CCSD board taps longtime district administrator as interim superintendent

By Paul Takahashi

Published Thursday, March 14, 2013 | 11:47 a.m.

Updated Thursday, March 14, 2013 | 1:50 p.m.

Pat Skorkowsky is getting his second new job with the Clark County School District in seven months.

Skorkowsky, who in August 2012 became CCSD’s deputy superintendent of instruction, will take over as interim superintendent when Dwight Jones steps down from the district’s top post on March 22.

The CCSD School Board, in a special meeting Thursday, agreed to Skorkowsky’s appointment in a 7-0 vote. Members are expected to discuss the search for a permanent replacement this afternoon. At that time, they're also expected to determine what kind of compensation will be on the table for the district's next superintendent. Jones, who was in the second year of a four-year contract, earned a salary of $270,000 and a total compensation package of $396,000, according to transparentnevada.com.

Jones, who announced on March 5 he would resign the superintendent’s post to take care of his ailing mother in Texas, did not attend Tuesday’s meeting.

The board had brief interviews with three candidates – Skorkowsky; Andre Denson, associate superintendent of the Academic Services Division; and Jhone Ebert, chief technology officer – after members decided by a 6-1 vote to open up the interim post to internal candidates only. A fourth nominee, Mike Barton, declined consideration for the job.

Nominees drew numbers to determine the order in which they would speak to the board for brief interviews. Other nominees left the meeting while the board heard from each candidate. School Board members did not ask any questions of the candidates.

Denson, who has 40 years experience in CCSD as student, teacher, principal and administrator, spoke first. He told the board an interim superintendent had to be collaborative with the ability to move and bring people together. While noting his interest in the job, Denson told board members, "If it's not me, I'm in support of Mr. Skorkowsky."

Ebert has 23 years experience with CCSD, first as a teacher, then as director of STEM (Science, Technology, Math and Engineering) and magnet schools. She is credited with starting the district's virtual high school.

She told board members, "we need to be student-centered first" but must be sustainable.

Skorkowsky, who has more than 25 years experience in CCSD, has worked closely with Jones over the past several months as deputy superintendent Skorkowsky told board members the district's top priority was clear.

"It's all about the students," he said.

While Skorkowsky talked about strides the district has made, there is more to do, including in cutting down on crowded classrooms, he added.

"We have to do better by our students. We have to do better by our teachers," he told the board.

Skorkowsky has moved up the CCSD ranks from first-grade teacher and principal to academic manager, associate superintendent and deputy superintendent.

As deputy superintendent, Skorkowsky was tasked with boosting classroom instruction. He replaced Pedro Martinez, who was tapped last year to lead the Washoe County School District.

During Skorkowsky’s tenure as associate superintendent, he worked with 108 of the district’s 357 schools on curricula and aligning resources.

Skorkowsky, an Oklahoma native, received his associate’s degree from St. Gregory’s College, his bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Oklahoma State University and his master’s degree in education administration from UNLV.

The Clark County School District is the nation’s fifth-largest public school district with more than 311,000 students, 17,000 teachers and an annual general fund budget of $2 billion.