Mary Rubadeau, a Durango-based educator and consultant, has been named as the sole finalist for Bayfield School District interim superintendent.
Rubadeau was chosen by the Board of Directors out of a pool of 17 candidates, all of whom were reviewed, screened and background checked by consulting company McPherson & Jacobson, L.L.C., according to a news release from the district.
She previously served as interim superintendent for the district between March and June 2018.
“I’ve served as an interim, so I’m experienced in the process of coming in and helping a school board in the transition between superintendents,” she told The Durango Herald. “… My job as interim, should they appoint me, would be to really begin to bring (in an) implementation plan around the district, their strategic goals and provide stability for the district while the board initiates a search for a new superintendent.”
If chosen, Rubadeau will serve in the role for one year while the board continues the search for a more permanent candidate.
Rubadeau, who holds a Master of Science in Educational Psychology from the University of Albany and a Bachelors of Education from St. Lawrence University, has worked in additional, non-interim superintendent roles in the past, including with the Juneau Douglas School District in Juneau, Alaska, from 1994 to 1999, and more recently with the Telluride School District from 1999 to 2011.
She was awarded the Colorado Superintendent of the Year award in 2008.
She has also served as the interim superintendent of the Cortez School District and as interim director of the San Juan BOCES.
She worked as a project coordinator for the American Indian Measurable Success Collective Impact Initiative in Durango from 2016 to 2023, and has been self-employed as an educational leadership consultant since 2022. She also serves on the Fort Lewis College Board of Trustees.
Rubadeau will be interviewed by the board on May 27, and stakeholders are invited to a meet-and-greet from 4:30 to 6 p.m. May 26 at the Bayfield High School PAC Wing Commons, 800 County Road 501, in Bayfield.
Stakeholders are invited to submit input on the candidate to the board during the event, the release said.
Rubadeau said her community-based, learner-centered philosophy across her educational and leadership experiences align well with the kind of interim candidate the district is seeking.
“My entire career has really been working in rural school districts, with the exception of that five years in Juneau,” she said. “That’s part of what I really enjoy, is being able to get to know families and students, and work much more closely with the community in a small, rural setting.”
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