The Woodland Park school district has a new leader for the upcoming school year.

Following weeks of interviews and deliberation, Woodland Park RE-2’s board of education unanimously approved Ginger Slocum to serve as the district’s interim superintendent during a special meeting on Aug. 6. Slocum has been the chief academic officer in the district since February 2024.

While the search for a permanent leader remains ongoing, board members decided to finalize their leadership heading into the 2025-26 school year. The other finalist for the temporary position was the district’s chief operations officer, Aaron Salt, who had been serving as interim superintendent since March following Ken Witt’s departure.

“I just want to say that I’m very excited for the opportunity and I feel honored to be able to represent our school district and look forward to working with the board of education and community and really working hard to bring people back together and to move forward,” Slocum said at the meeting after her approval.

The upcoming school year will mark Slocum’s 29th year in education, with 12 years in leadership roles and seven years with Woodland Park School District. She previously served as the principal at Columbine Elementary for five years.

Slocum holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, a masters in curriculum & instruction, and a post-master’s degree in administrative educational leadership.

Board member Keegan Barkley noted Slocum’s “traditional skill sets” for the position compared well to Salt’s, who has worked as a software developer, project manager and board member for Academy D-20 and New Summit Charter Academy. Barkley also acknowledged the work he has done in the interim capacity.

Board secretary David Rusterholtz agreed and commended Salt’s work over the past four months.

“He made immediate changes to the atmosphere in the schools, he was reaching out to teachers, he was trying his best to make it a less tense place to work [and] he has been doing his best effort to reach out into the community,” he said.

Rusterholtz said he was impressed by Slocum’s preparation during interviews and appreciated the fact that she resides within the district .

“I think that she can be a bridge to this new healing or this new step,” he said.

The healing Rusterholtz referred to is regarding the public faith and trust in the district that had greatly dissolved during Witt’s tenure due to several contentious decisions, conflicts with other governing bodies and a lack of transparency.

Board President Mick Bates said he could “go either way,” but wanted the board to be “unified” with their decision to avoid as much governmental and administrative strife as possible . He added that they would have to then consider filling the vacancy that Slocum’s appointment would create for the district’s chief academic officer.

According to a news release announcing the decision, Slocum will continue to guide the district’s academic work while assuming the interim superintendent role.

The search for the school district’s permanent superintendent will continue throughout the school year by the hiring firm Grundmeyer Leader Services. A public survey is planned in September, and its results will be presented to the board at its October meeting.

From there, a job description will be finalized and posted in November, followed by an application period that is expected to close in December before Christmas break.