Last week, Utah’s highest-paid superintendent, Jill Gildea of the Park City School District, announced plans to retire, amid questions about potential contract violations. Four days later, she received a job offer to lead Colorado Early Colleges, a public charter school network.
News of her candidacy to be CEO of Colorado Early Colleges surfaced in late August, shortly after the Park City Board of Education renewed her contract on Aug. 20, sparking concerns about whether Gildea disclosed her job search to board leaders before the renewal decision, as her contract required.
A month later, Gildea announced her retirement, effective Jan. 31, 2025. Her statement on Sept. 16 made no mention of the Colorado job. Hours before her retirement announcement, Park City board leaders met 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.
On Thursday — three days after announcing her retirement — Gildea took part in a public forum where she was interviewed by members of the Colorado Early Colleges’ governing board. Gildea repeatedly expressed her interest in the position and the charter school network. The board voted Friday to extend Gildea an offer.
Park City School District officials did not immediately respond to inquiries from The Salt Lake Tribune about whether Gildea has or will accept the offer.
Colorado Early Colleges officials said in a statement the school was “aware” Gildea had announced plans to retire from the Park City School District, but has “no additional information” at this time.
The contract controversy ignited after Colorado Early Colleges announced that its board had selected Gildea as its sole candidate for CEO. That vote happened Aug. 16, four days before the Park City School Board, in a 3-2 vote, renewed Gildea’s contract.
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 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.”
Officials from Colorado Early Colleges previously told The Tribune that whether or not Gildea breached her contract with the Park City School Board would not affect her potential candidacy.
“From our perspective, it’s obviously something that she’s going to have to address with her current employer, if she’s offered a position and decides to take it,” said Andrew Sparks, legal counsel for Colorado Early Colleges. “But there isn’t really anything that we have to deal with on our end.”
Details about the offer have not yet been disclosed.
Including benefits, Gildea earned $415,201.42 from Park City schools in fiscal 2023, making her the highest-paid superintendent in the state, according to Transparent Utah. Her benefits also include a district-provided vehicle and an $870,000 house that the district bought in 2018, the year she started at the district.
Before coming 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.
Treasure Mountain Junior High Principal Caleb Fine will serve as the interim superintendent, Park City Schools board leadership announced last week.
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