Garcia gets hike in pay

By Emily Richmond

Thursday, Jan. 6, 2005 | 10:59 a.m.

The Clark County School Board gave Superintendent Carlos Garcia a vote of confidence at the completion of his annual evaluation Wednesday, determining he had met or exceeded nearly all of the measures used to gauge his performance.

"His enthusiasm and leadership for this district have surpassed my expectations," said Clark County School Board Vice President Larry Mason. "We have consistency, we have stability and together we will accomplish many things."

On a 6-1 vote, with Shirley Barber dissenting, the School Board said Garcia should receive the same pay increase negotiated by the district's administrators' union, expected to be 2 percent this year. Garcia earns $212,242 annually.

Garcia, hired in April 2000, will also be allowed to convert up to 60 unused sick days to either retirement credits or cash at the completion of his contract, which runs through 2008.

In the open meeting that followed the closed-door evaluation, Barber told Garcia that her vote was "nothing personal" and that she could not support a pay hike until there was marked improvement in student test scores.

The School Board determined Garcia had met 15 of 19 academic achievement objectives but had not managed to reduce the percentage of district students scoring in the lowest bracket on a national test of basic skills in mathematics.

While noting that the district "has a long way to go," School Board President Susan Brager-Wellman said she believed Garcia was "on the right track."

Garcia, who was given a two-year extension on his contract at last year's evaluation, said while he did not seek another extension this time he hopes to complete his professional career with Clark County and retire in 2010.

"I'm very proud to be this district's superintendent," Garcia said. "I consider this job the challenge and opportunity of a lifetime. Nothing could top this."

A three-year-old initiative to increase the percentage of students who complete algebra by eighth grade is beginning to bear fruit, as more students are passing the state's math proficiency test on the first try, Garcia said. And initiatives launched this school year, including an intensive college preparatory program and a new computerized system for testing and tracking student performance, will also yield benefits down the road, Garcia said.

"They say good things come to those who wait and I believe that," Garcia said. "All these things don't happen by themselves; it takes teamwork. We have a first-rate team of teaches and administrators and staff, and I'm honored to work with them."

The School Board will meet in February to discuss whether the accountability measures used should be prioritized for future evaluations. Barber said compliance with the School Board's instructions to increase student participation in non-academic activities, such as physical education programs, should carry less weight than academic indicators, such as student performance on the statewide proficiency tests.