On Tuesday evening, at a regularly scheduled meeting, the Roaring Fork School District (RFSD) Board of Education voted unanimously to offer Interim Superintendent Dr. Anna Cole the superintendent position.
The timeline of Cole’s path to the position began in mid-August 2023 when then-Superintendent Dr. Jesús Rodríguez asked Cole to fill in as acting superintendent while he was on parental leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act in preparation for the birth of his child.
When Rodríguez was due to return from medical leave in mid-October, he tendered his resignation, and after the board approved it Cole was named interim superintendent.
In November, the board approved Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates, the consulting firm that had selected Rodríguez as a superintendent candidate the previous year, to begin a superintendent search. The position was officially posted in mid-December, with applications closing on Feb. 10.
An RFSD press release, sent shortly after Tuesday evening’s board vote, stated that 20 candidates nationwide applied for the position by submitting applications, which included essays.
The board introduced a new element to this hiring process: the Superintendent Search Advisory Committee (SSAC), formed in February and composed of 10 volunteers who responded to a public invitation to join this committee. The SSAC conducted initial candidate interviews and offered detailed feedback to aid the board in selecting finalists.
On Feb. 27, the board met online in a special meeting to approve the finalists for the superintendent position: Cole, Aspen School District Assistant Superintendent Tharyn Mulberry and Brush School District RE-2J Superintendent Bill Wilson.
When Aspen School Superintendent David Baugh announced his resignation to become executive director of the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club, Mulberry withdrew his name from consideration.
The SSAC completed second-round interviews with Cole and Wilson to provide further feedback to the board.
Last week, Cole and Wilson engaged in focus group discussions with students, teachers, district office staff and community members, including some led by Spanish-speaking individuals and students.
Before the vote at Tuesday night’s meeting, each board member spoke in support of offering Cole the superintendency.
Cole will now negotiate an employment contract with the district and is expected to officially take over the superintendent role on July 1 — a date when superintendent contracts often begin, aligning with the school district’s fiscal year.
She has served as chief of student and family services since 2021, previously holding the director of the Family Resource Center position for two years. Cole also has experience as a high school science teacher, teacher educator and curriculum developer.
When reporters interviewed Cole after the meeting adjourned, The Sopris Sun asked about the importance of the community trusting in the district’s leadership and the need for accountability, transparency and communication, to which Cole provided the following answer.
“What’s amazing about our scope and scale is that people feel very connected to our district leadership — it’s a real strength and it also holds us incredibly accountable. When folks feel dissatisfied, they make it really clear,” she stated. “They have really legitimate questions. … I think those concerns and questions are absolutely valid, and they’re pushing us to do better in terms of transparency and accountability in all the right ways, frankly.”
Summing up her feelings, Cole said, “It’s a real privilege to get to be in this position right now. I think that’s probably the biggest thing I’m feeling right now — it’s a real honor to do so.”