VICTOR JOECKS: Jara: CCSD should fire me if …

It’s not every day that a highly paid, powerful government official publicly lays the groundwork for his own dismissal. But that’s what Clark County School District Superintendent Jesus Jara has done.

During the legislative session, Gov. Joe Lombardo and lawmakers dumped an additional $2 billion-plus into public education. At a recent editorial board meeting with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Jara said the money would lead to continued improvements in student achievement. He said his “goal” is a “5 to 7 percent increase every year” in third grade reading and math proficiency.

“If I don’t deliver, then you need to find another superintendent,” he said when asked what should happen in three years if the district doesn’t meet his goals.

Credit to Jara for setting clear objectives. Even more credit to him if he accepts accountability if — and likely when — the district doesn’t reach them.

Currently, just 39.1 percent of district third graders are proficient in reading, according to state data. That’s up from 31.7 percent in the 2020-21 school year. The district kept schools closed most of that year. As those numbers show, virtual learning was an oxymoron. Pre-COVID, third grade reading proficiency was 46.7 percent in the district.

In math, 37 percent of third graders are proficient. That’s up from 24.8 percent in the previous year. In 2018-19, math proficiency was 47.5 percent.

So Jara’s three-year goals are 54 percent proficiency in third grade reading and 52 percent in math. Meeting those benchmarks in the 2025-26 school year would be achievements, even if school closures lowered the baselines.

Jara said test scores should increase because “for the first time, we now have curriculum that’s aligned to the standards.” It’s more important for the curriculum to teach phonics. Mississippi — yes, that Mississippi — has seen its reading scores increase dramatically over the past decade. Part of its strategy was to use phonics-based reading instruction.

Another good sign is that some of the new money isn’t subject to collective bargaining. That gives officials the ability to hire literacy coaches or other teachers to intervene early and often when students struggle to read.

The irony is that these changes don’t cost billions. Most of that new money will go toward paying people more to do the same thing.

There are also plenty of reasons to believe Jara will fail. Despite talk about welcoming accountability, Jara wasn’t on track to meet the five-year goals he set pre-COVID.

Some of Jara’s own policies hinder learning. Those include his dumbed-down grading standards and failed restorative justice push. Perhaps improvements are coming. He said the district will be “tweaking” its grading practices based on teacher feedback. He also said the district will take into account Lombardo’s school safety bill, which gives schools more tools to punish disruptive and dangerous students.

Even if Jara improves curriculum and policy, students need teachers. The district has more than 1,300 openings, most in poorly performing schools. Higher pay is unlikely to fix this. Jara boosted starting teacher pay $7,000 last summer. The district started the year with more than 1,400 vacancies.

Jara wants to offer bonuses to teach at struggling schools. That’s a good idea, but the Clark County Education Association isn’t interested. State collective bargaining laws limit Jara’s ability to make such decisions. He should have been demanding legislators change hidebound policies like that instead of pleading for more money.

Unfortunately, what happens next is far too easy to predict. Student achievement will soon stagnate. Then, Jara will declare that the solution isn’t his dismissal or giving parents school choice. He’ll say it’s more money.

Contact Victor Joecks at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on Twitter.