CLARK COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT: CCSD Superintendent Rulffes plans to leave at end of contract

[tonysam]

"Uncle Walt" Rulffes isn't that well loved by teachers in CCSD, but ten cents he is replaced by an Eli Broad "academy" flak who will ruin the district with privatization schemes.

As an aside, Nevada law prohibits school districts from converting public schools into charters, but I can expect such a law will be changed in the future unless or until people speak up.

Anyway, back to Uncle Walt. I wonder if he really needed to "retire" or whether something else was up:

Clark County School District Superintendent Walt Rulffes has decided not to renew his contract with the nation's fifth-largest school system, which now faces a budget shortfall of $123 million that's demoralized both employees and School Board members.

"I know how rumors often take hold in organizations, so I'll tell you that the only reason I am moving on is that life is short and it's getting late," Rulffes said in an e-mail sent out Thursday night. "I've spent my last 12 years in the service of CCSD and I will be forever grateful for that opportunity."

Rulffes did not cite the district's financial hard times as a factor in his decision to move on when his contract expires at the end of August. Instead, he said he made the decision because of a "long bucket list" of things he wants to do in retirement.

Rulffes is paid $276,932 a year, which reflects a 10 percent pay cut he volunteered to take because of the district's budget crisis. He joined the district in 1997 as the chief financial officer and was named superintendent in 2006.

Before Rulffes announced his intent to leave, School Board members voted Thursday to seek help from the Clark County district attorney's office in future contract negotiations with the five senior employees who report to the superintendent.

Las Vegas Review-Journal