Another reason why the Park City School Board members should allow the next board to decide on a contract renewal for the Superintendent

Karl Persson and I launched a Change.org petition asking the Park City Board of Education not to vote on renewing the Superintendent’s contract this year. We felt it was best left to the new school board starting in January 2025 since they will have to work with the Superintendent going forward.

I am hearing that three members of the school board may be planning to vote for Dr. Gildea’s renewal as soon as Tuesday. However, I believe current school board members are making an assumption that they shouldn’t make — that the new board will vote to oust Dr. Gildea by default. I don’t think that’s necessarily the case.

School Board President Andrew Caplan has argued that Dr. Jill Gildea has done an excellent job as Superintendent. He has also stated that there have been performance reviews dating back to the beginning of her tenure.

What I don’t have is access to those reviews. Perhaps there have been formal performance reviews each year. In those reviews maybe Dr. Gildea has shown she has excelled against a confluence of events. Perhaps she did everything she could to stem the hate, harassment, and bullying documented in the Office of Civil Rights complaints. If we all had the same information, renewing Dr. Gildea’s contract this year may seem obvious.

I would guess that School Board President Andrew Caplan sees it that way. It seems obvious to him.

So, if it is obvious, why not let the future board decide? In January 2025, there will be nothing more important to the new school board than this. They can read Dr. Gildea’s formal performance reviews since 2018. They can see her successes and how she overcame adversity over seemingly insurmountable events.

There seems to be an assertion that the new board members are already out to get Dr. Gildea. That doesn’t make sense. From what I have seen, school board members are willing to serve our community because they want our schools to be the best possible for our children. There are no singular issues.

Again, if it is obvious to most that Dr. Gildea has done a good job and should continue to guide our schools, then the members of the 2025 school board will see it — especially once they read the performance reviews.

If the board won’t let the next board have a vote, then they are, perhaps, more cynical than me. If that’s the case, I’m not sure about their motivation.