CCSD trustees to meet on Jara’s contract amid calls for his dismissal

Three Clark County School district trustees have called for a special meeting to discuss Superintendent Jesus Jara’s contract after the principals’ union sent a scathing letter calling for his resignation or removal over his disavowal of a bill to transfer unspent money from schools to the district.

Trustees Linda Cavazos, Danielle Ford and Linda Young requested the meeting, meeting the threshold for calling such a session, according to School Board President Lola Brooks.

Earlier Thursday, the administrators’ union sent a letter signed by the union’s executive director, Stephen Augspurger, and “written at the direction of the elected leaders of (the union), the recognized bargaining group and decision-making body for administrators and professional-technical employees.” It said Jara has irreparably destroyed his relationship with school leaders and state lawmakers, and that he’s not fit to lead the country’s fifth-largest school district.

“Your tenure here has been marked by one debacle after another. You have lost the trust and confidence of your administrators and other employees. You have embarrassed the CCSD community and residents of Clark County,” the letter said.

“You have revealed much about the true nature of your character,” it continued. “You have shown that you are dishonest. You lie; you manipulate; you cannot accept responsibility for your own actions; you blame others for your own mistakes and behavior; you have an inability to apologize and to say you are sorry; and you constantly attempt to divert attention from the problems you have created by shifting the focus to something or someone else. You have further revealed what many already know: you are selfish, egocentric and without moral code or compass.”

CCSD representatives did not return a request for an updated response. In a statement issued Monday, Jara did not directly address the accusations of dishonesty but said he regretted that the conversation had shifted from the proposed cuts to K-12 education at the special session of the state Legislature.

Rebuked by the governor

The statement from the administrators’ union came after a sharply worded rebuke from Gov. Steve Sisolak and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jhone Ebert that lambasted Jara for denying that CCSD had originated the idea to transfer the so-called carryover money to the district.

The administrators union letter said the trustees should fire Jara but predicted the board would fail to act.

“The school trustees will, once again, agonize over what to do with you and how to handle the terrible situation that you alone have created. If past practice holds true, the trustees will do nothing, and you will once again be the benefactor of their collective failure to act,” the letter said before concluding, “It is time for you to go!”

On Thursday night, trustees Danielle Ford and Linda Cavazos confirmed that they had requested a special board meeting to discuss the controversy surrounding Jara’s actions. Three trustees must individually request such a meeting before it can be scheduled.

The administrators union letter also drew the Clark County teachers union into the dispute.

The Clark County Education Association said in a statement that the administrators’ union and trustees should be focused on the fighting possible cuts to education funding during the ongoing special session of the Legislature, as well as advocating for additional money needed to reopen schools safely next month.

“Why isn’t the administrator’s union advocating for additional revenue and opposing these severe cuts to our school system. They have focused on simply removing the superintendent — as if that would resolve all of the problems we are facing right now,” the statement said. “We disagree. This is a distraction driven by a political agenda. CCEA will have no part of it.”

‘More revenue, not cuts’

It continued: “Our 320,000 students need more revenue, not cuts. Our 320,000 students need an effective educational model under COVID-19 conditions in order to learn. (Some) 40,000 CCSD staff and 320,000 students need a fully funded safety and health program if and when these schools reopen. Those are the matters of the day that the trustees should be focused on.”

The National Education Association of Southern Nevada issued a statement earlier this week calling on Jara to resign.

The Education Support Employees Association declined to comment on the matter.

Contact Aleksandra Appleton at 702-383-0218 or aappleton@reviewjournal.com. Follow @aleksappleton on Twitter.