LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Yet another chapter is unfolding in the drama involving Clark County School District trustees and Superintendent Jesus Jara. Trustee Danielle Ford now claims she’s being excluded from some meetings as a CCSD trustee.
Ford says she is banned from some meetings after an agreement was made between the board of trustees and Jara for him to remain on the job. Ford had voted to fire Jara.
"There are current issues related to me, an elected official, being excluded from Board/attorney meetings, purportedly for violating confidentiality," Ford wrote in a statement on Twitter. "There is no established precedent for this action, and there is no definitive proof that any breach of confidentiality occurred within the parameters set previously."
In a phone conversation, she confirmed what she posted on Twitter but couldn’t speak on it more due to confidentiality and closed-door meeting laws.
…There is no established precedent for this action, and there is no definitive proof that any breach of confidentiality occurred within the parameters set previously.” 2/2
— Danielle Ford | Clark County School Board (@TrusteeFord) December 5, 2021
Former CCSD trustee Jose Solorio says if it’s true she’s leaking information, she can be sidelined.
“If she’s violating that, then they have every right, if she’s shown that she can’t keep something confidential,” Solorio said.
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Another former trustee and county commissioner, Susan Brager, says if Trustee Ford is banned from meetings, she could still do her job.
“She’ll eventually hear what’s happening and be able to make a decision, because I think that’s possible, but it’s best to hear everything, not just bits and pieces,” she said.
She says this latest development shows the need for trustees and the superintendent to get along.
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“Use your decorum — I can’t say that enough — and let’s get on with the business, and the business is educating our children,” Brager said.
Anna Binder, a parent who’s heavily involved with CCSD, says hearing about any elected trustee being shut out of meetings is unsettling.
“It’s especially concerning when the governing policy doesn’t really have any rules for that,” she said.
Binder feels this is just another extension of trustee and superintendent drama and said it distracts from other issues affecting students directly. She would like to see a New Year’s resolution for the board and Superintendent Jara.
“Let’s make it a new year and let’s move forward and let’s work together and let’s do this. We can do it. We need to do it,” she said.
Board president Linda Cavazos says she’s unable to speak more on Jara’s agreement or Ford’s assertions. 13 Action News also reached out to CCSD for comment but did not hear back. The next board meeting will happen Thursday night.
