CCSD superintendent demotes high-level administrator

Clark County School District Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky has demoted a Cabinet member promoted eight months ago, acting under pressure from a School Board member calling to limit the superintendent’s authority in the wake of controversial promotions, according to school sources.

The issue: One of Skorkowsky’s high-ranking officials may have inappropriately influenced a hire, contended Stephen Augspurger, executive director of the administrators union, at a Feb. 13 School Board meeting. For 13 years, the superintendent has had absolute power to promote and transfer administrators.

“Promotions, dismissals, anything dealing with employment should all come to the School Board for approval,” insisted Clark County School Board Vice President Linda Young after Augspurger spoke.

Young and Augspurger wouldn’t disclose details about the high-ranking official, job or job recipient but demanded the official in question be disciplined and the position reopened.

District sources have confirmed that the high-ranking official is Chief Educational Opportunity Officer Andre Denson. Christina Brooks is the employee that Denson is accused of putting in a position by tampering with the hiring process.

This week, Skorkowsky demoted Denson to a salary of $127,000, a 15 percent pay cut from his $150,000 salary as chief in charge of ensuring that low-performing Clark County student groups improve their academic performance, district officials confirmed Tuesday.

Denson doesn’t consider this a demotion, “Not at all,” he told the Review-Journal on Tuesday, acknowledging his salary had been lowered. “Titles, positions, pay, pshh,” he said. “As long as we’re taking care of kids.”

Denson said he’s unsure of his new title. District spokeswoman and Chief of Staff Kirsten Searer said Denson will be an associate superintendent who will “focus all of his efforts” on the implementation of 10 changes recommended by the Superintendent’s Educational Opportunities Advisory Council to reduce the number of minority student who are suspended or expelled.

“I’ve been afforded a great opportunity,” said Denson, who previously did much more, overseeing several departments. Those divisions will become the responsibility of Mike Barton, one of three remaining Cabinet-level chiefs named eight months ago.

While not calling it a demotion, Denson acknowledged that he lost “a lot of job duties and responsibilities” but said it has nothing to do with Brooks and the accusations he swayed the hiring process in her favor.

“Nothing was done wrong,” he said. “I encouraged Pat (Skorkowsky) to look into it because none of it was true.”

Brooks was a Level 3 coordinator promoted to a Level 1 director under Denson. District officials wouldn’t confirm Tuesday whether Brooks had been demoted this week. School sources said Brooks has been notified that she’s under investigation.

District officials are not painting the week’s changes as Denson being relieved of his Cabinet position.

Members of Denson’s department will have no chief “any time soon.” Instead, several department heads will report directly to the superintendent in cabinet meetings, she said.

Contact Trevon Milliard at tmilliard@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279. Find him on Twitter @TrevonMilliard.