CCSD superintendent finalist could be named to top role
A superintendent finalist could be appointed to a top role in the Clark County School District.
The Clark County School Board is expected to decide Thursday on whether Jesse Welsh should be appointed deputy superintendent of teaching and learning, according to an agenda item for that day’s board meeting.
In April 2024, then-Interim Superintendent Brenda Larsen-Mitchell appointed Melissa Gutierrez to hold the role.
Welsh, who currently serves as CEO of Nevada State High School, a charter school, was one of three finalists for the superintendent position. The School Board voted on March 13 to select Jhone Ebert for the role, who was then the state superintendent of public instruction. But trustees and community members alike spoke highly of Welsh’s experience and data-driven techniques, with some even outright suggesting Ebert appoint him to her cabinet.
“Mr. Welsh: He’s calm, thorough, thoughtful,” Chris Giunchigliani, a former Clark County commissioner and frequent participant at CCSD board meetings, told the Board. “Still needs to be seasoned, but in my opinion, he’d be a great deputy team member here.”
A proposed employment agreement with Welsh, which trustees were expected to vote on Thursday, hadn’t yet been posted to the school district’s online meeting portal on Friday.
‘The data dude’
Welsh is no stranger to the school district, nor to a top role within it.
Welsh started working for the Clark County School District in 1996 as a math and Spanish teacher. He then worked his way through many positions in the school district, including dean, coordinator for the northwest region and eventually assistant superintendent.
During the superintendent selection process, Welsh emphasized the importance of expertise and said that he is often referred to as the “data dude” because of his commitment to data-driven solutions. He highlighted his role in leading CCSD to use the online platform Canvas, which it currently uses, as well as switching it to Google.
He then served as superintendent for the Paradise Valley Paradise Valley Unified School District in Phoenix, Arizona, from June 2019 to December 2020.
Welsh left his post in Arizona in December 2020 amid reports of increasing hostility and harassment over school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to several local reports.
‘Let teachers teach’
Welsh said that strong leadership starts at the top, but that he also wanted to “let teachers teach.”
“People quit bosses, they don’t quit jobs,” Welsh told the staff group during a community forum.
He said his philosophy was: “Hire the right people, give them what they need and get out of their way.”
Contact Katie Futterman at kfutterman@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ktfutts on X and @katiefutterman.bsky.social.
