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School district losing No. 2 man

Jennifer Davoren
Aspen Times Staff Writer

The assistant superintendent of the Aspen School District announced his resignation on Friday, just one day after it was revealed that Superintendent Tom Farrell is seeking employment on the Front Range.

Assistant Superintendent Joel Sheridan, an ASD employee for just over two years, is expected to return to work with the Craig, Colo., school system, where he served before moving to Aspen in 2000. Aspen teachers said Sheridan announced his decision Friday in an open e-mail that expressed his excitement about the move.

Sheridan was not available for comment over the weekend.



Aspen School Board President Augie Reno said he heard a few weeks ago that Sheridan was exploring job options in Craig, but did not learn of his final decision until Friday.

“Tom had mentioned to me … that Joel had an opportunity to go back to the area he came from,” Reno said.




Sheridan is not the only top district official exploring employment alternatives. Farrell confirmed Friday that he is one of three finalists for the superintendent position in the St. Vrain School District, located north of Denver in Longmont. A 14-year veteran of the Aspen district, Farrell said he decided to apply for the St. Vrain job after a recent controversy erupted over the superintendent’s track record.

Though a small group of parents has called for Farrell’s removal, the Aspen School Board recently expressed its continuing support for the superintendent.

“I’m definitely going to do everything I can to keep Tom here,” Reno said Friday afternoon.

Farrell confirmed that the recent fight between the district and Aspen residents Carrie Morgridge and Laurie Michaels was a factor in his job search, but Reno could not say the same for Sheridan. Though Morgridge and Michaels have called for Farrell – and a few district teachers – to resign, Sheridan has never been named in the women’s campaign to shake up district staffing.

Reno said the school board expected to set up a meeting in the near future to discuss staffing changes.

“We’ll set up a meeting next week just to talk about things in general and talk about what’s happening with all this,” he said.