CCEA poll: 71% of voters support firing CCSD superintendent Jesus Jara

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - The Clark County Education Association (CCEA) released the results of a recent poll showing 71% of voters support firing CCSD Superintendent Dr. Jesus Jara.

The poll was conducted from May 6-9 with a sample size of 600 people, according to CCEA.

“There is growing support in the community for change, we think that the legislature and the governor are putting an incredible amount of money in our K-12 system, and I think the public, parents in particular, teachers as well want to see better results in the classroom, they want to see kids learning and we’ve had five years of this superintendent,” CCEA executive director John Vellardita said.

Voters also had a 14% favorable, 51% unfavorable view of the superintendent and a 10% favorable, 56% unfavorable view of the CCSD Board of Trustees.

“I think it’s high time after five years of the same administration, failed leadership on so many different fronts, with all this additional money that the legislature and governor is proposing to improve our schools, it is time for better leadership,” he added.

Voters cited the cost of living and public schools as the two most important issues facing Clark County. A majority of voters also said they feel Nevada spends too little on education. 88% supported Governor Joe Lombardo’s proposed budget which includes $2 billion dollars for education., according to CCEA.

CCSD released a statement saying CCEA continues its targeted “research” and “polls” in a bad-faith effort to influence contract negotiations.

“Given the dubious nature of previous survey results promoted by the teachers’ union in southern Nevada, the District questions the validity of any polls not shared publicly. If the survey exists, it must be shared with the public to verify its legitimacy. Despite the best efforts of CCSD to address the critical needs of our students in the lowest performing schools, CCEA continues to obstruct progress in meeting the needs of our students–even as much as filing an EMRB complaint against us–which they lost. The District’s other bargaining units have contracts and compensation in place to serve those students needing the most support in the Transformation Network.”

“CCSD continues to work with other Nevada school districts to fight for additional funding to increase opportunities for school children. As a result of the bipartisan support for a $2 billion increase in K-12 education funding, CCSD continues fighting to update the salary schedule and provide reliable health coverage for all our educators,” the statement read.

CCEA also said the superintendent has demonstrated to the community that he’s not interested in staying in Las Vegas after he was encouraged to apply for a job in Florida.

“Him pursuing other employment opportunities I think is a sign that this guy is not wed to this community and it was time for us to ask the community if they are wed to him,” Vellardita said.

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