Clark County school superintendent choices down to six — PROFILES

Six candidates have made it to the final round in the search for the next superintendent for the Clark County School District.

The school board will vote Wednesday on who will lead the nation’s fifth-largest district.

Hailing from Florida to Boston to Colorado and Las Vegas, these educational leaders have an array of experience. The Review-Journal interviewed each of them. For more about their qualifications and educational philosophies, see our profiles:

— Mike Barton, Chief Academic Officer for CCSD, is focused on the need to build trust and morale in the district. While he’s outwardly cordial, Barton insists that he’s made tough choices in his career — and can continue to do so.

— Don Haddad, who leads the St. Vrain Valley school district in Longmont, Colo., has a reputation among his colleagues as an independent thinker. Haddad’s experience is in a district about a tenth of the size of CCSD.

— Shonda Huery Hardman, who brings urban school district experience from Boston, Houston and Chicago, told board members the state’s $5,779 basic support per pupil is just not enough.

— Jesus Jara, deputy superintendent of Orange County Public Schools in Orlando, Florida, has experience in political battles from his time as a leader of a smaller school district that was mired in problems.

— Jesse Welsh, CCSD’s associate superintendent of curriculum and professional development, wants to fix the district’s finances, continue the reorganization, restore a focus on academics and create a stronger voice and choice for parents.

— Eva White, who would come out of retirement for the job, helped launch CCSD’s strategic budgets, and supports the core concept of the reorganization — school empowerment with a hyper-local focus on children’s needs.