Three candidates in the running for Denver Public Schools superintendent will meet next week with community leaders, parents and students to discuss their goals for the district.
Patricia Harvey, the current superintendent of St. Paul (Minn.) Public Schools; Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper’s chief of staff, Michael Bennet; and Community College of Denver president Christine Johnson are the final three.
Times haven’t been set, but the dates for the meetings are Tuesday for Johnson; June 22 for Bennet, and June 23 for Harvey.
The earliest the board can make a decision on the superintendent is June 27, according to state law that mandates the community be given adequate time to give feedback to the board on finalists.
“We have three very different candidates,” board president Lester Woodward said earlier this week. “Dr. Johnson and Dr. Harvey have that experience, and Mr. Bennet has a great reputation and a pattern of leadership.”
In Harvey’s community meeting set for next week, she hopes to talk about academic rigor and high expectations. She said she’s excited to see the “inside” of DPS.
“I want to talk about the importance of academic rigor,” she said. “We need to make sure the staff is involved. The teachers here love it.”
Harvey interviewed and accepted a candidate position for a superintendent job in Portland, Ore., in 2002. She backed out halfway through the process, saying she’d changed her mind.
On Tuesday, she said she did that because the time wasn’t right to leave St. Paul.
“I’m very glad I stayed in St. Paul these additional years,” she said. “My work wasn’t sustainable before, but I have no doubt that it is now … I feel like the time is right for me now.”
She said she’s always loved Denver, and since she took her first trip to the city “more than 15 years ago,” she’s always told friends she’d like to live here.
Bennet said he looks forward to meeting the public and said he will answer questions fully and honestly.
“I think the community part of this process is a vital part,” he said. “I am glad the board has organized it. It’s an opportunity to talk about the future of the Denver public schools and the community’s essential role in executing that.”
Johnson did not return a call for comment late Tuesday.
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-820-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com.
