The Clark County School Board plans to select its next superintendent tonight.
The three final candidates — state Superintendent Jhone Ebert, charter school CEO Jesse Welsh and Ben Shuldiner, a superintendent in Lansing, Michigan — had their final interviews on Tuesday night.
At Thursday’s School Board meeting, the seven voting members will vote on who to select. Contract negotiations, including the exact start date, will be finalized later.
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.
More than 40 candidates applied for the role, and four were selected to interview in late February. Welsh, Ebert and Shuldiner emerged, and went on to a community forum and final round of interviews earlier this week. They also met with legislators, business groups, union heads and administrators.
Ebert and Welsh both have decades of experience in CCSD.
Ebert has served as Nevada’s superintendent of public instruction since 2019, under both Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak and Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo. Her experience in CCSD dates back to 1990, beginning as a substitute and then a classroom teacher. She then served several administrative roles, including assistant superintendent for curriculum and professional development from 2007 to 2009 and chief innovation and productivity officer from 2013 to 2015.
She also served as the senior deputy commissioner for education policy in New York state from 2015 to 2019.
Welsh’s first job in CCSD was as a math instructor in 1999, according to his website. He went on to hold several roles within the school district. He was principal of Thurman White Empowerment Middle School from 2010 to 2013. He later served as an assistant superintendent, first for curriculum and professional development from 2016 to 2018 and then for assessment, accountability, research and school improvement from 2018 to 2019.
Welsh briefly left Nevada to serve as superintendent for the Paradise Valley Unified School District in Phoenix, Arizona, from July 2019 to December 2020, before returning to serve as the CEO of Nevada State High School charter school.
Shuldiner, the only outsider, has sold himself as a “fresh start” for the school district. He was a teacher, principal and school board member in New York. He now serves as superintendent of the Lansing School District in Michigan.
Contact Katie Futterman at kfutterman@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ktfutts on X and @katiefutterman.bsky.social.
