The Washoe County School Board could select a new district leader as early as next week after Superintendent Joe Ernst announced last month he was retiring in July. 

During its upcoming Tuesday meeting, the school board will consider three options to replace Ernst, who has served for less than two years in the role and whose early departure continues a trend of frequent executive turnover for the Washoe County School District (WCSD). The first is to appoint Deputy Superintendent Tiffany McMaster as the interim superintendent effective April 28. 

McMaster is directly under Ernst in the district's chain of command. 

The second option is to conduct a formal interview with McMaster before voting on whether to appoint her as interim superintendent and naming her permanent superintendent effective July 8. This would allow the school district to skip over a costly superintendent search after the board made several budget cuts to avoid a deficit next year.

The board's meeting materials state that McMaster meets the new superintendent qualifications for school districts in counties of more than 100,000 residents established in a 2025 bill by Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (D-Las Vegas), SB460. 

The new state law requires a school board to submit the name and the application of a superintendent candidate to the Nevada Department of Education, which will verify the candidate's credentials, prior to the board making a job offer. 

The third option is to direct staff to begin developing a formal search process and bring those plans back to the board for approval. The district expects the process could cost between $35,000 and $100,000 based on past superintendent searches. 

"We have been through multiple searches in the last four years," said Washoe County School Board President Adam Mayberry. "This organization, in my view, needs some consistency, some stability and so these will all be … viable options to talk about."

Ernst's four-year contract began in 2024. He took over as the district's leader after former Superintendent Susan Enfield resigned after 19 months and is the district's fourth superintendent in four years.

McMaster has been with the district since 1998 and has served in the deputy superintendent role since July 2024, overseeing the district's Office of Academics. In her letter of interest, McMaster states she has experience leading complex organizational and operational efforts such as the implementation of the Facilities Modernization Plan. 

"As superintendent, I would lead with a vision grounded in academic excellence, operational discipline, and public trust," she wrote in the letter. "My leadership approach — data-informed, collaborative, student-focused, and anchored in more than two decades of WCSD service — positions me to guide the district forward with stability while continuing to innovate in response to evolving student and community needs."

This story was updated on 4/9/26 at 2:06 p.m. to add a quote from the Washoe County School Board president and more context on the appointment process.