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PARKER, Colo. (KDVR) — The two finalists for Douglas County School District superintendent answered questions submitted by the community at a public forum Thursday evening. 

Students, staff, parents and community members submitted questions for the finalists over the past several days. The questions were grouped into common themes and turned into eight interview questions. 

Both finalists answered the same set of questions in the same order. 

Danny Winsor and Erin Kane were each allowed an opening remark to introduce themselves and explain why they are interested in the superintendent position. 

“Just very excited about the opportunity to rebuild that sense of trust within our community,” Winsor said. 

“I very much view the role of the superintendent as setting up an environment that inspires others to go do the great work for our kids,” Kane said. 

Rebuilding trust in the school community

The first question out of the gate focused on division within the community. Each finalist was asked to explain how he or she would rebuild trust. 

“My role is really making sure we take the attention off of seven people and put it on the 64,000 kids, 8,000 employees in our community as well, and that really means we need to be a lot more clear and concise about what we’re working on,” Winsor said. 

“I think talking to our community and really listening to where people are at instead of just making assumptions about what other people think or what other people believe. I think it’s best to actually ask them,” Kane said.

For Douglas County schools superintendent finalists, students a top priority

The rest of the questions asked Kane and Winsor to explain how they would handle things like attracting great teachers, keeping schools safe and enhancing services for students with special needs. 

They were each asked about their leadership styles, their stance on a potential mill levy bond, and what they each view as strengths and weaknesses in the district. 

Throughout the forum, both finalists emphasized students as their top priority.

The final question asked each candidate to define what they believe is the community’s role in the school district going forward. 

“We need to make sure that we’re having respect for one another around understanding that our differences are extremely important to embrace within this,” Winsor said. 

“Our disagreements of the last two years just don’t matter. It doesn’t matter who was right and who was wrong. Everybody wanted what was best for our kids. I hope that we are able to leave those bitter disagreements behind us and really move forward and focus on moving our kids forward,” Kane said. 

Watch the full interviews with DougCo schools superintendents

The full interviews are available on the Douglas County School Board’s website. There is also a feedback form for the community to weigh in on each finalist. 

The school board will hear public comments about the finalists at its March 22 meeting. The board can make a final decision any time after hearing from the public.