Moffat County School District ended its exhaustive search for the Moffat County High School 2025-26 school year principal Thursday, April 24. The decision has been made to elevate the current high school’s two assistant principals to lead the school on an interim basis.
The process—which included a nationwide search followed by a broadly transparent community engagement process for hiring. Beginning with widely distributed online surveys seeking community (answered by nearly 200 people), multiple stakeholder meetings with parents, staff, students and community members, and finally a deep and detailed interview process with three in-person finalists—is ending without a permanent high school principal. After completing this extensive process, this decision comes as a result of the finalists not meeting the high standards of MCSD, particularly after checking references and past work histories.
This district is pleased however to announce the appointment of both current Moffat County High School assistant principals into unique roles as interim co-principals for the 2025-26 school year. While neither assistant principal had previously applied to the principal role, the MCSD team noted the reality of the challenge of hiring school leaders in this market, with more than 30 other similar jobs posted at the same moment throughout the state. Superintendent Dr. Mathew Neal has communicated broadly his confidence in these two high school assistant principals.
“The two assistant principals, Michelle Tucker and Erika Miller, have deep knowledge and familiarity with Moffat County High School, what’s been working there, systems that still need to improve, and the vision of this district, this community and this high school,” Dr. Neal said. “Although it wasn’t initially our plan to make this move, and while we will continue to search far and wide for the principal of the high school again next year, Michelle and Erika are both phenomenal leaders, and I’m very pleased to be able to watch their growth and the school’s growth in this next phase of their leadership.”
Tucker and Miller joined the high school when outgoing principal Ryan Frink took the position two years ago, and have served faithfully since that time in high-level duties guiding the school alongside Frink, who is taking a job on the front range to be closer to family. Both Tucker and Miller are seasoned leaders who love the high school and will lead it well.
“Ultimately, choosing Michelle and Erika was a better decision than choosing a candidate that wasn’t the right long-term fit for the high school,” Neal said. “Though we had good candidates, including all three that attended our finalist sessions in April, we simply didn’t have the best possible fit available, and it wasn’t the right decision to settle in this case. The high school and the Moffat County community deserve more than that.”
The three finalists all boasted quality resumes and references, but in the end, the hard decision to pass on this crop of applicants was the right one, Neal said.
“The truth is we don’t get a massive number of applicants, and the urgency of making a decision would force the hand of some school districts,” Neal said. “But not here. We’re going to do everything we possibly can to ensure the right person for this place and this moment joins our team as the next high school principal. This action allows us time to be certain we’re hiring the right person. I’m excited to find that person over the course of the next year. In the meantime, Michelle and Erika will keep our kids on track and moving in the right direction.”
Mrs. Tucker and Mrs. Miller are both extremely enthusiastic about this new direction.
“The thing I am most excited about in taking on the new role of principal is building strong relationships with students, teachers, and families,” Tucker said. “I love building teams, and I am really looking forward to embracing this opportunity to enhance what we do well and improve the things we can do better. We are on a great trajectory, we need to keep the momentum going and continue to raise the bar.”
“I am thrilled to be here at MCHS,” Miller said. “I'm looking forward to continuing building relationships, learning together, and making a meaningful difference with our amazing students and staff.”
Photos: Michelle Tucker; Erika Miller