Schools superintendent resigns

Friday, April 15, 2005 | 11:01 a.m.

Clark County Schools Superintendent Carlos Garcia announced his resignation Thursday, surprising members of the School Board and others in the education community.

Garcia's resignation is effective July 13. He is to become vice president of urban markets of the educational services company McGraw-Hill and said he will be primarily responsible for coordinating strategies for the Western states.

Clark County, like the rest of the state's school districts, uses a variety of McGraw-Hill textbooks throughout its schools and has also hired the company to provide a variety of educational services.

The School Board in January approved hiring a McGraw-Hill consultant to score tests for the district's English Language Learner program. The $447,300 fee will be paid using federal grants and will not come from the district's general fund.

Garcia said there is no conflict of interest in his switching to the private company.

"This was not an easy decision to make but it was the right one for me and for my family," Garcia told the Sun. "It's an opportunity to try something completely different after three decades in education."

As recently as January Garcia said he planned to make Clark County his final career stop and wanted to keep the job until he retired in 2010.

He spent nearly five years as superintendent of the district, the nation's fifth largest. School Board members will meet Thursday to appoint an interim superintendent and to begin discussing the search process for a permanent replacement.

Following Garcia's announcement, School Board members took turns lauding the superintendent, their remarks punctuated by applause from the audience.

"He has served with integrity," School Board Vice President Ruth Johnson said. "He has built the momentum that this district needs to move forward. One legacy he leaves is setting the standard of what a school superintendent should be."

Garcia has been an "enthusiastic leader" who lived up to his reputation as a man of his word, Clark County School Board President Larry Mason said.

Member Shirley Barber, perhaps Garcia's sharpest critic on the School Board, also wished him well in his new endeavor but refrained from publicly praising his performance.

"I'll say good luck to him and I mean it, but I'm not going to talk about the job that he's done," Barber told the Sun following Garcia's announcement.

Garcia, who earns $212,242 annually as superintendent, declined to disclose what his new salary will be with McGraw-Hill.

"That's the neat thing about a private-sector job," Garcia said with laugh. "It's nobody's business what I earn and I get to say 'No comment.' "

But, Garcia added, it wasn't public scrutiny or pressure from his critics that spurred his decision to resign.

"I've loved every minute of this job, I have the greatest staff, teachers and the best school board in the country," Garcia, 53, said. "I don't have a single complaint."

That doesn't mean he isn't looking forward to returning to "private citizen" status.

"I admit it will be nice to be out of the spotlight for a change and nobody can give me grief over the kind of car I drive," Garcia said, referring to a public dustup last year over the district's purchase of an upgraded sport utility vehicle for his use.

Keith Rheault, Nevada's superintendent of public instruction, said Garcia's absence will be felt throughout the state.

"When you're the superintendent of a district as big as Clark County you can pretty much do what you want but Mr. Garcia always treated the other 16 districts as equals in any discussion," Rheault said. "That kind of attitude was greatly appreciated. It set the tone for people to work together for the betterment of the state and not just their individual schools."

John Jasonek, director of the Clark County Education Association, said he was disappointed to learn of Garcia's impending departure.

"That's why urban school districts are in so much trouble," Jasonek said. "These guys never make the commitment to stick around long enough."

Garcia played a role in the district's current labor stability, Jasonek said. All of the district's employee bargaining groups have agreed to multi-year contracts and the contentious arbitration sessions of the past have given way to mediated discussions, Jasonek said.

Carolyn Edwards, chairwoman of the School Board-appointed Attendance Zone Advisory Commission, said Garcia's departure will be a particular loss at future legislative sessions.

"He is forceful and convincing in his presentations and has been extremely effective at working with the Legislature," said Edwards, who is also a member of the board of the parent action group Nevadans for Quality Education. "This is a real loss for this community."

Garcia, as the leader of the largest district in the state, had been a driving force behind a push for more money for public schools in the state.

Garcia called a special cabinet meeting at 5:15 p.m., just prior to the start of the School Board meeting to inform his staff. An hour later he went into a closed session with the School Board before returning to publicly announce his plans.

As one of the nation's largest and fastest-growing districts, Clark County has a high profile among the country's educators, Garcia said. But there are also 14 current openings for superintendents in large urban districts in other regions, Garcia said.

"There aren't a lot of people out there right now to fill these jobs," said Garcia, whose contract runs through 2008.

The School Board, responsible for hiring and firing the superintendent, should also be prepared to offer a significant rise in salary to his successor, Garcia said. Large school districts in other states, including Dallas-Fort Worth, pay superintendents more than $300,000, he said.

"Looking back, I was a bargain," said Garcia, who moved to Las Vegas after running the Fresno, Calif., district for three years.

Two potential in-house candidates in Clark County are Agustin Orci, deputy superintendent of curriculum, and Walt Rulffes, deputy superintendent of operations.

During his evaluation in January, Garcia received a vote of confidence from the School Board with Barber the sole dissenting vote. At the time School Board members praised his development of an emergency succession plan, which called for his two chief deputies to be prepared to step into his shoes, if necessary.

Now, just three months later, that plan may be put into effect, noted School Board member Susan Brager-Wellman.

"We're very fortunate to have two talented, capable people available to us," Brager-Wellman said.

When questioned by the Sun, neither Orci nor Rulffes would discuss whether they were interested in the full-time position of superintendent.

"That's a question for the board to decide," Orci said.

Since beginning as superintendent in July 2000, Garcia's initiatives have included re-organizing the district into five geographical regions in an effort to improve efficiency, student achievement and responsiveness. He has also sought to boost literacy through intensive reading programs at both the elementary and secondary school levels.

He also pushed successfully for the district to create a computerized database that will track individual student performance as well as scores on standardized tests by a host of sub-groups, including gender, ethnicity, special education status and socio-economics. Quarterly benchmark testing began this fall and will be critical in helping the district meet the demands of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, he said.

Garcia's initial arrival was marred by controversy when some black community leaders objected to his use of a racial epithet in a televised discussion with high schoolers about the roots of racism. It was a misstep that earned him a reprisal from the School Board just five weeks into his tenure. And it was something some of his most visible critics neither forgave nor forgot.

"I've been waiting for this day," said Marzette Lewis, leader of a west Las Vegas community group that has called regularly for Garcia's ouster. "I've tried to overlook some of the things that he's done but he's been a big mistake from the beginning."

Lewis said she hoped the search for a new superintendent will be nationwide and include "background checks of their racial attitudes."

Louis Overstreet, executive director of the Urban Chamber of Commerce, said Garcia "was in way over his head" from the beginning.

"I hope the trustees, who have been in office forever, will get it right this time in their search for a new superintendent, thus reversing the downward spiral the district has been on for a number of years," Overstreet said.

During the past four academic years, the district's student performance overall on national standardized tests has remained relatively level, with small gains and losses along the way. The district's graduation rate has improved there has been a sharp increase in students taking Advanced Placement classes and college entrance exams.

Student test scores on state exams showed gains last spring, particularly for minority and special education students. Garcia said he expects those trends to continue after his departure.

When asked what he was most proud of, Garcia noted the success of a districtwide initiative to increase the percentage of students who enroll in algebra by eighth grade. As of this year 70 percent of the district's eighth graders were enrolled, compared with less than 20 percent four years ago. The district has also made algebra a requirement for graduation.

Garcia said he hopes persuading the Legislature to fund full-day kindergarten programs will be one of his last successful tasks as superintendent. The full-day kindergarten proposal is part of the iNVest '05 plan proposed by the state's 17 school superintendents, a $646 million package of education initiatives.

"If I could leave the job knowing every child in the state had the same access to such an important educational experience, then I'd feel really good," Garcia said.

While it was known that Garcia had been courted in the past with job offers from both private companies and other school districts, his resignation came as a surprise, said School Board member Johnson.

"We've been quite fortunate he's been able to turn down those other offers, up to now," Johnson said.

Garcia said McGraw-Hill first approached him several months ago and he made his final decision to accept the offer late yesterday afternoon. The company will let him split his time between Las Vegas and a West Coast office in California, Garcia said.

"I'm planning to continue living in Las Vegas and being an active member of this community," said Garcia, who has two grown children with his wife, Gail.

Prior to his hiring in Clark County, Garcia was superintendent of schools in Fresno, Calif. He spent the bulk of his 30-year career in public education in California, working as a teacher, principal and upper-level administrator.