The superintendent candidates had their second — and last — round of interviews in front of the Clark County School Board on Tuesday. It was the final meeting before the board selects the next superintendent of the nation’s fifth-largest school district on Thursday.
The three candidates — state Superintendent Jhone Ebert, charter school CEO Jesse Welsh and Ben Shuldiner, a superintendent in Lansing, Michigan — answered the same pre-written questions from each of the 11 trustees, ranging from topics around diversity, equity and inclusion to innovative solutions for improvement.
The interviews followed Monday night’s community forum. In late February, the candidates gave 20-minute presentations to the School Board, and then answered questions based on those presentations. The School Board is set to debrief the candidates and make its selection at Thursday’s meeting.
The Clark County School District has been without a permanent leader since former Superintendent Jesus Jara resigned in February 2024. Brenda Larsen-Mitchell, the district’s interim superintendent, announced in December that she would not put her name forward for the permanent position.
Ebert, who serves as Nevada’s superintendent of public instruction, has decades of experience in the school district, in roles ranging from substitute teacher to chief innovation and productivity officer. She was then the senior deputy commissioner for education policy in New York state.
Welsh also has decades of experience in the district, with his roles having ranged from teacher to assistant superintendent. He served as superintendent of Arizona’s Paradise Valley School District before becoming CEO of Nevada State High School.
Shuldiner was a teacher, principal and school board member in New York. He now serves as superintendent of the Lansing School District in Michigan.
Tuesday’s meeting began with a discussion regarding whether the School Board would have a closed session to discuss the candidates’ confidential background information, which it voted against in the name of transparency.
“With the information that we have in the background checks, we continue to bring forward these candidates as viable to the trustees,” Nanci Perez, a representative from the firm hired to conduct the superintendent search, told the board.
Teacher retention
In response to a question about special education issues in the school district, all the candidates emphasized the teacher shortage that particularly affected special education. They pointed to the success of the stipend for teachers in special education and Title I schools, and the potential to ask for the continuation of such funds in the current legislative session.
Welsh also pointed to the increase in the number of students identifying as special education, and the need to address increasing demand.
When it came to the increasing number of lawsuits on the issue, he and Ebert emphasized the need to get to the root cause of the issues.
Candidates answered similarly when it came to recruiting and retaining teachers in high-need schools.
Ebert emphasized her commitment to compensation and making sure that teachers feel valued in their roles.
“We need to make space for autonomy with accountability,” Ebert said.
Shuldiner highlighted his success in the Lansing school district, where he took down teacher vacancies from 100 to 15.
Welsh repeated a commitment he has made to “let teachers teach” and remove unnecessary burdens.
Student achievement
Candidates answered questions about ideas for improving student achievement as well as whether they would endorse mandatory summer school and tutoring.
Ebert expressed a goal to switch to a more competency-based approach for learning.
Shuldiner also discussed changing guidelines for moving from middle to high school and summer programming.
In response to a question about the school district’s message to the Legislature, Welsh highlighted the strength of targeted funds that go toward specific goals for students.
Diversity, equity and inclusion
In response to a question from Trustee Lorena Biassotti that referenced President Donald Trump’s executive order on “illegal indoctrination based on gender and equity ideologies,” both Ebert and Shuldiner started out by repeatedly emphasizing that they would follow the law and uphold the school district’s policy, whatever that may be.
Shuldiner also pointed to focusing on the goals that the board set, such as student achievement.
“My job is to treat every single child with respect, to get every child across that finish line,” Shuldiner said.
Welsh began his answer by emphasizing his commitment to students.
“No. 1, we have to make sure that all students feel safe and welcome at school,” Welsh said.
He acknowledged the back-and-forth on the executive orders, and the need to keep the disruption away from students. In response to a question about potential federal funding cuts, Welsh said the school district needed to have backup plans to be ready.
Crisis management
In response to a question on crisis management, candidates highlighted the fact that they were no stranger to crises.
“Which crisis do I choose?” Ebert joked.
She highlighted her experience being proactive during cybersecurity issues in New York, and identifying issues before they happened in CCSD.
“Managing a significant crisis as an urban superintendent, we call that Tuesday,” Shuldiner said.
He highlighted his commitment to community engagement and problem solving when it came to difficult decisions such as shutting down schools.
Welsh spoke about being superintendent in Arizona during the COVID-19 pandemic. When asked by Trustee Ramona Esparza-Stoffregan about whether he would do anything differently, he said absolutely.
Welsh left his post in Arizona in December 2020 amid reports of increasing hostility and harassment over school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to several local reports.
Communication and transparency
Candidates also responded to questions about managing public scrutiny.
Ebert has spoken the most about a positive relationship with the media thus far, and reiterated that at Tuesday’s meeting.
“As long as they are fair and accurate, bring it on every single day of the week,” she said.
Welsh said that the school district has had a history of hiding and dodging requests. He said the school district should focus on over-communicating instead.
Shuldiner said that as a public servant, he would take public scrutiny and listen to everyone.
Contact Katie Futterman at kfutterman@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ktfutts on X and @katiefutterman.bsky.social.
