To the editor

To the editor:

I have been working with the District for over 40 years as a teacher and administrator, and in that time, I have served under five superintendents. Each superintendent came to lead our staff in different ways. 

Lonnie Rogers became superintendent the summer he hired me, in 1976. He was appointed by the Board to replace Mr. McFarland, and he served for 17 years. Upon his retirement, the Board conducted a superintendent search and interview process, which led to the hiring of Mr. Boydstun, who then led for 10 years. When Boydstun retired, the Board again conducted a search, which was handled by a group in northern Colorado. This group narrowed the list of candidates for us and we interviewed the top candidates. One by one, our top three choices dropped out. At that time, the Board was able to convince our principal, Buck Stroh, to take the job, and after his appointment, he led our district for almost 15 years. As you know, he was replaced by Lis Richard after the most recent superintendent search. She left after two years, and the Board selected Collin Vinchattle to be our interim superintendent. The Board decided at that time to determine Vinchattle’s leadership ability before starting another search. If he was comfortable in the job and his evaluation was positive, a new search might not be necessary. On the other hand, if this was not a good fit for him or for the District, the Board could opt to begin a search for another candidate.

My purpose in writing today is to recommend that the Creede School Board appoint Collin Vinchattle as superintendent. The Board’s evaluation was positive, Mr. Vinchattle has assumed the leadership role with care and confidence, and most importantly, he has the support of one hundred percent of the district faculty and staff. 

I realize Board members may be under some pressure from members of the community--whose voices deserve to be heard and respected--to begin a superintendent search. However, I would ask board members to also consider seriously the voices of the people who work every day with Mr. Vinchattle, who trust his decisions, who know him and his vision, and who support his leadership. In addition, Collin now has experience that dates back to his appointment as interim superintendent last spring, when Mrs. Richard resigned and started working from home. He also brings a master’s degree in Educational Leadership and nine years of administrative experience in three different metropolitan school systems. I wholeheartedly endorse him.

I hope the current board members would question why the district would find it prudent to endure the expense, time commitment, and the need to navigate another new beginning. What we need is stability, and we finally have stability after several tumultuous months. We know what we have, and we are happy with what we have. We don’t see a need to search for an unknown, for someone who may become a disappointment, leading to yet another search. 

Sincerely,

John Goss