Clark County School Board grades superintendent’s work

Clark County School District Superintendent Jesus Jara received middling marks on his yearly evaluation from his seven bosses on Tuesday, scoring highest for financial reporting and lowest for communication.

The School Board gave Jara an average rating of 2.5 on a scale of 1-4 on four broad standards: operational oversight, progress monitoring, communication and collaborative leadership — a score translated to a classification of “minimally effective to effective” per the board’s rubric.

To come up with the score, trustees gave numerical ratings on 35 expectations in nine subcategories making up the four standards. For effective operational insight, trustees were asked to rate expectations such as how well financial findings were reported publicly — earning Jara his highest score of 3.6 — as well as whether a clear plan of action is developed and communicated when issues arise — where Jara scored lowest, at 1.6.

Jara received 606 points out of a possible 980, which was averaged into his overall score.

Trustees’ individual ratings in these categories were not included in the meeting materials, but counsel Mary-Anne Miller said they would be publicly available upon request.

Trustees were led through the evaluation process by Thomas Alsbury, who has been training the board in governance since the fall. He said the board plans to make changes to the evaluation process under his guidance, like clarifying the evaluation criteria and starting the process earlier.

Trustee Chris Garvey noted that the evaluation criteria did not focus enough on student achievement.

To come up with suggestions for improvement for the superintendent, Alsbury will take several themes that emerged in trustees’ individual evaluations — like ensuring diversity on committees and building trust with employees — and consolidate them into written, concrete steps as part of a final evaluation.

In a written statement sent by the district’s communications office, Jara said he was disappointed with some parts of the evaluation but that he respected the process. He also characterized the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent school closures as “the most challenging time” in his career.

“Understandably, fear and anxiety have created great uncertainty and much friction. Through it all, I have made every effort to communicate with parents, teachers, and students and, of course, the school board,” he said.

After the discussion, Jara requested a meeting with board President Lola Brooks to discuss the evaluation and ensure that the district’s work is “aligned with the direction of the board of trustees.” He added that this was the first time he had been formally informed about some concerns.

Other trustees pointed out that by the time the evaluation is finalized, the board may have another president.

Tuesday’s meeting was the last of the year for the School Board and the final meeting for trustees Garvey, Deanna Wright and Linda Young.

The board will meet next on Jan. 4 to inaugurate their three successors — Evelyn Garcia Morales, Lisa Guzman and Katie Williams — who will make up the board that votes on a potential contract extension for Jara next year.

The board’s officers will be elected at the first work session of the year on Jan. 6.

Contact Aleksandra Appleton at 702-383-0218 or aappleton@reviewjournal.com. Follow @aleksappleton on Twitter.