involvement with the Les Femmes Douze debutante program. CCSD records show her district email being used in connection with the organization’s anniversary and debutante activities, including discussions concerning advertising, ticket sales, and event business. Those records establish use of CCSD communications and employee time in connection with the outside organization.
There is no evidence that Mathis-Coleman’s efforts to direct tax dollars and government time toward these organizations with which she was personally involved resulted in recruiting a single teacher to CCSD.
“Nevada’s State Treasurer is entrusted with safeguarding public money and must avoid conflicts of interest and treat every taxpayer dollar with the highest level of care. These records clearly indicate that Tya Mathis-Coleman improperly funneled Nevada taxpayer dollars to organizations with which she was personally involved,” Johnson said.
Johnson’s campaign continues to seek invoices, purchasing-card records, canceled checks, reimbursements, printing records, final advertisements, and other documents necessary to determine the full amount of public resources Mathis-Coleman funneled to organizations she was involved in.
###