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CCSD Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky to retire in June, ending five-year reign atop nation's fifth-largest school district

Riley Snyder
Riley Snyder
Jackie Valley
Jackie Valley
Education
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Clark County School District superintendent Pat Skorkowsky announced Thursday that he plans to retire in June, ending a nearly 30-year career with the district amid a looming $60 million budget deficit and a massive restructuring of the state’s largest school district still on the horizon.

Clark County School District Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky announcing that he is retiring during a news conference at Bracken Elementary School on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017. (Jeff Scheid/The Nevada Independent)

Skorkowsky, who served nearly five years at the top of the state’s largest school district, stressed at the Walter Bracken STEAM Academy Thursday morning that he was not deciding to resign and would continue to advocate for student education.

“I am not resigning,” he said. “Let’s make that clear. I am announcing my retirement and I am leaving on my terms.”

Skorkowsky made his announcement surrounded by Trustees Deanna Wright, Linda Young, Carolyn Edwards, Lola Brooks and Linda Cavazos. Trustees Chris Garvey and Kevin Child, who have been critical of Skorkowsky, were not present.

The superintendent said he made his decision while vacationing in June. He wanted to give the board of trustees sufficient time to search for a replacement.

“Frankly, this community will need to pull together to attract the best candidate for the superintendency,” he said, noting challenges such as chronic underfunding of education, a massive reorganization effort and lower pay for superintendents relative to districts of similar sizes.

His decision, first reported by the Las Vegas Sun, comes as the district tries to solve an estimated $60 million budget shortfall, which Skorkowsky has attributed primarily to lower-than-expected state revenue and rising employee costs.

The School Board of Trustees already approved a roughly $43 million chop to this fiscal year’s budget, but more cuts are looming. District officials said $80 million worth of cuts may be necessary to close the gap and account for money already spent through the first few months of this fiscal year.

“Unfortunately, some of vocal critics of mine have made our current budget situation into a referendum on my leadership,” he said. “That is not the case. They know that. But they are throwing stones and bombs to try to distract from the true issues. This decision today allows me greater freedom to deal with those attacks and address the real issues.”

He followed with a strong vow: “I have nothing to lose. You can be guaranteed that I will speak my mind.”

The finger-pointing over who’s responsible for the budget deficit shifted to Skorkowsky this week, after the administrators’ union accused him of mismanaging the budget.

Stephen Augspurger, the executive director of the Clark County Association of School Administrators and Professional-Technical Employees (CCASAPE), said in a scathing four-page letter on Tuesday that Skorkowsky’s handling of the budget deficit had created a “breach of trust” between administrators and the superintendent and accused him of budgetary “incompetence.”

In an interview after Skorkowsky announced his retirement, Augspurger said he thought the superintendent had done some “very good things” but that he would be remembered by district employees as the superintendent who couldn’t manage the budget.

“While I admire many of the things Pat Skorkowsky has done, I think his mishandling of the budget overshadows all of that other, because it will roll down hill to virtually every employee,” he said. “And for him to say ‘I’m going to give a 10 month notice,’ and ‘I’m going to try and fix this mess’ — I don’t think he gets the right to fix this mess. He alone is responsible for the way this unfolded.”

Augspurger said he thought Skorkowsky should step aside and allow an interim leader take his place before his contract ends in 10 months — a sentiment echoed by Clark County Education Association director John Vellardita, who said the teacher’s union welcomed the news and warned that “lame ducks” weren’t effective  leaders.

“We have a crisis situation here and it requires a special kind of leadership, somebody who has one foot out the door, you know, history shows that just doesn’t work,” he said.

Vellardita said that Skorkowsky had lost the confidence of union members, and urged trustees to put together a “transition plan” in the immediate future.

The Nevada State Education Association — the parent union of the CCEA — sounded much more conciliatory notes toward Skorkowsky, with Executive Director Brian Lee saying in a statement that the union “recognizes the 30 years of service and contributions Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky has given to public education and students in Nevada.”

In a Wednesday letter sent to district trustees, members of the media and state officials including state superintendent Steve Canavero, Skorkowsy said the attacks made by union groups were “duplicitous and downright misleading.”

He said that the district undergoes an annual independent audit, and would be happy to participate in a “forensic audit” — noting that it could cost “millions of dollars and take several months to complete.”

“No matter what the Trustees decide about a forensic audit, I can tell you that we cannot wait several months to address our budget shortfall,” he said in the letter.

Skorkowsky has served as superintendent of the district since June 2013, taking over from former superintendent Dwight Jones. He started his career as a teacher at C. C. Ronnow Elementary School in 1988, moving up the ladder to become a principal at several elementary and middle schools before becoming an associate and then deputy superintendent.

District trustees approved a two-year extension to Skorkowsky’s contract in February 2016, expressing at the time hope that he would continue to lead the district down the path of a substantial reorganization ordered by the 2015 state Legislature. He’s paid an annual salary of slightly more than $260,000, with allowances for a car, community events and professional development.

The district’s board of trustees expects to discuss the superintendent search at an upcoming meeting. Next steps could include issuing a request for proposals to hire a national search firm, said board President Deanna Wright, who didn’t rule out the possibility of hiring an external candidate.

Past superintendent searches have involved public meetings to solicit feedback about what characteristics the district should look for in its next leader.

“We need to look at the possibilities,” Wright said. “This is the fifth-largest district in the nation. We have a significant set of challenges.”

Reaction to Skorkowsky’s announcement came swiftly on social media — Democratic Senate Majority Leader Aaron Ford tweeted a public thank-you message to the superintendent just minutes after the announcement was made.

Republican Assembly Leader Paul Anderson said that the superintendent had a difficult task, and wished him luck in the months ahead.

“Has to be one of the toughest jobs in the state,” he said in a text message. “Balancing a lot of separate interest while trying to stay focused on student achievement. Wish him the best and a strong finish to the end.”

Trustee Kevin Child, a frequent Skorkowsky critic, didn’t directly address the superintendent’s resignation during a Thursday morning appearance with conservative talk show host Kevin Wall, but did echo calls for a review and upgrade of how the state funds public education.

“We need to start simplifying it,” he said. “It’s not rocket science.”

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