UPDATE MAY 2: The Clark County School District Board of Trustees is expected to name the top candidate in just a few minutes.
UPDATE APRIL 27 11:30 P.M.: Trustees finished interviewing all six finalists for the CCSD superintendent position on Friday. Among the 6, there are 3 internal candidates from CCSD and 3 candidates from other parts of the country:
- Mike Barton, CCSD Chief Academic Officer: Barton says his knowledge of students and the district means he knows where we can improve. "I think the future of CCSD is bright and there are many improvement opportunities that can occur."
- Jesse Welsh, CCSD Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Development: Welsh says he's also ready to hit the ground running, especially tackling budget issues. "You know we're literally one car repair away from being in crisis, so those are some of the things we've got to solve."
- Eva White, former CCSD Interim Chief Financial Officer: White is currently retired in Minnesota but is hungry to return to CCSD to combine her knowledge of budget and operations. "I'm probably the person who can bring I know to show that we can work together."
- Doug Haddad, Superintendent of St. Vrain Valley School District in Longmont, Colorado: Haddad's district is smaller CCSD, but he says after managing his own district, he's ready for the challenge of a larger market. "You have to ask yourself do you have the energy, the enthusiasm, the compassion to do it, and I absolutely do."
- Jesus Jara, Deputy Superintendent, Orange County (Florida) Public Schools: Jara says his Orlando-based district is similar to Las Vegas in that both are tourism-focused and have similar populations and challenges, and says that's why he's the best fit. "When you serve 322,000 thousand students with 40,000 employees, you really the community to buy into what we're doing as an organization."
- Shonda Hardman, Consultant/Urban Specialist, Franklin Covey: Hardman is currently in the private sector, but says she works on leadership skills and has experience working in urban school districts around the country. "It's about our little people, it's about our big people, and so we have to make sure we keep this job focused on people."
The public will get a chance to meet and give their feedback on the candidates Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Greer Education Center. A final decision will be made May 2.
UPDATE APRIL 27: Superintendent candidates are being interviewed today at CCSD headquarters.
13 Action News and reporter Lesley Marin is at the meeting. Follow her on Twitter for updates throughout the interview process. Watch tonight on Channel 13 for a full report on today's meeting.
SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH: @ClarkCountySch board interviewing the 6 finalist. 3 local/ 3 out of district. Who is the most qualified? pic.twitter.com/RjuulTP3Ve
— Lesley Marin (@lesleymarin) April 27, 2018
RELATED: Here's what you need to know about the CCSD superintendent candidates
ORIGINAL STORY: A radical change is coming to the search to find a new superintendent for Clark County Schools. Contact 13 learned the Board of Trustees isn't happy with the process.
On the heels of our report about possible flaws with the search firm the district hired, trustees expressed frustration that all the finalists are out-of-state candidates with little or no connection to Nevada.
Originally the board was only going to interview those four candidates. But Wednesday night, they had a change of heart.
"I think it's insulting and I say this respectfully," said Trustee Linda Young. "We have some of the best people with some of the best minds here in the Clark County School District."
Just last Friday, the board was standing by the final four external candidates and the process that left local applicants out. But now there are questions.
"I was surprised at some of the names put forward," said Trustee Chris Garvey. "And even more surprised after many of my constituents sent me very easy Google searches on items."
On Thursday at a meeting with media, Trustee Carolyn Edwards said it was disrespectful for the board to not consider internal candidates.
"I think the board had a change of heart about what they wanted to see and so we took charge of that, And that's our job," said Carolyn.
Critics of the search process have been advocating to see locals in the mix. They want to make the Board aware that your child's education is the priority.
"Hiring someone from the outside, they always want to make their mark," explains retired CCSD coordinator and teacher Bill Hanlon. "Well, it's not about them. It's about students in the classroom."
Just this morning, the board confirmed former Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy withdrew his name from consideration, but they were not able to provide any details.
And we have confirmed that CCSD Chief Academic Officer Mike Barton will be throwing his hat in the ring.
As a result of all this, there will be no interviews Friday April 13th as originally planned. The following is a new timeline released by the District Thursday afternoon:
LAS VEGAS - The Clark County School District (CCSD) Board of School Trustees decided at their April 11 public board meeting to update the superintendent search schedule to allow for the review of additional candidates for the superintendent position.
The trustees will direct Ray and Associates, the search firm hired by the Board of School Trustees, to forward the names of current and former CCSD employees who have applied for the superintendent position.
The following public meetings have been scheduled:
Special Meeting - Discussion and selection of internal and candidates with former CCSD ties:
· Thursday,
April 19, at 5:30 p.m. in the Board Room of the Greer Education Center, 2832 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas
o Trustees are scheduled to review current and former CCSD employees who applied to determine the number of candidates to become finalists in a public meeting.
Special Meeting - All finalists’ interviews:
· Friday,
April 27, at 9 a.m. in the Board Room of the Greer Education Center, 2832 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas
o Trustees are scheduled to interview all finalists in a special meeting.
o All finalists’ interviews are open to the public.
Community Meetings to meet finalists:
· Saturday,
April 28, at 10 a.m. in the Board Room of the Greer Education Center, 2832 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas
o Scheduled public meeting where the community will have the opportunity to learn more about the finalists.
o Members of the public who have questions for the candidates can email them to superintendentsearch@nv.ccsd.net. These questions may be posed to the candidates during the community meetings.
Selection of Superintendent:
· Wednesday, May 2, at 8 a.m. in the Board Room of the Greer Education Center, 2832 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas
o The public is invited to the CCSD Board of School Trustees Board Meeting at the above time and date where the trustees are scheduled to vote on the selection of the superintendent.
For those who are unable to attend any of the public meetings listed above, Vegas PBS will stream them live via the district’s website at ccsd.net and on the district’s Facebook live feed.
The public and CCSD employees can receive updated information on the progress of the search by visiting superintendentsearch.ccsd.net.
