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Aspen schools interim head named finalist for job in Pagosa Springs

Staff reports
Longtime educator Tom Heald.
Christina Capasso/Aspen Journalism file

Aspen School District interim superintendent Tom Heald is one of four finalist for the Archuleta School District superintendent position, according to a report in The Pagosa Springs Sun.

On Thursday, the Archuleta School District Board of Education reviewed applications from seven eligible candidates for the position of superintendent, commencing July 1, 2020.

The board selected four finalists, and they are: Heald; Laura E. Mijares, current assistant superintendent, Archuleta School District 50 JT in Pagosa Springs; Dr. Kym D. LeBlanc-Esparza, current state director, Rocky Mountain Region, AVID Center, in Pueblo; and John W. Pandolfo, current superintendent, Barre Unified Union School District, in Barre, Vermont.



Candidates will participate in a multiday interview process in Pagosa Springs on Jan. 16 and 17.

The Archuleta board plans to make its decision and announcement Jan. 28.




All applicants were screened by Norman Ridder, consultant with McPherson and Jacobson LLC, the recruitment firm contracted by the board to lead the superintendent search process, the Sun reported.

Heald has been the interim superintendent since the summer after John Maloy retired. Maloy left after the Aspen school board announced it would not renew his contract past June 2021.

Among other roles, Heald has been the Aspen Middle School principal and the district’s director of curriculum.

Parts of this report were reprinted from The Pagosa Springs Sun with permission.