Camas schools chief finalist for Nevada job

Three years after concluding its search for a new superintendent, the Camas School Board may need to start the process all over again.

Camas School District Superintendent John Anzalone told school district staff on Thursday, Feb. 13, that he has been selected as one of six finalists for a superintendent job in Las Vegas.

Anzalone, who has led the Camas School District since July 2022, said a search firm working with the Clark County School District in Nevada approached him about the position about eight months ago.

“I was thankful I was being thought of and considered but had no interest in applying,” Anzalone said.

Then, in May, Anzalone’s mother died. She had moved from Las Vegas to Camas in 2022 to help Anzalone and his wife, Sarah, care for their young children.

“My mom was the only family I had up here,” Anzalone said of his move from Nevada to Washington for the Camas superintendent job. “She was so helpful, especially after we had left our families. And when she passed, that was a trigger for us, that this was what it’s like to have jobs and have kids and not have grandma around.”

Anzalone also learned his eldest son from his first marriage, a high school senior in Las Vegas, has decided to stay in Nevada for college.

“My son and I are very close … and I’ve really started missing him more than ever,” Anzalone said.

The idea of moving back to the Las Vegas area, where Anzalone had worked for the Clark County School District for 22 years before taking the Camas superintendent position, appealed to Anzalone and his wife, who also has family in Nevada and Arizona.

“The bottom line is that this is about family,” Anzalone said. “I’ve grown to truly love it here, and the people I work with. I can’t say enough good things about them. If I do leave, they are who I will miss the most.”

Rocky tenure

Anzalone’s time in Camas has been punctuated by budget cuts in 2023 and again in 2025 as the district attempts to stem a $13 million to $16 million revenue shortfall ahead of the 2025-26 school year.

Anzalone also led the district through a teachers’ strike during the first two weeks of the 2023-24 school year. Last week, Camas School District leaders delivered reduction in force notifications to several district administrators and plan to notify impacted teachers and classified staff this spring.

Anzalone said he believes the district will be in good shape with or without him at its helm.

“This had nothing to do with the challenges we’re facing. And I feel like the district is on course for stability,” he said of his decision to apply for the Nevada position.

Teachers, board react

Camas teacher Michael Sanchez, the vice president of the Camas Education Association, the union representing around 460 Camas School District educators, said this week that union leaders have been fielding calls and emails from Camas teachers worried about what the potential loss of the district’s superintendent might mean for them and their students.

“Our members are experiencing a lot of emotions. There is a lot of fear, uncertainty and anger,” Sanchez said. “Members were already a little bit uneasy about being in contract negotiations.”

The teachers’ union and school district began bargaining Jan. 22; union leaders have met twice with the district’s negotiators since.

Camas School Board President Tracey Malone said Thursday in a statement that board members still believe Anzalone is “a great asset” to the district.

“Camas is a small, close-knit community that values and understands the importance of family and hometown connections,” Malone said. “We would never begrudge someone the opportunity to be closer to their families or give back to a community that has served them so well in the past.”

Search narrows

On Tuesday, Feb. 18, the Clark County School District’s board of directors narrowed its superintendent search to four candidates, including Anzalone.

As reported by the Las Vegas news station KSNV earlier this week, teachers and community members present at the Clark County School District’s special meeting Tuesday night showed “overwhelming support” for Anzalone, who served as the district’s assistant superintendent before coming to Camas.

Anzalone will join the other three finalists for a series of public interviews and community forums in Las Vegas later this month.

According to Anzalone, the top two candidates will move on to a second round of interviews March 10-11. The Clark County school board is expected to announce the new superintendent March 13.