Clark County school superintendent finalist Don Haddad
After embracing new technology in the small Colorado school district he has headed since 2009, Don Haddad wants to try out his game plan on a bigger stage.
Haddad is one of six finalists for the top job in Clark County — a district 10 times the size of the St. Vrain Valley school system north of Denver.
Colleagues in the Longmont, Colorado,-based district describe him as thoughtful and someone who understands the value of technology as well as the complexities of education funding and the need for community buy-in.
Taxes in Colorado can’t be raised without the approval of voters, and during Haddad’s time in St. Vrain as deputy superintendent and superintendent, voters have approved four measures to increase school funding, said Bob Smith, president of the school board.
“He earned their trust by showing them what he’d do and then delivering on it,” he said.
Funding formula opposition
Earlier this year, Haddad ruffled some feathers in Colorado when he opposed a legislative measure — supported by more than 170 other superintendents — that would have dramatically changed how the state funds education.
The proposal, which ultimately failed, would have implemented a “weighted-funding formula” directing more money to educate underachieving students. The plan, which would have required an additional $1.6 million in taxes, also would have needed statewide approval from voters.
Haddad was one of seven superintendents who didn’t sign on to the plan, a more comprehensive version of a measure implemented in Nevada in 2017.
Haddad’s opposition to the plan, developed by the other superintendents and some Democrats in the state Legislature, had nothing to do with not wanting more funding for education, said Chris Barge, the vice president of strategic initiatives at The Community Foundation Boulder County.
“I think that it shows he is willing to not just go with the crowd,” Barge said. “He is pragmatic, and he is about the students and the staff in his district, and he’s looking at this and seeing that it is very unlikely to pass and he’s questioning why superintendents would all line up simply because it’s more money.”
On Friday, after his interview with the trustees, Haddad said he needed to see a clearer vision of how the plan would work before he’d support the tax hike.
“I’m very much in support of additional revenue,” he said. “You have to be clear on the vision before you go to the public.”
Contact Meghin Delaney at 702-383-0281 or mdelaney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @MeghinDelaney on Twitter.
