3 finalists picked for D-14 top job

Three finalists for the top job in Manitou Springs School District 14 were chosen by the school board this week, board president Anna Lord said Friday.

The finalists for superintendent are John Brendza, a consultant and former superintendent of Eagle County Schools; Erik Fredell, principal of Air Academy High School; and Edward Longfield, assistant superintendent of Delta County School District 50J.

The new superintendent will replace Roy Crawford, who is resigning at the end of the school year to lead an international school in Cambodia.

Lord said 28 people applied for the job, which was advertised with a minimum salary of $115,000 a year.

The board narrowed the field to 10, and the packets for those candidates were reviewed and discussed by a search committee that included teachers, administrators, parents and community members, Lord said.

The search committee and board members selected six semifinalists, who were discussed Wednesday when the board met with consultants from the Colorado Association of School Boards. The board narrowed the field to three finalists at the conclusion of that meeting.

The finalists will visit the district on March 13, and will be interviewed privately by the board and the search committee on March 14. A date for the board vote has not been determined.

A public open house with the candidates is scheduled 4:30-6 p.m. March 14 at the Manitou Springs High School commons.

Brendza began his education career as a teacher for Eagle County Schools, and returned in 2003 to head the district.

He resigned from the superintendent's post in June 2007 but continued as a consultant to the district, according to news reports.

Fredell has been principal at Air Academy since 2001, and also was principal at Greeley West High School. In December, he was a finalist for a superintendent job for Polson Public Schools in Montana, according to a Polson district newsletter.

Longfield has been a principal and has held numerous jobs in the Delta school system. He was named assistant superintendent last summer, according to news reports.

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Call McMillin at 636-0251