Las Cruces Public Schools hosts superintendent search forum

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KVIA) -- The three finalists for the job of Las Cruces Public Schools superintendent will participate in a forum Thursday night.

It's happening at the Organ Mountain High School Performing Arts Center at 5:30 p.m.

The three finalists are Dr. Debra Elder, Monica Mesa, and Ignacio Ruiz.

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.