Brighton 27J School District selects new superintendent: "We have a mission that we're really proud of"

There will soon be a new leader for the Brighton 27J School District. The current deputy superintendent, Will Pierce, was selected by the school board with a unanimous roll call vote in March.

Pierce is a Colorado native with 24 years of experience in the district, serving as a teacher, principal and administrator. He doesn't become superintendent until July of 2024. But when he does, the community might not notice a change and that's exactly what he wants.  

"We have a mission that we're really proud of and we want to continue," Pierce said. 

Pierce plans to continue work that's funded by more than $17 million mill levy override approved by voters in November for the first time in 22 years. 

"Our teachers will be able to celebrate the highest raise that I can ever remember in 27J," Pierce said.  

Thanks to that mill levy, 27J is no longer the lowest-funded school district in the metro area. 

The funding has already gone to increasing staff pay, creating a career and technical education center, decreasing elementary class sizes, and addressing top priorities for families. 

"What do you feel like is the top concern for parents right now?" CBS News Colorado reporter Olivia Young asked Pierce. 

"Right now? Safety would have to be the top," Pierce responded. 

The district has armed school resource officers in all secondary schools, while Pierce says they have plans to expand that program, as well as other safety measures. 

"We drill on safety. We are consistently drilling on safety and we have every protocol that there could be," Pierce said. 

A recent lockdown at Prairie View High School after a nearby shooting involving students is an example of that protocol. 

"I actually happened to be at Prairie View the day that happened," said Pierce, "and our SRO radio from one school to another school was faster to lock that thing down before I got communication from any other way we could have had it so we were able to lock that school down really quickly." 

The district is still on a four-day school week. Pierce says surveys of staff and parents have indicated they want that to stay. The district wants to track data on student success before they make a decision to return to a five-day week. 

The 27J board has selected 11 community members to be on a mill levy oversight committee. Despite the mill levy, Pierce says the biggest problem facing the district is still funding. 

"When we dream up safety solutions we're gonna be about three thousand dollars per student less of what we can do. That is the biggest challenge we still have to work through," Pierce said.