Thompson School District plans public forum with 3 superintendent candidates
Thompson School District has announced three candidates to become its next superintendent and is hosting a public forum with the candidates at 6 p.m. April 29 at Thompson Valley High School in Loveland.
The three candidates are Brett Heller, superintendent of the School Town of Munster district in Indiana; Kym LeBlanc-Esparza, deputy superintendent of Colorado's Jefferson School District; and Douglas Van Zyl, an educational consultant and former superintendent of the Lakeville Area School District in Minnesota and St. Joseph School District in Missouri.
All three candidates will have on-site visits and interviews with Thompson School District officials from April 29-May 1, spokesman Michael Hausmann wrote in a news release April 17. Additional biographical information on each candidate will be posted soon on the district's website.
Marc Schaffer, Thompson School District's superintendent for the past seven years, is leaving at the end of June to become superintendent of a school district near his hometown in suburban Chicago.
The facilitated public forum, followed by a meet-and-greet session, with the candidates will be at 6 p.m. April 29 in the auditorium at Thompson Valley High School, 1669 Eagle Drive, Loveland.
More: Dozens of speakers at Thompson school board meeting divided on transgender students' rights
The three candidates were identified as the most qualified with assistance from a national search firm, McPherson & Jacobson LLC, the news release said.
'The consultants reviewed, screened and conducted extensive background checks' on 26 applicants, Hausmann wrote.
Thompson School District oversees 30 schools in southern Larimer County, including two elementary schools in Fort Collins, with total enrollment this year of 14,751, according to the Colorado Department of Education's annual count.
Reporter Kelly Lyell covers education, breaking news, some sports and other topics of interest for the Coloradoan. Contact him at kellylyell@coloradoan.com, x.com/KellyLyell, threads.net/KellyLyell and facebook.com/KellyLyell.news.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Thompson School District offers forum with 3 superintendent candidates
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