Madrid, Spain, is a long way from Mancos, but Connie Garcia Blanchard is the sort who will probably be as comfortable in her new workplace as in the city of her childhood.

Tuesday evening the Mancos School Board voted unanimously to offer Blanchard a contract for the position advertised as Interim Superintendent/CEO. They selected her from among five finalists.

Board President Tanya Young confirmed Wednesday that Blanchard had verbally accepted the $50,000 post that morning, and she will start as soon as the contract is reviewed by the school’s attorney. The term will run until the hiring of the permanent superintendent, according to Young.

Blanchard has most recently been a visiting scholar at Fort Lewis College. She has a Ph.D. in Spanish language and literature from the University of Minnesota. She is a native speaker of Spanish, is fluent in Portuguese and Italian, and has some proficiency in French, German and Latin.

In 36 years of teaching foreign languages at the college level, Blanchard has served 12 years as chair of foreign-language departments in two state universities. She has numerous publications and papers (in both English and Spanish) on literature, Latin American studies and social issues.

During the next school year, Blanchard will be asked to prepare a candid evaluation of the district for the board. At their recent retreat, the board set these goals for the selectee:

• Team-building, including trust, delegation, evaluation, and parental involvement.

• Budget, including reporting, keeping the budget balanced, and planning over a three-year cycle.

• Accountability, including establishing expectations with all district stakeholders, measuring performance on those expectations, and reporting to the board.

She will also be expected to work with the board on the search for a long-term superintendent.

Blanchard says in her letter of application that, although she has "never taught full-time in a K-12 environment," she has "for years taught the teachers to teach." Acknowledging that she will be new to public-school administrative processes, Blanchard said in a telephone interview Wednesday, "I will do my homework and consult the people who do have the expertise."

In the "Meet the Candidates" public meeting on July 20, Blanchard emphasized the importance of re-establishing trust and integrity in building a team spirit. She also said, "I don’t believe in a hierarchical administration."