Superintendent Search

Subject: Superintendent for D49 Date: Tuesday, June 23, 2009, 7:31 AM Dear School Board Members, I am writing to hopefully influence your decision for Superintendent of District #49. As I’m sure you know, there are a few things of interest here and might come into play when selecting a superintendent candidate. District #49 lacks the infrastructure to support the candidates that have a lack of knowledge with either school or Colorado educational law. This school district has recently lost personnel in key positions to include the Chief Academic Officer and the Chief Operating Officer. The majority of the personnel in other key slots are fairly new. So this brings a whole new light on the question, “are the candidates qualified?” All are very qualified to be a leader and be able to manage an organization that is stable and has the infrastructure to support his/her lack of knowledge on certain subjects. Mr. Rayburn and Mr. Schoeppey are not the right candidates for District #49, due to the instability of the district and the lack infrastructure to support them. This district needs someone that is knowledgeable on all Colorado school issues and can jump in and bring this district together. Mike Poore has the knowledge of District #49 needs to allow this district to grow. If you care about this district and the growth of the children in the schools the logical choice would be the person that can walk into the district and make the difference immediately without months of training from nonexistent staff. If you take the time to look at the comments from the Community forum it is very obvious that the staff and the community felt very strongly that Mike Poore was the candidate of choice. In your posting for the Superintendent position you listed, “Additional skills require a detailed knowledge of Colorado School Law and Finance.” The only candidate that meets this requirement is Mike Poore. Also the school board had stated the candidate, “…must have or be qualified to attain a Colorado Administrators License.” The only candidate that has a Colorado Administrator license is Mike Poore. While I’m sure Mr. Schoeppey will be able to obtain a Colorado Administrator license quickly, Mr. Rayburn requires additional education in the field of education to be eligible to obtain a license in the State of Colorado. Not only is the hiring of this Superintendent vital to the educational growth of all students, it is also vital to the healing of this community. I beg of you to please make the right decision. Mike Poore is the right decision for this community. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, NAME WITHELD ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear NAME WITHELD Thanks for writing. I for one, would like a great superintendent for my grand children's school district. Someone that will break the mold, who will earn the respect of the staff, parents, and the majority of the community. Someone who will be here more than 2 or 3 years. No one is perfect, but I can't help feeling we need someone who can take D49 through this rough patch, and on to greatness. I really want a school district that is the envy of the region, the place to be. We need someone with both experience and success with education reform. Someone with vision. This is not just an average job position I am on a search committee to fill. This is a decision that will effect my grandchildren in a very real way. I want someone I can vote to offer a good solid 4 or 5 year contract to, without reservations. I am still evaluating and still looking. Nothing is in stone. I have only the preferences I have outlined. I am willing to think outside the box, to consider any good idea, and to hear any new idea. I have not ruled out opening the process, or hiring an interim Superintendent if the board can't come to a candidate we can agree on. No one on this board is taking this lightly. We have listened. We have slowed down. And we are committed to doing our best to get this right. ...MARK... ------------------------------------------------------------------------