The superintendent of the fast- growing Brighton School District abruptly resigned this week, and both she and the district’s school board president are saying little about the reasons why.
Tonda Potts has been the superintendent of Brighton School District 27J for about a year and a half. The board accepted her resignation at a meeting Tuesday night. The resignation is effective at the end of the month.
“Basically, there was an agreement between the board and I that was in our mutual interests to separate,” Potts said Thursday. “So I resigned.”
Potts declined to elaborate about her departure, as did school board President Ernie Lopez, who, when contacted, read from a prepared statement regarding Potts’ departure.
“We appreciate the work she has done for our district and wish her well as she pursues other career opportunities,” Lopez read.
Potts’ resignation comes at a time of turnover and troubles for the district, which encompasses some of the metro area’s fastest-growing spots. The district has about 10,000 students and is growing by more than 1,000 students a year.
In November, voters elected three new school board members, including Lopez. Voters also turned down a $68 million bond question.
The money would have gone to build new schools for the growth- racked district. It was the third straight year that the district sought a bond issue, and the second time that voters rejected what was proposed.
Shortly thereafter, district officials decided to take their schools to a year-round schedule to deal with overcrowding.
Vodi Herrmann, the director of public school finance at the Colorado Department of Education, told 9News on Thursday that an ongoing audit by her office found the district received more money in per- pupil funding than it should have in the early 2000s.
Potts said the audit didn’t cover the period while she was superintendent and said such issues did not spur her resignation.
“There’s no cause,” she said.
Potts said she is proud of her record in improving student achievement at the district.
Two schools in the district that were rated “low” last year jumped to “average” this year, and one school went from “average” to “high.”
Potts said she will continue to work in education, possibly as a consultant.
She received a separation agreement as part of her resignation but declined to specify the amount of money involved.
Staff writer John Ingold can be reached at 720-929-0898 or jingold@denverpost.com.
