Superintendent Jesus Jara attends a CCSD School Board of Trustees meeting at the Clark County School District Education Center Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021.
Wednesday, May 4, 2022 | 2 a.m.
Members of the Clark County School Board should tone down their social media posts, keep in tight communication with the superintendent and generally project a unified message, according to a suggested set of “norms and behaviors” drafted by consultants brought in to help mend the fractious relationships between CCSD’s top public-facing officials.
The School Board at 9 a.m. today plans to review the seven-page report summarizing its three months of workshops and coaching with consultants from the Nevada Association of School Boards. The report is a set of third-party recommendations — not proposed policy changes on which the board would have to make a binding decision, said School Board President Irene Cepeda.
The report says the recommendations point the board “toward practicing a good governance model.”
“All board members have a comprehensive understanding of good governance best practices and the CCSD Board Policies. All board members have comprehensive understanding of Balanced Governance, the governance model selected by the Board,” reads the report, prepared by consultants Debb Oliver and Deb Dudley. “Yet some members have stated that they refuse to follow these best practices or policies because they believe them to be a violation of their personal and elected official rights.”
The report does not reference any specific incidents that might have inspired any of these suggestions.
However, School Board members agreed earlier this year to be coached on their roles and responsibilities representing the public before the 305,000-student, 42,000-employee CCSD in the wake of flaring tensions surrounding the firing in late October of Superintendent Jesus Jara — a 4-3 vote that was reversed in less than a month.
After the board just as narrowly voted to rescind the termination, Jara and School Board officers signed legal “assurances” stating that the superintendent and the board had formally agreed to work on their strained relationship. That included entering mediation — an alternative to a lawsuit — to investigate Jara’s accusations that he faced harassment and a hostile work environment from some trustees. Any future move to terminate his contract would also be discussed in mediation.
The consultants’ work is not part of that legal agreement, Cepeda said.
Some more highlights from the report, include:
• Board members should speak and listen “openly, honestly and respectfully.”
• Members must maintain confidentiality on matters discussed during closed sessions, and tell the board president of any leaks.
• Members should “stand behind the decisions of the majority vote” and “not be an impediment to implementation.”
• Members should “agree that once elected, personal campaigns and posturing are over and individual board members will not disparage board decisions, actions or each other” on social media. Members will only “celebrate district successes” on their personal social media and not post individual opinions on district issues. “We hold this agreement as our highest board priority to assure that the community is aware that we are a cohesive board that can be trusted to put our goals, our priorities and our children above our personal ambitions and political positions,” the report adds in bolded type.
• Members should let the superintendent know in advance if they plan to ask questions at meetings about agenda items. If they ask a question without prior notice, they should acknowledge this and consider apologizing for the lack of notice.
• Members should tell site administrators and the superintendent before they visit any school or facility, for any reason.
• Only the superintendent and board president should be spokespersons for CCSD, including to the media.
The meeting will be conducted in the School Board chambers at 2832 E. Flamingo Road.
