Who will be CCSD’s next superintendent? 6 candidates are up for the job

A shortlist of candidates has been put forward for the Clark County School Board to consider as it looks for the next boss of the nation’s fifth-largest school district.

After 46 candidates submitted applications to become the next permanent superintendent of the Clark County School District, the consulting firm hired to help with the search recommended six for the School Board to choose from. The board, which can also add or remove any candidates, will vote Tuesday on whom to interview in the first round.

The board 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 2024 that she would not put her name forward for the permanent position.

Stakeholders and observers have emphasized the importance of making the right pick.

“The consequences of selecting an unqualified candidate or the inability to select a candidate are too high and too much is at stake,” Marie Neisess, the president of the Clark County Education Association teachers union, said in a statement.

The union’s executive director, John Vellardita, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the union will wait to watch the interview process play out before weighing in on the candidates.

The board will interview the first round of candidates starting at 3 p.m. on Feb. 24 and Feb. 25. The second round of interviews on March 10 and 11 will include community forums. According to the current timeline, the board will debrief and make its selection on March 13.

The six candidates are:

1. Jhone Ebert, Nevada superintendent of public instruction

“The challenge CCSD faces is daunting but solvable,” Ebert wrote in her application letter to the School Board. She added that she was optimistic about CCSD’s future.

Ebert also applied for the role in 2018 and is no stranger to the Clark County School District. Most recently, she worked with Gov. Joe Lombardo to assign a compliance monitor to the school district after it struggled with a potential budget deficit this fall. Prior to that, she sent a long list of questions demanding answers from Interim Superintendent Brenda Larsen-Mitchell about the budget errors.

Before her current role, Ebert was the senior deputy commissioner for education policy in New York state, where she said the graduate rate increased by more than 2 percent. She also established career and technical education as a pathway to high school graduation in New York.

Ebert also served as the chief innovation and productivity officer in Clark County between 2013 and 2015, and said that CCSD was named the 2015 “AP District of the Year” for large gains by under-represented students.

Ebert assumed her current role in 2019 under former Gov. Steve Sisolak and now works under Lombardo. Among several recommendation letters included in her application, Lombardo offered his “highest recommendation” for Ebert.

In addition to her data and policy qualifications, Lombardo wrote: “Jhone has the rare ability to connect with others, no matter who they are or how many stripes they have on their sleeve.”

2. Pedro Martinez, CEO of Chicago Public Schools

Martinez has held the head role in Chicago since 2021 but was fired in December. He will stay on until June, according to several local reports. He is currently suing the Chicago Board of Education.

He highlighted graduating the classes of 2023 and 2024 at record rates in Chicago and said Chicago Public Schools is leading the country in literacy among large districts post-pandemic. He said he helped advise how to improve accountability systems at Nevada’s low-performing schools.

He has some history in Nevada, though it was not without controversy.

Martinez was a deputy superintendent at CCSD in 2011 before he became superintendent of the Washoe County School District in 2012, according to his resume.

Martinez sued the Washoe County School District in 2014 after he was fired as the superintendent. He was back on the job 10 days later.

He said he was fired after an illegal, private meeting of six of the seven board members who accused him of lying about whether he was a certified public accountant. Martinez said he provided the board with documentation proving he passed the CPA exam in Illinois.

Then-Washoe County School Board President Barbara Cook later issued a statement saying the board agreed to void any action it took regarding his employment and wanted him to return to work immediately.

Cook said in the statement that the circumstances surrounding the initial discussions about Martinez “had more to do with attitude, demeanor and lack of cooperation than it did with certifications and diplomas.”

After a quick glance at the candidates on Wednesday, Vicki Kreidel, president of the National Education Association of Southern Nevada, said Martinez was the only candidate who was a definite “no” for her.

“He has a dismal record,” Kreidel said.

Martinez was also the superintendent in residence for the Nevada Department of Education.

3. Jason Glass, former commissioner for the Kentucky Department of Education

Glass served as the commissioner from 2020 until September 2023, when he said he left due to conflict with the Legislature because of his support for LGBTQ+ students.

He currently serves as the associate vice president of teaching and learning at Western Michigan University. At Western Michigan, Glass said he doubled dual enrollment with regional high schools and launched an AI support project.

He also said he reduced teacher attrition from 21 percent to 13 percent and tripled teacher applications in Eagle County, Colo.

“My approach aligns closely with the district’s vision and priorities, including the need to advance equity, attract and retain top talent, and maintain operational excellence on a national scale,” Glass wrote in his application.

He also included a detailed, phased plan for beginning his role, which included building relationships.

4. Joshua Starr, former superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland

Starr served as superintendent in Montgomery from 2011 until 2015, citing his reason for leaving on his application as “board politics.”

He was the managing partner for the Center for Model Schools until October. There, he said he transformed leadership development services. As the CEO of PDK International, a nonprofit supporting educators, he said he launched a program to inspire high school students to pursue teaching.

Most recently, Starr was one of three finalists for superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools, according to the school district. On Tuesday, the board announced a different person for the role.

“Given the current fiscal challenges in CCSD that are consuming significant attention, I believe that a collaborative, interest-based approach to transformation is required. Difficult decisions await you, which requires a shared governance model,” Starr wrote in his letter to the board.

5. John Anzalone, superintendent of Camas School District in Washington

Anzalone said in his application that his journey is “deeply rooted” in the east side of Las Vegas.

He has over two decades of experience in CCSD, including serving as the assistant superintendent from 2021 to 2022 and as a principal at three high schools in the school district.

“My background has prepared me to navigate the complexities of urban education while remaining deeply connected to the values of the communities I serve. I am driven to be a role model, showing that a local kid who faced adversity can rise to become a servant leader and make a lasting impact,” Anzalone wrote in his application.

At Eldorado High School, he led initiatives that led to a 24 percent increase in graduation.

In 2018, Anzalone ran for U.S. Congress, but he was defeated in the Democratic primary. His application includes several recommendations from state politicians.

He has served as the superintendent in Camas since 2022. He wrote in his letter to the board that he and his family members’ hearts have remained in Las Vegas.

6. Ben Shuldiner, superintendent of Lansing School District in Michigan

Shuldiner said he raised the four-year high school graduation rate in Lansing by 27 percent in three years. He also said he raised districtwide daily attendance by 14 percent in three years. From 2022 to 2024, the school district had the highest increase on reading scores in the state of Michigan.

In his letter to the board, Shuldiner wrote that he has watched hours of board meetings and read news reports, and that he believes his skill set was the best fit for the needs of CCSD.

“This is very similar to the situation I walked into in Lansing. I arrived on the heels of a few public and problematic issues. The community had lost faith in its leadership and the central office was seen as distant and aloof,” he wrote. “Knowing this, I set up very clear and specific communications expectations, was present throughout the district, and created the administration offices to be a place with open doors and warm coffee, rather than a fortress where no one could enter.”

Contact Katie Futterman at kfutterman@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ktfutts on X and @katiefutterman.bsky.social.