Nevada Superintendent of Public Instruction Jhone Ebert is among five finalists vying to become the next superintendent of the Washoe County School District, signaling her potential departure almost exactly three years after she took the post.

The district of more than 60,000 students — the second-largest in the state — announced the names of the five finalists on Friday. 

Others include Susan Enfield, superintendent for a Washington state school district; Sherrell Hobbs, founder of a Florida business focused on leadership management and development training; Shawn Loescher, a California charter schools CEO; and Caprice Young, president of an education consulting firm. 

The Washoe County School District’s Board of Trustees is expected to make a final selection for its next superintendent at an April 26 public meeting. 

In a statement emailed to The Nevada Independent, Ebert said it has been the “privilege of a lifetime” to serve in her current role and would use the opportunity if selected to work more closely with students, staff, families and the greater Northern Nevada community as it grows and rebuilds.

Ebert currently earns about $143,000 as state superintendent, according to Transparent Nevada. In that role, she oversees the state Department of Education – which develops pre-K-12 policies and programs and licenses educators – and communicates statutes and regulations to Nevada school districts.  

Gov. Steve Sisolak appointed Ebert as superintendent of public instruction in 2019. Ebert has also worked as a senior deputy commissioner with the New York State Education Department and a former Clark County School District administrator. She was also a mathematics teacher in Las Vegas. 

The current superintendent of Washoe Schools, Kristen McNeill is retiring at the end of the school year. She earns an annual salary of about $244,000 and former Washoe County schools superintendent, Traci Davis, earned about $277,000 before the district’s board let her go in July 2019.