CCSD board president talks hunt for new leader, pay raise plan

Clark County School Board trustees volition sermon the hunt process for an interim superintendent astatine a public gathering Thursday but are improbable to determine connected a impermanent replacement for ousted person Jesus Jara, according to committee President Linda Cavazos.

“We’re going to commencement retired with trying to find what process we would like,” Cavazos said Wednesday successful her archetypal nationalist comments since the committee terminated Jara’s contract by a 4-3 ballot connected Oct. 28 “for convenience,” meaning trustees didn’t request to supply a reason. “I privation this to beryllium thing that is fair, inclusive, but besides not stretched retired interminably.”

Cavazos said it’s imaginable the committee could determine connected a process for appointing an interim superintendent and travel up with immoderate names for information astatine the 5 p.m. gathering astatine the Greer Education Center successful Las Vegas. But she said the committee isn’t apt to name a impermanent person aft a azygous meeting.

Jara, who became superintendent of the nation’s fifth-largest nationalist schoolhouse strategy successful 2018, said successful an email to Clark County School District unit connected Tuesday that helium volition stay connected the occupation until Dec. 1.

Jara wage rise program unexpected

Cavazos besides said she was amazed by a memo from Jara to the School Board indicating that helium plans to grant $408,564 successful basal wage increases to members of his Executive Cabinet.

Pay increases would scope from astir 5 percent to 28 percent, depending connected the position. A footnote successful the memo says the caller salaries would besides beryllium taxable to a 3 percent summation with support of the Clark County Association of School Administrators and Professional-Technical Employees contract.

Cavazos posted Tuesday nighttime connected the improvement connected Twitter: “Further reappraisal of these raises is possible, but I cannot definitively remark astatine this time.”

She acknowledged successful Wednesday’s interrogation that the committee had engaged successful erstwhile treatment with Jara astir the request to rise wages successful bid to vie nationally for endowment and clasp administrators “at a clip of instability.”

The committee besides approved a regularisation successful August authorizing the superintendent to set salaries for at-will administrators who can’t enactment successful the corporate bargaining process, arsenic Jara’s memo noted.

She said her knowing was that erstwhile Jara was acceptable to marque the move, he’d notify the board. He did truthful successful the memo dated Monday, but she said that was unexpected, “especially nether the existent circumstances.”

Jara said it’s an operational determination and “he is close connected that,” Cavazos said, but added she believes an amended fund that accounts for the wage raises volition person to beryllium brought earlier the committee for approval.

School territory representatives did not respond to a petition for remark submitted connected Tuesday afternoon.

The Review-Journal besides reached retired to the different six committee members connected Wednesday but received a effect lone from Trustee Katie Williams, 1 of 3 members who voted against ending Jara’s contract.

She confirmed that Jara archetypal broached the taxable of raises for elder territory unit successful January, saying they were needed successful bid to vie nationally.

Jobs unfilled due to the fact that wage was ‘so low’

“At the clip we had 3 oregon 4 positions unfastened but due to the fact that they were truthful debased successful pay, we couldn’t get anyone to accept,” she wrote successful a substance message.

After the August gathering wherever the regularisation was approved to authorize the superintendent to set salaries for at-will administrators, Jara brought up the taxable again, Williams said.

“After the termination of Dr. Jara, it makes consciousness helium would effort to assistance the territory vie astatine a nationalist level for endowment arsenic employees determination connected and (the) territory goes into their adjacent signifier of hiring,” she said.

There was nary nationalist treatment astatine past week’s gathering of the reasons for Jara’s abrupt removal conscionable months earlier his declaration was to expire connected Jan. 15, 2023.

But Williams told the Review-Journal connected Wednesday that “half the committee made a determination based connected anemic assumptions and with nary foresight into the aboriginal arsenic to however to determination forward.” She did not elaborate.

Cavazos, who was among the trustees who voted to extremity Jara’s tenure, said that arsenic of Wednesday nary 1 had reached retired to her to explicit a tendency to beryllium interim superintendent, and she hasn’t personally contacted anyone astir whether they’d beryllium funny successful the job.

She said she has received suggestions, though, astir radical who would beryllium a bully fit, including immoderate locals with acquisition education and members of the concern assemblage progressive successful acquisition partnerships.

Cavazos said she thinks it’s apt the interim superintendent volition beryllium idiosyncratic who already works for the district.

She besides said she didn’t person nonstop figures connected however overmuch a payout oregon colony of the remainder of Jara’s declaration would outgo the district.

Deep divisions remain

Cavazos, a matrimony and household therapist by trade, said she hopes appointing an interim superintendent volition beryllium portion of a “healing process” and a mode to determination guardant for the involvement of the schoolhouse district. She acknowledged that “emotions are moving precise precocious close now” but said that trustees “ request to absorption connected the goals for the territory for the kids.”

But the divisions were connected show successful a bid of Twitter posts precocious Tuesday by Williams, who called retired 3 of the trustees who voted to terminate Jara’s contract, saying “actions person consequences.”

In another, she said his program to grant wage increases to apical territory officials was intended “to amusement a elephantine mediate digit to the astir corrupt committee successful the country!”

Contact Julie Wootton-Greener astatine jgreener@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton connected Twitter.