Jesus Jara’s more than five years as superintendent of the state’s largest school district came to an end on Friday after the Clark County School Board approved his resignation terms late Thursday along with a $250,000 buyout. 

Jara inherited leadership of the district about six months after it was placed under “fiscal watch” by the state. Less than two years into his tenure, the COVID-19 pandemic would force schools including those in Clark County to shutter temporarily, upending student learning and later resulting in learning loss, jumps in chronic absenteeism and inequities among students. 

In 2021, Jara was fired and later rehired by the school board. Over the past year, calls for Jara to resign grew amid disagreements with the district’s teachers union over how to translate the state’s budget windfall into staff raises.  

Click through the interactive timeline below for highlights from Jara’s tenure.

This story was updated on 2/26/23 at 1:34 p.m. to clarify school district dean positions were later phased out.