Dr. Carrie Stephenson, the Superintendent of Montrose County School District, has officially resigned. The board issued a short statement Thursday morning, writing, “The Board has accepted her resignation, and the Parties have resolved matters relating to her employment through a mutually agreed separation agreement. The Board thanks Dr. Stephenson for her service to the District and wishes her well.”
Stephenson was placed on leave in May following the resignation of Olathe Elementary Principal Jennifer Hesse. Board members who voted to place Stephenson on leave said the move was intended to protect district employees from potential retaliation while a third-party investigator examined Hesse’s conduct and Stephenson’s response.
Stephenson subsequently filed a grievance alleging governance violations, problems with the superintendent evaluation process and retaliation. She specifically pointed to Board President Neisha Balleck in her explanation of the grievance.
Following a lengthy executive session last month, Vice President Ted Valerio moved to adopt the board’s response to the grievance. The motion passed, with board members Jody Hovde and Tom West voting against it.
The board’s response acknowledged that it could have handled some communications better, but said it did not find any evidence of most of Stephenson’s allegations.
Then, last week, Dr. Stephenson was asked to voluntarily resign at a special meeting. The board voted unanimously for her resignation, though member Jody Hovde expressed some concern, saying, "I want it to be on record that I have concerns about the process... and how we came to this decision.”
The investigation, leave, and subsequent resignation appear to have only deepened divisions within Montrose. In the absence of many public details about what led to Stephenson’s departure, speculation has filled the gap — with community members offering sharply different interpretations of what happened, and who was responsible. For some, the resignation is a sign the district needed new leadership. For others, it raises questions about the board’s process and treatment of Stephenson. And with both sides largely left to interpret limited public information, the controversy surrounding the district is unlikely to end with Stephenson’s resignation.
