Utah’s highest-paid superintendent, Jill Gildea of the Park City School District, has announced plans to retire.
The Monday afternoon announcement came just weeks after the Park City Board of Education on Aug. 20 renewed Gildea’s contract. That renewal came days before a public notice in Colorado suggested Gildea was exploring other job opportunities, which prompted questions as to whether Gildea disclosed her job search to board leaders prior to the renewal decision, as is required by her contract.
Her retirement will take effect Jan. 31, 2025, according to a district news release.
“It has been a privilege to lead this remarkable district, and I am deeply grateful for the opportunities we’ve had to innovate, grow, and achieve significant milestones together,” Gildea said in a statement.
The contract controversy ignited after Colorado Early Colleges, a network of public charter schools, announced in late August that its board had selected Gildea as its sole candidate for the position of chief executive officer. That vote took place on Aug. 16, four days before the Park City School Board, in a 3-2 vote, renewed Gildea’s contract. Board members Meredith Reed and Nicholas Hill opposed the renewal.
According to her contract, Gildea must “promptly notify the board” should she decide to apply for other roles. She also is required to provide a “30-day advance written notice” if she decides to leave the district or face a $2,000 “early termination penalty.”
When asked by The Salt Lake Tribune if Gildea had notified the board of her job search before the Aug. 20 Park City vote, district officials did not provide a direct answer but issued a statement from Board President Andrew Caplan.
“We are aware of reports in the press that the Superintendent is a finalist for a job in Colorado,” Caplan said. “We are grateful for her contributions to the district over the past six years of service.”
It’s unclear if Gildea intends to pursue the Colorado Early Colleges opportunity. Her statement did not acknowledge her candidacy, and officials with the charter school network previously said that a potential breach of her Park City School Board contract would not impact her consideration for the role.
But as of Monday, the notice about Gildea had been removed from the Colorado Early Colleges website. The charter school network’s board wasn’t expected to vote on whether to extend an offer to Gildea until its next regular meeting on Sept. 20, officials from Colorado Early Colleges had said.
Park City School District officials did not immediately respond to The Tribune when asked if Gildea had turned down the Colorado opportunity.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Park City School District offices in Park City on Tuesday, March 22, 2022.
Hours before Gildea’s 4 p.m. retirement announcement Monday, Park City Board of Education leaders met at noon in a closed session to discuss “the character, professional competence, or physical or mental health of an individual; and personnel,” according to the meeting’s agenda.
More information was not immediately provided on the meeting, which was first announced at 10:25 a.m. Sunday and not open to the public.
Including benefits, Gildea earned $415,201.42 in fiscal 2023, according to Transparent Utah. Her benefits also include a district-provided vehicle and an $870,000 house that the district purchased in 2018, the year she started at the district.
Prior to Park City, Gildea served as superintendent for less than a year at Greenwich Public Schools in Greenwich, Connecticut, The Greenwich Time reported in March 2018, describing her departure as “abrupt.” Before that, she spent six years as superintendent of the Fremont School District in Mundelein, Illinois.
“Looking ahead, I’m confident that the strong foundation we’ve built together will continue to serve the district well,” Gildea said in her Monday statement. “While my time as Superintendent is coming to a close, my dedication to the importance of a student-centered and future-focused education remains steadfast, and I’ll always celebrate the important work being done here in Park City.”