Curtis to begin as superintendent July 1

Posted 2/7/17

That dream became a reality for Curtis on Thursday as the Park County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees voted unanimously to hire him as the next superintendent for Powell schools.

Curtis, who currently serves as superintendent of the …

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Curtis to begin as superintendent July 1

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When Jay Curtis applied to be superintendent of the Powell school district, he said it would be his “dream job.”

That dream became a reality for Curtis on Thursday as the Park County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees voted unanimously to hire him as the next superintendent for Powell schools.

Curtis, who currently serves as superintendent of the Meeteetse school district, was chosen out of three finalists who interviewed for the position.

Out of the three, school board chairman Greg Borcher said one candidate — Curtis Finch of Michigan — indicated he wants to be a superintendent in the West. Another finalist — Mike Hamel of Laramie — wants to be superintendent in Wyoming.

“We had a third candidate who wants this job. It’s the only job he wants. He wanted Powell,” Borcher said. “That spoke to everybody.”

Curtis said he is “deeply humbled” and feels “so honored” to be offered the position.

“It is not without mixed emotions, because Meeteetse has been so good to my family and myself,” Curtis said Friday. “But we are all — and that includes my wife and my entire family — we are just so pleased and so excited to be a part of the Powell community.”

Curtis will begin on July 1, replacing superintendent Kevin Mitchell, whose last day is June 30.

Curtis called the Powell school district “exceptional,” with a talented administration and some of the best teachers in Wyoming.

“I feel that I am uniquely situated to pick up the torch that Kevin Mitchell has been carrying,” Curtis wrote in his application letter.

As part of his interview, Curtis met with school district employees and students last week; Borcher said they all agreed Curtis was their number one choice.

“This was a district decision,” Borcher said. “The board made the final decision, but we took all the information from all of our committees — the admin team, the staff, students, and basically we were all on the same page.”

The board met for about four hours in executive session Wednesday to make its decision.

Curtis’ annual salary will be $158,000, down from the $164,800 that Mitchell is receiving. The board advertised the salary as “not less than $150,000.” Borcher noted that Curtis has seven years of experience as superintendent in Meeteetse. He said the contract only includes the normal benefits for health insurance and retirement, and not housing or a vehicle.

Curtis said he hopes to stay in Powell for a “minimum of 10 years.”

“Quite frankly, I didn’t intend to leave Meeteetse at nine years, but the opportunity in Powell presented itself, and we don’t always get to choose the timing of the opportunities,” he said. “When it came open, I definitely felt like I was taking a bit of a chance, but hopefully it will work out for my family, myself and the community of Powell.”

A crucial part of the job is advocating for the Powell school district with the Wyoming Legislature, something Mitchell has been “very excellent” at, Borcher said.

“In this day and age with the Legislature, where they’re going with school financing, we need somebody who is going to be able to hit the ground running, and not drop off anything when Kevin’s gone,” he said.

Borcher said he’s confident that Curtis will do well in that aspect, praising his working relationships with state lawmakers.

“I don’t know that there’s ever been a more critical time for advocating for school districts,” Curtis said. “I think it’s important to keep the legislators focused on the kids. These decisions are not merely dollars — they are real children receiving a real education. And that, right now, is in a little bit of jeopardy with some of the bills that I see out there anyway.”

Curtis, 42, was hired to be Meeteetse’s K-12 principal in 2008. Two years later, he became the district’s superintendent — but due to budget issues, he also continued serving as the K-12 principal until 2013.

“Seven years ago, Meeteetse was kind of in extreme financial peril,” Curtis said.

With a $750,000 budgeted deficit, “the board had to take some fairly drastic actions,” he added.

Curtis proposed to the board that he could serve in both roles to save money. He had an assistant principal/athletic director, who was later promoted to principal when the district was in a financially stable position, Curtis said.

Today, the district has financial stability with money in reserves, he said.

“It was several years of hard work, but we did get the district’s finances under control, and they’re probably as fiscally sound as any district in the state right now,” Curtis said.

He also has been committed to improving student achievement in Meeteetse.

As he takes the helm at the Powell school district in coming months, Curtis said there will be a continued focus on meeting the needs of every child, through a focus on student learning.

In his first year in Powell, Curtis said he will spend time truly getting to know the school district and building strong relationships within the district and community.

Curtis already has ties to Powell; he lived here for three years while attending Northwest College.

While visiting with Mitchell in his office last week, Curtis looked out the window and saw the bean tower where he and his wife got engaged.

“My office will overlook the place where I proposed to my wife,” he said.

The couple has three children. Their son will graduate from Meeteetse in May and is considering going to NWC in the fall. The couple’s daughters will attend Powell High School next fall.

Borcher said he believes Curtis is a good fit for Powell.

On Thursday, Borcher thanked everyone for their participation in the search and interviews, including the community, staff, administration team, students and fellow board members. He also thanked Joyce Ruward, executive administrative assistant, for her “tremendous help” throughout the process, and Rob McCray, a former school board member, who led the community forums.

Fellow board members thanked Borcher for all of his hard work.

Borcher said he appreciated Mitchell’s leadership over the past 10 years, and thanked him for leaving the district in a position where it was easy to attract the next leader.

“We weren’t looking to rebuild or start over — he’s going to be leaving us in a very good situation, so I’m very confident and positive that we’re going in the right direction and will continue to do that,” Borcher said.

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