Governor will consider 3 people for charter school leadership position

Three candidates will be considered for a job leading the state’s public charter school system.

The Nevada State Public Charter School Authority’s board conducted interviews Friday with four people before making a recommendation.

The board voted to submit three names, in order of preference — Melissa Mackedon, Dennis Holmes and Jessica Hoban — to Gov. Joe Lombardo, who will appoint a new leader.

During deliberations, many board members said it’s critical to have a new leader who can hit the ground running.

“We have lost a significant amount of institutional knowledge with this agency in the last few months,” board member Sandra Kinne said.

It’s also a critical time for the work of charter schools in the state, she said.

The next executive director will oversee about 80 campuses serving more than 60,000 students.

Former executive director Rebecca Feiden — who was appointed in April 2019 by then-Gov. Steve Sisolak — resigned in early September.

The charter school authority received 16 applicants for the job, but three withdrew from consideration. Earlier this month, the board decided to offer an interview to five candidates.

One of them, Sione Thompson — an Oregon high school principal and former executive director of the Hawaii State Public Charter School Commission — didn’t participate in an interview Friday.

And Patrick Carter, a Las Vegas charter school teacher and former Nevada System of Higher Education regent, was interviewed but not selected to continue on in the process.

During deliberations, board members consistently ranked Mackedon as their top choice, followed by Holmes. But opinions were mixed about a third choice candidate.

During her interview, Mackedon said the charter authority has lost three key members of its leadership staff in recent months and she believes historical knowledge is critical.

Mackedon is the CEO of Oasis Academy, a public charter school in Fallon. She served for nearly 12 years on the charter authority’s board, including four as board chair, until June.

Mackedon said if she was afforded the opportunity to be the next executive director, she’d be the first to have founded and successfully run a Nevada charter school.

Holmes, who lives in Las Vegas, said he was ecstatic about the opportunity. He retired in July as associate superintendent for instructional support of the Campbell County School District in Gillette, Wyoming.

He described himself as “kind of the underdog” as a candidate for the position. But Holmes said he has every bit of experience the charter authority is looking for and that his leadership style is open and collaborative.

Hoban, chief financial officer for the Nevada Attorney General’s Office, said she has worked for the state for nearly 15 years and is “very familiar” with how it operates.

She said she previously worked for the charter authority as director of finance and operations, “which I did thoroughly enjoy.”

Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on X.