Colorado Education Commissioner Dwight D. Jones is a finalist to lead the nation's fifth-largest school district, leaving education leaders here to wonder how to fill his shoes.

Jones, 48, is one of three finalists for the superintendent job at Nevada's Clark County School District. The other two candidates are Dallas Independent School District Superintendent Michael Hinojosa and Florida's Lee County School District Superintendent James Browder.

The finalists were announced Thursday after a nationwide search by the Nebraska executive recruitment firm McPherson & Jacobson.

The candidates will visit with various groups in Nevada on Wednesday and will be interviewed by the board of trustees on Thursday. The final decision is expected by October.

Current Superintendent Walt Rulffes, whose district includes Las Vegas, is retiring after five