CCSD Superintendent Jesus Jara visits Charles Silvestri Junior High during the first day of school, Monday Aug. 7, 2023.
Published Friday, Feb. 16, 2024 | 11:39 a.m.
Updated Friday, Feb. 16, 2024 | 3:53 p.m.
Clark County School District Superintendent Jesus Jara could resign with a $250,000 severance package effective Feb. 23, according to newly released documents.
The resignation offer, which was posted today as part of the Thursday School Board agenda, is a “conditional resignation” pending School Board approval.
On Feb. 7, the Board declined to accept an initial conditional resignation – which would have cost at least $395,000 – or to terminate him for convenience, which would have cost close to $1 million in a salary buyout alone through his earlier planned contract ending in June 2026.
The Board opted instead for a “conditional termination” and to negotiate alternative exit terms. However, with the newest proposal, Jara is no longer being considered for termination.
The new $250,000 proposed payout would be a lump sum worth about six months’ compensation.
“We appreciate Superintendent Jara’s tireless commitment to the students of Clark County, and recognize that taking advantage of this natural transition point is in everyone’s best interest,” the Board said in a statement today. “This mutual agreement will allow the community to forge a new path, focused solely on student success. We appreciate the Superintendent’s willingness to help us move forward in a positive manner.”
The Board did not say why Jara seeks to leave, but characterized the terms of his presumed departure as a compromise and called the resignation an “amicable separation.”
The Thursday agenda includes the resignation package but no termination considerations, as was the case earlier this month.
The newest offer does not include payment for any remaining unused leave or attorney fees incurred during the exit negotiations.
The Clark County Education Association – a former Jara ally that said it wanted him fired for cause before the Feb. 7 vote – said today that “Jara should resign gracefully and without a golden parachute.”
“He should not get any more taxpayer dollars,” the teachers union said.
Jara first publicly signaled his desire to leave CCSD on Jan. 31, when the district announced that the Board would consider resignation or termination. It did not say which it preferred.
Jara, who took the helm at CCSD in 2018, submitted a conditional resignation letter to School Board President Evelyn Garcia Morales on Jan. 30. He did not give a reason why he was seeking to resign.
Jara said at that time that his resignation would be conditioned on the Board accepting an amendment to his contract that would grant a buyout of one year of his $395,000 salary, plus the value of benefits and unused sick and vacation time. The resignation would have been effective Feb. 21.
The Board, which oversees Jara as its sole employee, had the option on Feb. 7 to accept his resignation or consider terminating him “for convenience,” or no given reason. Accepting the resignation would have meant amending his contract to allow the short notice and payout.
Similarly, accepting his resignation on Thursday means changing his contract on the spot to allow for a prompt exit. Under his current contract, Jara is not due a severance if he resigns or if he is fired for cause. (Firing for cause is not currently, and has not previously been, an option.)
CCSD has been plagued in recent years by stubbornly low student achievement, violence in schools, high teacher vacancies and other personnel turnover, poor labor relations, friction on the School Board, and other dramas like a crippling cyberattack last fall.
CCEA is also in the midst of a lawsuit against Jara in response to a now-deleted disparaging and misogynistic post Jara allegedly made about the union president on X. And state lawmakers have also called for Jara to leave.
Additionally, Thursday’s agenda suggests the potential appointment of an interim superintendent. While the agenda does not propose a candidate by name, it does include a succession plan, signed by Jara, that suggests replacements by title.
The first option is the Deputy Superintendent and then, if the deputy is unable to serve, the Deputy Superintendent of Business Administration and Chief Financial Officer. Currently, those are Brenda Larsen-Mitchell and Jason Goudie, respectively.
The Board is also slated to discuss long-term planning on next steps in selecting another permanent superintendent. At the last meeting discussing Jara’s departure, the agenda had listed Larsen-Mitchell by name as the replacement and was not explicit on if she would be an interim or permanent placement.
CCEA maintained its criticism today of Larsen-Mitchell, who oversees instruction, and continued to press for a comprehensive search for a Jara replacement.
“Learning from the ‘Jara experience,’ the school district now needs to set a higher standard of qualification for the next superintendent. This process must include a transparent national search, and a heavy emphasis on community and educator input,” the union said in its statement. “We firmly reject the potential appointment of Brenda Larsen-Mitchell, as it would only be an extension of the same failed leadership.”
Other CCSD employee organizations and a broad group of community members have also advocated for a wide-ranging search.
Some School Board members sought to fire Jara in 2020, via video meeting during the thick of the pandemic, but the item was not given a vote. In 2021, the Board fired Jara for convenience but the termination was reversed weeks later when one board member changed her vote.
