Tharyn Mulberry named superintendent of Aspen School District

The Aspen School District Board of Education officially appointed Tharyn Mulberry as superintendent, effective July 1, during its Wednesday board meeting.

The board unanimously approved a 3-year contract after postponing a special meeting on April 8 to have more time to review the contract. 

“I’m super excited to have this position,” he said. “The fact that I’ve had a chance to talk to so many staff members and hear the overwhelming sort of excitement about where we’re going to go, what we’re doing, and all of the things we’ve already done — that’s just been really invigorating to me, and I’m very excited about what the next year’s going to bring.”

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Mulberry, who currently serves as the assistant superintendent of the district, was named the sole finalist for the role after receiving an outpouring of support from the school board and members of the community. He first joined the district as principal of Aspen High School in 2015 and assumed the role of assistant superintendent in 2020.

In February, Baugh announced he would step down as superintendent at the end of the school year to join the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club as executive director. He became superintendent of the Aspen School District in April 2020 after leading the Centennial School District in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. 

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Before Baugh announced his resignation, Mulberry was one of three finalists in neighboring Roaring Fork School District’s superintendent search. He withdrew from the Roaring Fork race after Baugh’s resignation notice.

In a March 6 school board meeting directly following Baugh’s resignation, members of the board and members of the community showed emphatic support for Mulberry as the new superintendent. The board agreed unanimously to forgo a national superintendent search, which the district conducted in 2020 to hire Baugh, and instead hire internally.

“We have an absolutely wonderful internal candidate, and the time and cost is too great to have a national search,” said board member Sarah Daniels at the March 6 meeting. “In fact, a national search was done four years ago when Dave was hired, and Tharyn was on the shortlist, and the national search was done for Roaring Fork, and Tharyn was also on that list. So if you think about national searches, the person who’s going to come out on top is already in our building.”

In its March 20 meeting, the board named him the sole finalist for the superintendent role. The district received only one application. 

He has been heavily involved in implementing the International Baccalaureate (IB)curriculum at the school district. Some of his goals as superintendent include continuing to implement an aligned IB curriculum and a fully-articulated K-12 curriculum in math and English language arts, according to a presentation he made to community members during a meet-and-greet earlier this month.

He also hopes to achieve an IB world designation for the Primary Years, Middle Years, and Diploma programmes, according to his presentation, as well as to balance the school’s budget while maintaining healthy reserves and continue to improve school safety.

“All of us talk about how special this school district is and just how amazing it is for our children, and I can’t wait to be a part of that with this community and doing that,” he said. “Because I think all of us have that same dream; it’s a place where parents can really feel like their kids are receiving an exceptional experience.”

His salary will be $225,000 for the first year and will be adjusted each year, according to the contract, which The Aspen Times reviewed. He will also be paid a one-time sign-on bonus of $50,000 for “expanding his current duties in order to collaborate and work closely with the district’s current superintendent … during a transition period.”

His contract runs from July 1 to June 30, 2027, with the option to extend the contract in 2027.