Five WCSD superintendent finalists participate in final interviews with school board

RENO, Nev. — The five candidates for the Washoe County School District (WCSD) superintendent position had their final interviews with the board of trustees on Friday.

The first to interview was Charles McNulty, who emphasized his well-rounded experience in education, which began with him teaching as a special educator in Washington, and most recently culminated in his superintendent position at a school district in Arkansas.

"I had a passion for learning, passion for working with young people. Love the middle school, high school age," McNulty said.

Next was Elizabeth Fagen, who currently serves as the superintendent at a school district in Texas. Fagen has made it clear that Washoe County would be her final destination should she be offered the position here, saying she hopes to lay down roots and ultimately retire here.

"This is the only position I'm considering right now, other than my own, and it really was serendipity. I mean, we saw that we love it here," Fagen said.

The third to interview was Paul LaMarca, who currently works at the WCSD. LaMarca spent some of his interview going over the achievements that he has already made in the district, including his work to help narrow some achievement gaps among students.

"In the last several years, what I strongly emphasized is community partnerships, and so we have expanded our partnerships and we're bringing services into our schools that our students and our educators desperately need," LaMarca said.

Joseph Ernst also comes from within the district. Like LaMarca, Ernst also spent some time focusing on what he has already done at the WCSD, like helping raise pay for staff.

"I've had an opportunity to oversee our grants team, and over the past three years, we've managed over $1 billion in grant funds and we've been able to really effectively mobilize these grant funds to support our students and to support our schools," Ernst said.

Last to interview was Troy Parks, who is also an internal candidate. He was able to distinguish himself by mentioning his experience not just in education, but also in business.

"When it comes to engaging our community into the school district and helping us to improve student learning outcomes, I have a connection because I have had that experience, walked in those shoes, so to speak," Parks said.

The board of trustees will make its decision, selecting one of these five candidates for the superintendent position, at its next meeting on May 14.