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DBROBST@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM e Clear Creek school board will begin a whirlwind schedule to try to nd a new superintendent by the time the school year starts on Aug. 16. e rst step, which took place at a special board meeting on June 27, was to hire McPherson & Jacobson to guide the district through the search. e district will spend no more than $10,650 for the service. e second step was to meet on July 5 to decide whether to hire a one-year interim or a permanent superintendent. Whether an interim or permanent superintendent, the board was to have discussed the salary range for the hire and the criteria to be used to narrow the search. e Canyon Courier will provide coverage of the July 5 meeting online at canyoncourier.com and in the July 13 print issue.

Superintendent Karen Quanbeck has announced that she will be leaving this fall. She will become the vice president of statewide partnerships for the Colorado Education Initiative, an organization the district has been working with as it has transformed its education model for students at all grade levels.

Quanbeck was hired in June 2019, and the search, which was facilitated by McPherson & Jacobson, took about 10 weeks. Quanbeck has said her new position is exible, so she will be available to help during the transition to a new superintendent.

“ is is not a turnaround,” board President Sandi Schuessler said at the June 27 meeting. “It’s a transition.”

Board member Kelly Flenniken added that it was important to get a superintendent who will be the right t for the district.

“( e school district has) been moving in a new direction, and the school board sets the vision,” Flenniken said. “It’s important the community knows it was at the board’s direction, not the superintendent’s.”

More about the search

Just like the search four years ago, the new search will include stakeholder meetings to nd out what parents, sta and the community want from a new superintendent.

Norman Ridder, owner of McPher- son & Jacobson, told the board he hoped to have resumes from potential candidates by the end of July, the initial interviews within about a week after that, and then the school board along with other stakeholders would interview the top candidates before the school board makes a hire.

Walt Cooper with McPherson & Jacobson said the search was very exible.

“Traditionally, a superintendent search starts in the fall with hiring in early spring,” Cooper said, but a permanent superintendent search, especially with Clear Creek School District’s reputation for implementing innovative learning models, would net solid candidates.

An interim superintendent search also would garner strong candidates, he added.

Ridder said traditionally, school districts get more applicants for interim superintendents than permanent ones because retired superintendents want a one-year position, and some would consider moving to Colorado for a year.

“We don’t want you to feel like you are super pressured and hemmed into a one-size- ts-all scenario,” Cooper said.

Schuessler said Quanbeck has reached out to a retired principal who might provide a good interim solution and to Chris Gould, the current Clear Creek High School/ Middle School principal, who could step into the role for a year.