CCSD trustees remove Pedro Martinez from finalist slate and approve four finalists for interviews

Clark County School District trustees removed one candidate from the superintendent search slate and approved four others to move forward to performance interviews, voting on a revised timeline and spending authorization during a special meeting on Feb. 18, 2025.

The board, chaired by President Irene Bustamante Adams, voted 7–0 to remove Pedro Martinez from the list of candidates the district would invite to interview. Trustee Biasari moved to remove Martinez and Trustee Cavazos seconded the motion. Trustee Biasari said Martinez “does not fit our profile and fails to meet our standards for several reasons,” and that community feedback and social media response had been broadly negative. Several other trustees supported that removal motion, citing concerns about community reaction and patterns in Martinez’s prior employment history. Public commenters including Tiffany Beemel also urged trustees to keep Martinez off the slate.

Trustees later voted 6–1 to remove the candidate listed as Jason Glass from the slate; Trustee Barone made that motion and Trustee Cavazos seconded. After further discussion and additional public comment the board approved a slate of finalists for first-round interviews: Joan Ebert, John Anzalone, Ben Schildener and Jesse Welch. The board’s recorded actions on Feb. 18 also included a set of scheduling, community engagement and contracting decisions tied to the next phases of the search.

Why it matters: Trustees said they were balancing the search firm’s vetting with immediate community reaction and the need for a superintendent who can both lead the district and secure…