The Las Vegas school district, where a mob of brutes fatally beat a 17-year-old classmate, rehired its former principal to a higher administrative position after her abrupt retirement stemming from backlash over the deadly attack.
The Clark County School District tapped Darlin Delgado to serve as a school associate superintendent in July, according to KTNV, less than two years after special needs student Jonathan Lewis Jr. was beaten and killed.
Delgado served as the Rancho High School principal when the group of teens attacked Lewis Jr. in a back alley near the school in November 2023.
Lewis had gotten into an altercation with one of the teens over a pair of stolen headphones before it escalated.
The deadly brawl was witnessed by roughly 20 people, most of whom recorded the attack and posted it online. Lewis sustained blunt force trauma and succumbed to his injuries days later.
Delgado faced scrutiny during a police investigation into the staff’s response to allegations made by Lewis about his future killers before his death.
She retired from her post in January 2024, only two months after Lewis’ death, claiming she wanted to spend more time with her family.
However, her retirement didn’t last long as she was hired as a director at the Young Women’s Leadership Academy of Las Vegas six months later, according to KTNV.
Nine teens were arrested and several faced murder charges in Lewis Jr.’s death, but were tried in juvenile court because they were between the ages of 13 and 17 at the time of the fatal beating.
The court found the charges were substantiated, but the cases were sealed.
On Aug. 7, Lewis’ father sued the school district, formally arguing that education officials ignored warning signs leading up to his son’s death and failed to act to protect their student.
“Jonathan even reported having issues with his assailants to CCSD prior to the incident,” but “CCSD failed to investigate or act on his complaints, which would have prevented his assault and death,” Jonathan Lewis Sr. said in the suit, the outlet reported.
The heartbroken father alleges that school staff knew Lewis Jr. faced a pattern of aggressive behavior from the teen killers.
CCSD Superintendent Jhone Ebert nominated Delgado as a candidate for the open associate superintendent position during a board of education meeting in July.
Several board members questioned Delgado’s decision to retire abruptly, but the debates were shot down by Ebert.
“It’s none of our roles to do the interviews. It’s not our role to determine the questions. It’s our role to determine whether or not this resume and this contract that is before us is approvable or not,” board attorney Teddy Parker said during the meeting. “Everything else, you’re second-guessing your superintendent.”
Delgado was eventually approved by the board to return to the school district and take over the new role.
District officials have not allowed Ebert, Delgado or Delgado’s new boss, Deputy Superintendent Jesse Welch, to be interviewed.
Delgado was touted as a “visionary, bilingual instructional leader” who “helped shepherd the Rancho High School community through the tremendously difficult and tragic loss of a student,” according to a release by CCSD obtained by KTNV.
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