Colorado Early Colleges is a network of tuition-free public charter schools for K-12 students. Its board announced Tuesday that Park City School District Superintendent Jill Gildea is the sole finalist for the chief executive officer position at the organization.
Documents from Gildea’s application packet were released the same day. Under Colorado law, the public is allowed 14 days to review a candidate’s application and qualifications before a school board can extend a job offer.
In a cover letter dated June 19, 2024, Gildea expressed her “enthusiastic interest” in the executive officer position and wrote she is “willing and prepared to relocate to Denver immediately to facilitate a smooth transition into this role.”
The superintendent was unavailable for comment Thursday.
This comes one week after the Park City School District Board of Education renewed Gildea’s contract in a split 3-2 vote. The renewal was controversial, as many parents and two board members requested a decision on her contract be delayed until January when three new board members will be sworn in.
It’s unclear if the local board knew Gildea was applying for other jobs in June. According to Gildea’s contract, she is supposed to “promptly notify the board” if she applies for other employment.
In an email statement Thursday, the board said it’s “aware of reports in the press that the Superintendent is a finalist for a job in Colorado.” The board also said it’s “grateful” for Gildea’s contributions to the district over the past 6 years and while it hopes she will continue in her current role, the board respects Gildea’s choice.
The board says it will update the community when it has more information.
Board President Andrew Caplan previously expressed concern about finding a new superintendent should Gildea choose to leave or the board decide not to renew her contract. He said a potential candidate will read negative things community members have written.
“They're going to think twice about coming to our community because they're going to say, ‘Why would I go to that community when we have unreasonable people who just say mean things,” he said.
Board Vice President Wendy Crossland expressed a similar concern during the Aug. 20 board meeting before voting to renew Gildea’s contract. She said it could be difficult to attract a new superintendent with three new board members.
If Gildea decides to leave the district, she must give at least 30 days written notice. If she fails to provide the notice, Gildea must pay a $2,000 early termination penalty.
