Clark County Schools Superintendent Jesus Jara leaves after a school board vote to terminate his contract at the district’s education center Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021.
Published Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021 | 8:35 p.m.
Updated Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021 | 11:30 p.m.
Clark County Schools Superintendent Jesus Jara has been fired.
A deeply split Clark County School Board voted 4-3 Thursday night to terminate Jara’s contract “for convenience,” meaning it did not have to give a specific reason. Trustees Danielle Ford, Irene Cepeda, Linda Cavazos and Lisa Guzman voted to oust the superintendent, who has been at the head of the Clark County School District for three years.
In his departing message, Jara said he has been steadfast in working to help students achieve academic success, despite board members’ meddling.
“While some members of this board seek to run the operations of the district and micromanage me and undermine staff, I have been dedicated to protecting the staff from their overreach and interference,” he said. “My focus on student achievement and well-being has never wavered in my career. Unfortunately, a majority of the trustees did not share that vision, and this community and our children will suffer because of it.”
One of the speakers leading off the lengthy and bitter meeting was one of those children under Jara’s leadership, 9-year-old Delilah Schultz.
“Your job is to serve the students of CCSD and you are failing. CCSD, you are failing all your students, especially your special education students and your students that have English as a second language and your students of color,” said the pupil, who wore a child-sized shirt emblazoned with #BastaJara — roughly, enough of Jara.
“This starts at the top,” Delilah said. “It starts with the superintendent, Dr. Jara.”
Jim Frazee, vice president of the Clark County Educators Association teachers union, wasn’t warm either, but he said Jara’s removal showed certain board members placed politics and personal agendas first.
“No one who sits in that chair will ever pursue a bold vision with courageous action if at any moment on a whim, or in this case an outside agenda, can pull the rug out from under them,” Frazee said, noting that bold and courage aren’t terms he said he usually associates with Jara.
Frazee wanted to judge Jara based on his results as a leader, which the board was scheduled to do in about six weeks.
Chris Giunchigliani, the former Clark County commissioner and a longtime special education teacher in CCSD, said the time is now, and her assessment was harsh.
“The continued infighting, dysfunctional leadership, dishonesty, climate of fear, retaliation, cronyism and possible misappropriation of public money for outside contractors means enough is enough,” she said.
Sylvia Lazos was once a Jara supporter. She hosted a reception for him in her home when he was new to Las Vegas.
“And my son said to me, ‘I don’t know about that guy, mama. He doesn’t seem to really listen to people,’” she said. “Trustees, we need to move on. It is exhausting to continue to deal with situations where Dr. Jara is not listening, where he’s not performing at a level that is adequate.”
The last day of his tenure and the next steps in the process are unclear.
Trustee Lola Brooks, who backs Jara, attempted to get Jara’s termination tabled until January 2023, close to when his contract would expire, but the move was shot down.
When the vote came to terminate, and it passed, people applauded. Jara gave his statement and asked to be excused.
That’s when trustee Katie Williams, another Jara supporter, interjected. “You are a toxic leader in this district and I hope every single one of these parents see it,” she told Cavazos, the board’s president.
The drama was far from over.
Brooks attempted to get Cavazos removed from her position as the board’s president, but members voted 5-1 to table taking any action on the removal. (By then, an upset Williams had already left for the night.)
Before the vote, Brooks spent 10 minutes criticizing her colleague.
