Skorkowsky is free to do as he pleases

SPat Skorkowsky has been unleashed. The leader of the Clark County School District is on his way out. And he may do some house cleaning as he goes.

Skorkowsky announced Thursday that he will retire at the end of June 2018, when his current contract expires. That will be an opportune time — just as he hits 30 years of service in the district for a maximum pension payout that he can draw on immediately. Critics will be quick to point that out.

But financial considerations aside, a quiet fury was evident in Skorkowsky’s decision to announce his impending departure as the district grapples with a massive budget deficit. It seemed clear that he intends to take some of those he considers troublemakers with him.

“I will not be on the sidelines,

I will be dealing directly with the internal and the external barriers that prevent even greater success,” he said. “I will be dealing with these people who are in it for personal gain, and not for our students.”

The district, mainly those in the central administration, seems to have been divided into two camps — pro-skorkowsky and anti-skorkowsky — for some time.

Some of that could date to the start of the district’s reorganization, which strained Skorkowsky’s relationship with certain board members. In any case, it’s certainly been exacerbated by the deficit.

The divide on the School Board was obvious at Thursday’s announcement. Skorkowsky was flanked by the five trustees who have generally supported him, while his two most critical bosses, Chris Garvey and Kevin Child, say they were not invited or even aware of his decision.

PAK-HARVEY

District Attorney Steve Wolfson said in a statement. “This very sad event is a reminder to us all to never take for granted the importance of properly securing guns and ensuring that children are unable to get a hold of one.”

Bradley Whitis’ official cause and manner of death was still pending with the county coroner’s office as of Friday morning.

Child gun safety activist Darchel Mohler said she had mixed feelings learning the parents had been charged.

She was glad to see the district attorney’s office press charges against the parents. Mohler said she hopes it sets a precedent in which parents and adults are held accountable for leaving guns within a child’s reach. But the accidental shooting hits home.

“I know what they’re going through,” Mohler said. “I live that every day.”

Mohler’s daughter, 13-year-old Brooklynn Mae Mohler, was shot and killed by her best friend on the

second-to-last day of school in 2013. She and her husband, Jacob, have since advocated for keeping guns out of children’s hands.

She preaches securing firearms in safes. If people can afford a gun and ammunition, she said, they can afford a safe. Mohler said she encourages parents to ask the parents of their children’s friends whether they have unsecured guns at home.

Mohler didn’t ask before Brooklynn went to her friend’s house across the street from school. The Mohlers waited for five months before the Clark County district attorney’s office told them there would be no charges.

She said she was upset for the family and their loss while maintaining the charges were an appropriate consequence for the boy’s death.

“Never underestimate a children’s ability to find a firearm,” she said.

Ronald and Kimberly Whitis’ arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 5.

Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter. Review-journal staff writer Mike Shoro contributed to this story.