By Bill Zeeble, KERA News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-926897.mp3
Dallas, TX – Once people found out Dallas superintendent Michael Hinojosa was up for the same job in Las Vegas, many here figured he was leaving.
But last night, trustees with the Clark County, Nevada schools instead chose Colorado Education Commissioner Dwight Jones, by a 6 to 1 vote.
Ian Mylchreest, with public station KNPR in Las Vegas, says Jones came off as the stronger and more aggressive candidate who would shake things up in a hurry.
Mylchreest: They're looking for dramatic change, because the school district here has a very low graduation rate and, on pretty much every level, it's fallen behind in No Child Left Behind and the kind of test scores that are going to be necessary to get any kind of federal funding.
Mylchreest says some trustees also wanted a leader who would stand up to unions. In a citizen survey distributed by the search firm, Jones scored higher than Hinojosa in that category.