RRPS names three superintendent finalists, including athletics director

RIO RANCHO — The athletics director of Rio Rancho Public Schools and two administrators from Maryland and Washington are the three finalists for RRPS superintendent.

The RRPS Board of Education met Tuesday during a special board meeting to approve the top candidates: Todd Resch, RRPS executive director of athletics; Dr. Heather Sánchez, chief operating officer for the Bellevue (Washington) School District; and Dr. Robert "Robby" Dodd, director of the division of school leadership and improvement for Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools.

"There were such good things that came from each of those candidates," RRPS School Board President Amanda Galbraith said during the meeting. "That shows that Dr. Cleveland has done so well in Rio Rancho that people want to come to the school district."

Any finalist that is selected by the board would be only the second in RRPS history, following Cleveland, who began her tenure in February 1994 at the district's beginning and has since become the longest-serving school district leader in the state's history. Cleveland announced in September that she plans to step down in the spring.

Cleveland thanked the candidates who applied, stating it takes "a lot of time, effort and courage."

Galbraith responded, "It can be a scary thing to put your name out there, but we're grateful."

District 5 board member and board secretary Jessica Tyler said during the meeting that 31 applicants were presented to the board by search firm Ray & Associates. A top 10 list from that pool was assembled — and the board even considered an 11th candidate, but the individual's name was not revealed.

"We didn't have Ray make all the decisions for us; we made some changes there," Tyler said during the meeting, referring to including an additional top candidate.

The board met behind closed doors to interview the top five candidates Dec. 8-9 before narrowing it down to three.

Galbraith praised her fellow board members, stating each one of them "has really been putting in the work, time and passion to ensure we have really good top candidates — and it was hard."

Asked in an interview why not all the candidates were from Rio Rancho, Galbraith noted Cleveland was not when she was selected for the role and this search was always intended to be national.

"We have a beautiful country with wonderful individuals in it," she said.

Asked about Resch's qualifications over other potential RRPS candidates, Galbraith said she did not want to comment directly but noted he and the other candidates "showed they could be great for the district."

Galbraith added, "I'm excited to dig a little deeper into who he is," like the other candidates, saying she is excited for the finalists to visit Rio Rancho. A community meet and greet is scheduled for 6:30-8 p.m. Dec. 15 in the RRPS Training Center, 500 Laser Road NE.

"We are choosing a superintendent, but they also have to choose us back," Galbraith said.