Garfield Re-2 announces Jeff Blanford as the new Director of Finance

RIFLE – The Garfield Re-2 School District is pleased to announce that Jeff Blanford will be the new Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Blanford was approved by the Garfield Re-2 School Board at the June 9, 2021 school board meeting.

Blanford will take over in early July for the Interim-CFO Dr. David Trautenberg. Dr. Trautenberg supported Garfield Re-2 for the last 18-months through a transition of Finance Directors and an unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic.

Blanford comes to Garfield Re-2 from the front range and brings a wealth of experience in government and specifically education finance.  He has worked as the Director of Finance for the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) for the last 14-years, and spent three years in the Grants Fiscal Management Unit for CDE prior to that.

“A lot of what CDE does is going to be similar in terms of the management of funding,” explained Blanford. “I do think that my technical and experience with CDE will definitely add some value, in spite of the fact that I've got a lot to learn about how a district runs, especially day to day.”

Blanford is excited about the change in position and the change in life-style to an area he has always found desirable.

“I love western Colorado and eastern Utah and every time I would drive through that area I would say to myself that if I could figure out how to make a living here, I would do it. We took a trip out to Eastern Utah about the middle of May and drove through that part of the state. After I got home, I saw the job posting and everything fell into place.”

Blanford is a Certified Public Accountant and brings a variety of additional public and private finance experience to the table in addition to his Bachelor of Science, Business Administration/Accounting from the University of Colorado at Denver.

Garfield Re-2 Superintendent Heather Grumley is confident in Blanford’s ability to lead the Finance Department. 

 “We are excited to welcome Jeff to the Garfield Re-2 family,” said Grumley. “He stood out in a field of very qualified candidates. He has a great depth of understanding of school finance that will serve him well in this transition and make the learning curve easier to climb.”

Mrs. Grumley added that Dr. Trautenberg will be missed.

“David came to us at a difficult time, both for the district and the nation. His vision, leadership and resources have helped us navigate some turbulent waters and he leaves the Garfield Re-2 in good financial shape and with the gratitude of the district for his efforts,” she said.