LETTER: Jara isn’t the only problem
On Oct. 28, a Review-Journal editorial called for the Clark County School District Board of Trustees to terminate Superintendent Jesus Jara’s employment contract. Later that evening, by a vote of 4-3, the board voted to remove Mr. Jara. The editorial listed many failures of Mr. Jara’s three-plus year tenure, highlighted by extremely poor academic achievement, lowering grading and graduation standards and the remote learning disaster during the pandemic.
While I can understand the decision to remove Mr. Jara, I feel strongly that he alone is not to blame for the continued problems at the district.
The district website states that the Board of Trustees “is a dedicated group of community leaders who are … dedicated to ensuring the success of every student in the district through clear, concise direction to the superintendent.” Their Vision Statement is clear: “All students progress in school and graduate prepared to succeed and contribute in a diverse global society.”
So I ask: Were the trustees not aware of the extremely poor test scores? Were they kept in the dark about Mr. Jara’s questionable decisions? Did they support teacher evaluations or did they succumb to the teachers union tenure demands? The answers of “no, no and no” clearly indicate the trustees have failed in their responsibilities. Isn’t it also time to remove the trustees and replace them with a responsible, experienced and business-oriented board?