And then there was one: After months of sifting through piles of applications for superintendent of Sedona-Oak Creek School District, the final candidate spoke at a public forum Tuesday, March 27.

Dennis Dearden, who has decades of experience as a teacher, coach, principal and superintendent and is currently working in Tucson, was one of nearly 30 applicants narrowed down to four invited to an initial interview with the district Governing Board, and then one of two who were invited to return for the final interview and public forum.

The other finalist withdrew her application when she accepted a position at another school district last week, leaving Dearden the sole speaker at Tuesday’s forum. By way of introduction, Dearden spoke to the importance of school culture and his experience improving districts by focusing on the people rather than the programs.

“It’s about the people that run the programs, the people that connect with other people,” he said. “When you get people working together, communities believing in what you’re doing … amazing things happen.”

Members of the community, including district staff and students, submitted questions to ask Dearden. Many questions revolved around the district’s financial difficulties, like how Dearden would go about school consolidation and staff reduction, how he has fundraised at past districts he’s led and how he would go about increasing enrollment.

“If you want a great district, we — the board, myself, our support staff, our principals, our teachers — must work together to come up with these solutions,” Dearden said. “It’s going to take a whole village to do this.”

Dearden also shared that, for him, creating a culture where everyone is listened to and feels valued is the most important thing.

“It’s got to be a culture that they can thrive in, that they can feel valued in, where they can grow,” he said. “…. The talent is here, the expertise is here to make this a great district.”

After the forum, the Governing Board entered into closed session to discuss whether to move forward with contract negotiations with Dearden. After less than 20 minutes of discussion, the board reconvened in open session, and it voted unanimously to offer Dearden the position.

Dearden, who mentioned he has another offer on the table, said he would make his decision quickly.

Rebekah Wahlberg can be reached at 282-7795 ext. 117, or email rwahlberg@larsonnewspapers.com