Denver school board members launched the first round of interviews Wednesday with superintendent candidates. The mayor’s chief of staff is among those talking with the board today, sources say.
Michael Bennet, a lawyer and former executive with Anschutz Investment Co. with no background in education, has met with people all over the city about his candidacy, discussing pros and cons of the job with peers and confidants from several backgrounds.
Although Bennet may be the most visible local candidate, school district officials insist there are no finalists yet.
“The fact that there are people in the community suggesting that X or Y or Z are front-runners … is nothing but pure speculation,” said board President Lester Woodward. “It’s unfortunate because it puts the whole context of the search in a challenging situation.”
Finalists for the top spot in the state’s second-largest district should be announced as soon as Saturday, Woodward said.
The seven-member school board plans to choose a new superintendent by the end of the month. Current Superintendent Jerry Wartgow steps down June 30.
Bennet has declined repeated requests for comment on the matter.
According to those who’ve talked to Bennet, the challenge in leading DPS appeals to him. He’s researched education-reform efforts taking place elsewhere and has spoken to other urban superintendents, including Chancellor Joel Klein of New York City Public Schools.
Woodward emphatically asserts that there is no leading candidate. Some DPS observers who’ve spoken privately with Bennet say they’re impressed with him. This small group of people doesn’t want to talk openly about the process until finalists are named.
The buzz around Bennet has some community leaders worried. Butch Montoya, former Denver public safety director, and a group of Latino leaders met with the search firm May 18 to express concerns that the process is moving too quickly. “I think there’s a great sense of desperation and desire to make sure the next superintendent is the right person,” Montoya said. “We can no longer have a school system that does not meet the needs of the Latino children. … I’m 54 years old now. For God’s sake, when does it change?”
Although Montoya is concerned about minority students, he said he is not insisting the new superintendent be Latino.
Denver City Councilwoman Rosemary Rodriguez, who attended the meeting, said she had heard some concerns that the decision was a “done deal.”
Around 50 people applied for the job, and the board will interview six or seven candidates before narrowing it down to the finalists, whose names will be made public.
Other candidates being considered:
Christine Johnson, president of the Community College of Denver, has said she is a candidate.
Joseph Olchefske, former superintendent of Seattle Public Schools, has applied as a team with another person, according to sources. Olchefske resigned from the Seattle post in 2003 amid a financial scandal.
Dwight Jones, superintendent of the Fountain-Fort Carson school district in Colorado Springs. Though he has been lauded for improving the achievement gap in his 6,000- student district, some worry he’d be in over his head in Denver, which has 74,000 students.
Staff writer Kris Hudson contributed to this story.
