Las Cruces Public Schools selects three superintendent finalists

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KVIA) -- Las Cruces Public Schools announced three finalists to take over as superintendent Monday.

The Board of Education selected Dr. Debra Elder, Monica Mesa, and Ignacio Ruiz. The district selected the three finalists from a group of seven semi-finalists.

Next for the candidates, the district will host a Superintendent Public Forum at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 22 at the Performing Arts Center at Organ Mountain High School. Candidates will answer questions from the Superintendent Search Committee.

Elder currently serves as the interim superintendent of Los Lunas Schools. She also worked at Albuquerque Public Schools and received a Doctorate in Organizational Change and Leadership from the University of Southern California.

Mesa oversees 26 elementary schools, serving as Assistant Superintendent of East Elementary Schools for Mesa Public Schools, Arizona's largest school district. She holds a Master's degree from Northern Arizona University.

Ruiz serves as assistant superintendent for Clark County School District in Nevada. That is the fifth largest school district in the country, according to LCPS. He graduated from the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents National Superintendent Academy and the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University.

You can read our initial reporting on the superintendent search here.