Jefferson County Board of Education is in the midst of one of the biggest decisions its faced in recent years to find a qualified superintendent for Colorado’s largest school district.

Recently, the board hired Ray & Associates, a national education leadership search firm, to help find an educated, innovative and creative leader to become the district’s next superintendent. Hired as of Feb. 27, Ray & Associates has wasted no time building an aggressive, three-month timeline for the search.

“The May timeline, it’s realistic,” board treasurer Jill Fellman said. “I think it’s really critical to select somebody before or right after the end of the (school) year.”

Over the next few months, Ray & Associates will work with the board on several processes of the search including advertising for candidates, community outreach, and candidate selection.

At its most recent board meeting, March 6, the board advised Ray & Associates to advertise widely, both online and in print publications. It also settled on a base salary of $280,000 for the position — a number competitive with districts of similar size according to a staff report.

The board has expressed on several occasions it is looking for a traditional and nontraditional candidate for the superintendency that is an innovative and creative leader, someone who will meet set goals and push them to the next level.

“It’s important we think about what leadership qualities Stevenson had that are revered and maintained,” Fellman said, “but also that we look at the qualities in the person that will move the district forward.”

On Feb. 8, the former superintendent, Cindy Stevenson, moved up her previously announced retirement for summer, stating she could not work with a board who didn’t trust or respect her decisions. Since that time, a four-member leadership team, made up of the district’s executive leadership team, Marcia Anker, Lorrie Gillis, Heather Beck and Steve Bell, has taken her place, reporting to President Ken Witt and Fellman every other week on pertinent issues.

Two public meetings will be held for the community on March 18 and 19, to garner input from key stakeholders.

Ken Witt, Julie Williams, John Newkirk and Lesley Dahlkemper did not return our calls or emails for a comment.