Iowa education chief finalist for Colorado job

DES MOINES - Iowa Department of Education Director Jason Glass said being named a finalist for a superintendent job in Colorado won't have any effect on Gov. Terry Branstad's pursuit of education reform in Iowa.

“The education reform agenda in Iowa was built to be independent of any one person,” Glass said during a break in Wednesday's state board of education meeting. “It was an agenda that was built to be the right fit for the state, that's still the right fit for the state, and we're optimistic and hopeful that the legislature will be able to reach a reasonable compromise and find a pathway forward for education reform to be successful.”

But the director, who Branstad tapped from an education consultant job in Ohio to help design and push the governor's K-12 reform agenda in 2010, didn't elaborate much on the possible new job in the Eagle County school district. The district covers 2,500 square miles in the central Colorado Rockies, including the ski resort towns of Vail and Beaver Creek. The district has nine elementary schools, four middle schools, two high schools, an alternative high school and two charter schools.

“I'm honored to be considered and since the search is still ongoing, it's not appropriate for me to comment,” he said.

Glass is one of three finalists for the job, according to the Vail Daily. Glass previously was human resources director for the school district, where he helped pioneer the district's performance-based compensation system.

He wouldn't say if the district reached out to him when the superintendent job opened up. “My wife and I have long-standing history and tradition with the district, so we have connections there and we're just honored to be considered.”

Branstad spokesman Tim Albrecht struck a similar tone in an email response to questions on Glass's potential departure.

“The governor understands that any time you attract top talent, others will always want to hire them away. This is a recognition that Jason Glass is one of the country's leading education reformers, and is a talented and skilled leader. We are not surprised that others would want to utilize his talent and services,” Albrecht wrote. “Education reform has always been about making schools the best in the nation and ensuring our students are ready with the knowledge they need in order to compete in a 21st century global economy. Education reform is bigger than just one individual.”

Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, said he didn't think the development would affect ongoing discussions between the Branstad administration and lawmakers on an education reform package that is stalled in a House-Senate conference committee.

House Educations Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Cecil Dolecheck, R-Mount Ayr, agreed.

“I don't think so. It's basically the governor's education reform plan,” Dolecheck said. “I don't really think that would have any effect on the efforts of education reform. They're not necessarily built around the Department of Ed's plan. They're more the governor's plan.”

He was not surprised that Glass was exploring career options.

“I guess there are always offers out there,” Dolecheck said. “Whether that would be a step up or a step back, I don't know.”

Glass taught high school and university in Kentucky and worked for the Colorado Department of Education. He was vice president for Qualistar Early Learning in Denver, where he helped develop an early childhood education quality rating system.

Glass graduated from the University of Kentucky, where he earned a bachelor's degree and two master's degrees. He earned his doctorate in education from Seton Hall University.

The other finalists are Karen Brofft, assistant superintendent, Englewood, Colo., school district, and Donald Johnson, superintendent, Middleton-Cross Plains Area Schools in Wisconsin.

One of the three will replace Sandra Smyser, the Colorado Superintendent of the Year. She's leaving to be superintendent of the Poudre school district in Fort Collins, Colo.

According to the Vail Daily, the school board received applications from 24 candidates, half from outside Colorado.

The finalists will go through a battery of interviews with the school board and two citizens' committees, with 10 members each.