The Park City Board of Education recently approved the purchase of a home, which will be used by the new superintendent of the Park City School District.

Representatives from the Board closed on the $870,000 home on Monday, said Todd Hauber, business administrator, and Superintendent Jill Gildea is expected to move into the home in Jeremy Ranch with her family at the end of the month. The Board approved the acquisition at its meeting last week, with members Erin Grady, Anne Peters and J.J. Ehlers voting in favor and Petra Butler dissenting. The ability to live in the home is part of Gildea’s benefits package, to accompany her $235,000 annual salary.

Peters said the Board looked at several homes under $1 million that Hauber brought to the table before deciding on one. The price of the home was originally set at $885,000, according to a real estate contract. Peters said the Board bought the property as an investment, rather than providing Gildea with a housing stipend as it has in the past.

“We get absolutely nothing back with a stipend,” she said. “At least here it is an investment and you get a return on it.”

Gildea’s predecessor, Ember Conley, was not given a stipend for living, Hauber said, but previous superintendents have received funds to pay for living expenses.

Butler said during the meeting that she was against purchasing a home for the superintendent because the money will be taken from the general budget, and her constituents were concerned about the purchase. She said a stipend might have been a better option.

Board members have previously said that they decided to buy a house because they want the superintendent to live within the district boundaries, and they were aware of the rising cost of living within Park City. Peters said having a superintendent living within the district boundaries was “non-negotiable” because the Board wanted them to be involved in the community.

The district previously owned a home that was used by the superintendent during the 1980s to the early 1990s, Hauber said. It was sold after an incoming superintendent did not want to live in it. Hauber said the Board could decide to sell the new home if Gildea decides at some point to not live in it, or the district could use it for another purpose.

Editor’s note: An image of the home accompanying this story has been removed in light of an incident in October 2019 in which a rock was thrown through a window in the superintendent’s home.  

Related: Read our editorial about the Board of Education’s decision