Washoe County School Board hears final superintendent search update, funding plan

RENO, Nev. — The Washoe County School District (WCSD) Board of Trustees heard a final update Tuesday on the search for a new superintendent, and talked money with a new Capital Improvement Plan.

The long process to find a new superintendent for the district is nearing its end this week, with the five finalists starting their multi-day interviews and introductions to the community on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the school board went over a final review ahead of these events.

"When you're finished at the end of this week with your formal interviews, your candidates will have had opportunities to learn about you, learn about the district, learn about the community," one of the consultants at McPherson and Jacobson, the firm that's been leading the WCSD superintendent search, told the school board at Tuesday's meeting.

There are five finalists for the superintendent position, three of whom would be internal hires from the district.

On Monday, one of the original five finalists, Christopher Bernier, was replaced by Paul LaMarca, who is currently the Chief Student and Family Supports Officer for the district.

The other four candidates include Joseph Ernst and Troy Parks, both of whom also currently work in the district, and Elizabeth Fagan and Charles McNulty, who have both served as superintendents at school districts in other states.

"We've been doing our training, we've been doing our one-on-one sessions, and we're ready for this," WCSD Board President Beth Smith said.

Also at Tuesday's meeting, the board approved more than $1.5 billion for the district's Capital Improvement Plan that includes funding for facility modernization, the Capital Renewal Program and other major projects. The spending plan is for fiscal years 2025 through 2029.

Some of the facilities that will undergo modernization using this funding include North Valleys High School, Sparks High School and Maxwell Elementary School.

On Thursday, the community will have the chance to meet each of the five superintendent finalists. More information on that is available here.