LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The community Monday night at Rancho High School got a chance to hear from the final three candidates for the Clark County School District Superintendent and give feedback.
Dr. Jesse Welsh, Jhone Ebert and Ben Shuldiner. This process started with six candidates last month.
Parents and students made their voices heard and got answers to as many questions as each candidate could get to in 45 minutes, as we learned over 400 questions came in online with many coming in live as the meetings were going on.
School safety, the budget and issues about culture were top of mind for many.
The sessions went on for hours in a round robin style, where each of the three candidates moved from room to room, answering questions from parents and students.
The only candidate that doesn’t have ties to the community explained the values of being an outsider with experience turning around other school districts across the country. Take it from Ben Shuldiner.
“Insider, outsider, what I’d like to believe I bring is that I’ve been a school district superintendent for many years, and I’ve been able to move districts through tremendous growth,” Shuldiner said. “I think the question that you should always ask is, how can you get the best person to be the superintendent who’s going to support children, support staff, and support the community.”
Supporting the community and the students was important for Jhone Ebert, the Superintendent of Public Instruction with the Nevada Department of Education, after being asked about the recent incident at Cimarron Memorial High School, after a student was arrested for a firearm found at that school.
“We need to make sure that all weapons, partnering not only with our own school police, but also Metro police, partnering with parents that people understand and know where their weapons are, that they’re locked up,” Ebert said. “No child, no student, no parent should actually have a gun on campus. School safety, health and safety is number one at all times.”
Safety questions dominated the bunch. So did questions about teacher recruitment and retainment.
It’s something Dr. Jesee Welsh wants to change on day one, after working in CCSD for over 22 years.
“Honestly, climate and culture. I hear from too many people keep your head down, don’t say anything. I’m constantly talking to people who are afraid to speak up about things that have been going on, and I think it’s been very hard the last couple of years, the things that have been going on in the CCSD,” Dr. Welsh said. “I think that starts at the top, that my expectations in terms of how we address those things are very clear.”
All three candidates also said they would be transparent and accessible, since there were a few questions about the previous superintendent, Dr. Jesus Jara being unavailable after cancelling public forums.
Students and parents can use this QR code they got to give their feedback.
The Board of Trustees will hold a special meeting Tuesday to talk about the finalist interviews.
Thursday, the board meets again to finally pick the next superintendent.
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