Clark County School District Superintendent Jesus Jara speaks to media at Global Community High School and Central Tech Training Academy on the first day of school Monday, Aug. 8, 2022.
Published Friday, Dec. 23, 2022 | 12:15 p.m.
Updated Friday, Dec. 23, 2022 | 2:20 p.m.
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Proponents of a Clark County School District breakup confirmed today they did not collect enough valid petition signatures this year to put the measure before state lawmakers or voters.
The Community Schools Initiative needed at least 140,777 signatures to be valid, divided equally among Nevada’s four congressional districts.
But the group said today that, though it submitted more than 230,000 signatures statewide to county elections departments for verification, the Nevada secretary of state found it had not cleared the hurdle to get the proposal before the Legislature this spring – or voters in 2024.
“Although we are disappointed this initiative did not qualify, we are not deterred. We have generated great momentum in the last several months. We have brought awareness to the need to create school districts that are more responsive to the communities they serve, while equitably bringing funding and decision making closer to our students and teachers, Dan Stewart, chairman of the Community Schools Initiative and a Henderson City Councilman, said in a statement.
“We will continue to build our coalition and enhance our advocacy efforts with an eye towards refiling the initiative in 2024,” he said. “We express our deep gratitude to all our donors, supporters and volunteers. Together, we have given a voice to parents, students, teachers and all who want a better future for our kids.”
Had the petition drive been successful, state legislators would have considered a law next session to allow local governments to opt out of their county-level school districts. If lawmakers didn’t pass the measure, it would have gone to the state ballot in 2024. The next legislative session begins in February.
“With the initiative not achieving the valid number of signatures necessary to qualify, this distraction can be put to rest,” CCSD Superintendent Jesus Jara said in a statement today.
“CCSD will continue working with legislators and the governor-elect to ensure optimal education funding and the policies necessary to improve student academic outcomes for all students no matter their ZIP code. We will continue to meet our students where they are, no matter where they come from or how they show up."
It is not yet clear how many signatures were thrown out or why.
The “Notice of Insufficiency of Petition” from the Nevada Secretary of State said about half of signatures in county clerks’ random sample reviews were valid.
Following state law, county clerks reviewed 5% of submitted signatures for validity. For the 233,173 signatures submitted from around the state, that meant counties checked 11,661. And of those, 6,200 were valid.
“Based on the examination done by the county election officials across the state, the aforementioned petition does not meet the statutory and constitutional signature requirements and is deemed insufficient,” Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske wrote.
Initiative organizers said they planned to remain active during the next legislative session “and beyond to empower community-based schools.”
