RENO -- Members of the Board of Trustees for the Washoe County School District have identified five final candidates for consideration as they continue their search for a new superintendent to lead the District.

The final candidates are:

• Paul LaMarca, currently serving as chief school accountability officer for the Washoe County School District.
• Pedro Martinez, currently serving as deputy superintendent of schools for the Clark County School District in Las Vegas.
• Judy Peppler, currently serving as chief transformation officer/chief of staff for the Wake County Public School System in Raleigh, N.C.
• Harrison Peters, currently serving as chief of schools for Chicago Public Schools in Chicago, IL.
• Jane Woodburn, currently serving as deputy superintendent of the Washoe County School District.

During two days of open meetings this week, Board members carefully considered applications submitted by prospective candidates from all over the nation. During the past month, Trustees also attended townhall meetings and spoke extensively with the community about this important decision. Members of the community were also encouraged to provide comments through an online survey.

“Input from the community is crucial to this process,” said Ken Grein, president of the Washoe County School District Board of Trustees. “During these public meetings, we welcomed the community’s ideas and concerns, and we are dedicated to finding the best person to lead our District into the future.”

The public conversation continues next week when the finalists come to Washoe County to meet with the community and Board members. Public townhall meetings are scheduled for June 26, 27, and 28 at 6 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. at the National Automobile Museum. If you are not able to participate in the community townhall meetings, there are several other ways to learn about the candidates and provide feedback to the Board, including:

• Tune in live and watch the Board of Trustees interview each finalist. The candidate interviews with the Board will be streamed lived on the WCSD website from 7 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. the days the finalists are in town. Each candidate will be interviewed for one hour and 15 minutes.
• Learn more about each finalist by watching their introductory videos, which will be posted on the WCSD website upon the completion of all candidate interviews.
• If you are not able to attend the community townhall meetings, please feel free to attend another public meeting that is scheduled for the finalists.
• Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash tag #WCSDsupt.