Jill Gildea, the current superintendent of Park City School District who recently announced her intent to retire to the school board, was offered a job as Colorado Early Colleges’ chief executive officer by their board Friday evening.The governing board of the group of public charter schools voted unanimously on the decision after deliberating in executive session to discuss personnel matters about the CEO candidate and legal advice about hiring her.Several board members expressed that while they were skeptical of Gildea at first, given comments they heard from individuals concerned she might not be a good fit — including from people in Utah — their interactions with her eventually eased their concerns.Board Vice President Terry McDonald said he and board President Laura Calhoun originally intended to bring several candidates to the board, but Gildea’s qualifications set her apart enough they decided she would be the only one. The decision, he said, brought criticism from other board members.Still, even board member Fesehaye Abrhaley — who identified himself as the last holdout — came around.Board member Arthur Cyphers said when he first learned about Gildea, he had a few questions about her resume he wanted to clarify. After speaking and meeting with her, he “became fully satisfied.”“I am now fully convinced that Dr. Gildea is the person that we should make the offer to,” he said.On Sept. 19, Gildea participated in a public forum with Calhoun and McDonald.They discussed Gildea’s career, educational philosophy, staff training and other experience.Gildea said she was interested in the Colorado position because of the organization’s emphasis on career and technical education and its emphasis in individual learning experiences.  When Calhoun asked Gildea the worst mistake she’d made in her career and what’s she’s learned from it, the Park City superintendent said everyone makes mistakes and needs grace and talked about how in the past she’s transitioned into new positions with too much eagerness to change things.The public charter group of schools voted for Gildea as their sole candidate for the position on Aug. 16, and they publicly announced their decision and posted her application Aug. 27 on a web page that is no longer available. Between the Colorado group’s vote on her as candidate and the announcement they’d done so, the Park City School Board decided to renew her contract on Aug. 21 in a 3-2 vote. Those who approved the decision — Andrew Caplan, Wendy Crossland and Anne Peters — had all dropped their bids for reelection this year and will be off the board come January. The two who opposed — Meredith Reed and Nick Hill — wanted to wait for their newly elected peers next year before making the decision.None of the board members have publicly confirmed or denied whether Gildea informed them she was seeking new employment, something she was required to do by her contract with the district.On Sept. 16, Gildea sent a letter to members of the Park City School District informing them she intended to retire from the district after her six years there as superintendent, and the next day she made her intent official during the district’s board meeting. Board members appointed Treasure Mountain Junior High Principal Caleb Fine as interim superintendent.Gildea has become a polarizing figure within the community, with some critical of her leadership when upset about issues the district has faced during her time at the helm.Others believe people are too hard on her.Since she was hired in 2018, the district illegally stored toxic dirt on school grounds, was investigated for widespread student-to-student harassment cases some of which the district didn’t properly resolve according to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights and was the subject of a state audit in fall 2023 that found the organization lacked in its assistance to students qualifying for federal help.During those six years, the district has also managed to be one of the best in Utah to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, was ranked fifth best in Utah by U.S. News & Word Report and made the College Board’s honor roll for its high school’s enrollment numbers in Advanced Placement courses.The post Park City School District superintendent offered job in Colorado appeared first on Park Record.