CARSON CITY - Public interviews are scheduled this week for the four semifinalists being considered for Nevada superintendent of public instruction.
Gov. Brian Sandoval announced July 15 that the state Board of Education will interview the contenders during an open meeting July 25. The board will then recommend three names to Sandoval, who will make the final appointment.
Candidates include three people familiar in Nevada circles and a former education secretary in Massachusetts.
The candidates are:
• Rorie Fitzpatrick was named interim superintendent after the abrupt resignation in March of James Guthrie, who resigned after a year on the job in the midst of the legislative session.
Previously, she was deputy superintendent and represented the Department of Education throughout the legislative session. Fitzpatrick has a bachelor's degree in agriculture and a master's in early childhood and special education.
• Dale Erquiaga is a former senior adviser to Sandoval who left the administration in 2012. Previously, he was a deputy secretary of state and former government affairs director for the Clark County School District. After leaving the Sandoval administration, he moved to Arizona where his children live. He is currently interim executive director of the Arizona Humane Society. He has a bachelor's in political science and a master's degree in leadership.
• Rene Cantu Jr. is executive director of the Latin Chamber of Commerce's Community Foundation. He was one of three finalists for the state superintendent's job last year and served briefly on the Clark County School Board to fill a vacancy. He has a doctorate degree in education administration.
• Michael Sentence is a former secretary of education in Massachusetts and former assistant attorney general in that state. He holds law degrees and a bachelor's degree in American studies.
This will be the second superintendent appointment by Sandoval, who pushed for and was given authority in 2011 to name the state's top school chief. Before the 2011 legislative session, superintendents were appointed by the state Board of Education.
Interviews will be conducted in public at the department's office building in Las Vegas and shown by video conference to the board room in Carson City.
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