Dan McMinimee, the embattled head of Jefferson County Public Schools, will step aside immediately as superintendent of the 86,000-student district, it was announced Thursday.
In a news release, the district said McMinimee will serve in an “advisory capacity” until his contract ends June 30 but will no longer have a day-to-day presence in the district. That role has been given to Terry Elliott, chief school effectiveness officer, who will serve as acting superintendent until a permanent replacement for the top post is named later this year.
Board president Ron Mitchell told The Denver Post on Thursday that McMinimee had “requested some kind of agreement that would lessen his responsibilities.”
“He was frustrated at being treated like a lame-duck superintendent,” Mitchell said. “I get that it’s an awkward thing.”
McMinimee after the board of education decided it would seek a new leader for Colorado’s second-largest school district. McMinimee, who had served prior to coming to Jefferson County, was chosen in 2014 to lead the district by a previous board in what was.
None of the members of that board remain on the current board, .
McMinimee characterized Thursday’s announcement as a mutually satisfactory arrangement between him and the board. The agreement will be formally approved at the school board’s next meeting March 9.“I’m positive and moving forward,” he said in an interview.
Neither McMinimee nor Mitchell would say if McMinimee’s $220,0000-a-year salary would be reduced for the last four months of his contract in line with his diminished responsibilities. They also didn’t say how many hours a week McMinimee would work for the district in his new position. Details of the separation won’t be released until after next week’s board meeting.
McMinimee said he has already moved out of his office at district headquarters in Golden. Mitchell said the board expects to have a new superintendent chosen by late April or early May. Elliott is not a candidate for the job.
