The St. Vrain Valley school board on Wednesday unanimously approved sole finalist Jackie Kapushion as the district’s next superintendent.

Kapushion, who was the only applicant for the position following an internal search, will replace longtime Superintendent Don Haddad, who was to retire around the end of the school year. Contract negotiations are the next step, with Kapushion starting July 1 if a contract is approved. The listed salary range for the position is $275,000 to $375,000.

“You have the trust of our internal community and also our external stakeholders,” school board member Jacqueline Weiss said. “I also really appreciate your clear vision and that you’re willing to build on our current success but that you also have fresh ideas that will expand the success of St. Vrain.”

Kapushion has worked in St. Vrain Valley for 10 years, including eight years as deputy superintendent and two years as an assistant superintendent. She previously worked for 13 years as a deputy superintendent, assistant superintendent and executive director at Mapleton Public Schools. She also worked as an elementary principal and teacher.

She has a doctorate in leadership and equity from the University of Colorado Denver; a master’s degree in administration, supervision and curriculum development from the University of Colorado Denver; and a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Wyoming.

In her presentation at Wednesday’s meeting, she called public education a great equalizer and said she wants to build on the district’s success. She added that it’s important to maintain a sense of urgency and responsiveness and avoid being resistant to change.

“Children only get one chance at a great education,” she said.

Her plans include visiting each of the district’s schools once a semester, continuing to look for ways to diversify the district’s revenue streams, adding a middle school student success monitoring system similar to what’s used in high schools, working on limiting cell phone distractions in classrooms while bolstering “digital citizenship” efforts, and starting a reduced-cost child care pilot program for district employees.

“It’s an exciting time to lead in public education,” she said.In other business, the school board got its first look at next year’s proposed budget, including a new starting salary that was negotiated with the teachers union, the St. Vrain Valley Education Association.

According to district information, the $2,000 starting teacher salary increase, to $64,500 a year, appears to be among the highest starting salaries in the state.

In total, the district is proposing a $16.6 million increase for compensation, which includes cost-of-living raises and increases in health insurance premiums.

Teachers on average would receive a 4.19% salary increase, which would be extended to other employees with the exception of administrators. Administrators would receive a 3.86% raise.