The competition to become Colorado’s highest ranking education official, a leader who will oversee the education of more than 750,000 public school children, officially launches today.
The seven-member State Board of Education will take applications for the job of education commissioner through April 26. They hope to hire an education chief by summer, when Commissioner William Moloney plans to step down after 10 years.
“We are, at this point, looking nationally,” said Karen Middleton, a Democrat who represents the 7th Congressional District on the board. “Some of our best candidates may come from Colorado, but we don’t want to limit ourselves in any way.”
The board contracted the Virginia-based National Association of State Boards of Education last month to conduct the search at a cost of up to $44,688.
Anyone interested in applying for the position should contact NASBE at cosearch@ nasbe.org.
Meanwhile, at least two statewide organizations are asking the board to keep its search process transparent and inclusive.
The Denver Area School Superintendents Council is sending letters to the board asking that “they choose the best candidate, rather than a candidate with a certain ideology,” said Charlotte Ciancio, superintendent of the Mapleton School District and a DASSC co-chair.
She and others say they fear the search could be hurt by political divisions. The State Board includes three Democrats and four Republicans.
Bruce Caughey, director of public policy initiatives for the Colorado Association of School Executives, said it’s important for the board to allow participation from across the state.
NASBE invited various groups this month, including members of the state legislature, higher education, the general public and Gov. Bill Ritter, to discuss their desires for a commissioner.
The public can continue commenting on the commissioner search at www.nasbe.org.
Staff writer Karen Rouse can be reached at 303-954-1684 or krouse@denverpost.com.
