Jeffco college board election: 5 candidates search two open seats

5 candidates are operating for 2 open seats on the Jeffco college board, the place they’d assist form coverage in a various college district dealing with declining enrollment, important tutorial gaps, and long-term funds issues. 

Since 2015, when voters recalled a conservative board, members backed by the lecturers union have led the district. With simply two open seats on the five-member board, that gained’t change this 12 months — however whatever the consequence, the board will see new views and approaches. Incumbents Stephanie Schooley and Susan Miller usually are not operating for re-election.

Jeffco Public Faculties, Colorado’s second largest college district, stretches from the Denver border to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and serves a mixture of city, suburban, and rural communities. 

Whereas the county largely votes Democratic in state and legislative races — a pointy distinction from 20 years in the past — Jefferson County stays politically various and has seen heated college board conferences over masks, quarantines, and the way lecturers deal with points associated to race and gender identification. There have additionally been wrenching choices to shut faculties and questions of value overruns in latest development initiatives.

In District 3, at the moment represented by Schooley, engineer Michelle Applegate is operating in opposition to school president Thomas Wicke. 

In District 4, at the moment represented by Miller, engineer Amara Hildebrand, educator Erin Kenworthy, and advocate Joel Newton are searching for the seat.

Applegate and Kenworthy have the endorsement of the Jefferson County Educators Affiliation, the lecturers union, and fueled by contributions from political committees related to the union, have raised probably the most cash up to now, with $18,600 and $21,800 in contributions respectively, in accordance with marketing campaign finance filings. 

Wicke — who stated he’s proud to not have the endorsement of the lecturers union — is shut behind with virtually $16,000 in contributions as of the latest submitting.

Along with the lecturers union, Jeffco may see outdoors spending from different impartial difficulty committees. Usually often known as outdoors cash or darkish cash as a result of they don’t should disclose their donors, these teams are legally barred from coordinating with candidates however typically ship mailers or make calls and texts in help or opposition.

On Wednesday, Marge Klein, who typically helps conservative candidates, registered an impartial expenditure committee known as Higher Jeffco Faculties, in accordance with Secretary of State information.

Chalkbeat spoke with every of the 5 candidates. All of them talked about the necessity to have interaction higher with the group, guarantee all voices are heard, and construct belief between the group and the district. There have been notable variations among the many candidates as nicely.

The election is Nov. 7.

Right here’s a better take a look at who’s operating:

District 3 consists of parts of Wheat Ridge and Arvada and northern Lakewood and stretches northwest from the Denver border to the Gilpin County line.

Michelle Applegate is an engineer who has labored extensively in public coverage and the mom of three kids, two of whom attend Jeffco Public Faculties and a three-year-old who will when he’s sufficiently old. She described herself as a lifelong believer in public training who will convey a considerate method to management. She’s served as PTA president at two elementary faculties. As a mum or dad, she’s skilled her baby’s college being thought-about for closure (Stober Elementary was in the end spared in 2017) and one other baby’s college working exhausting this 12 months to accommodate kids from a closed college.

“To me, this is likely one of the most essential methods I can serve my group,” she stated of serving on the college board. “I’m invested on this district, I’ve been for a few years, and I might be for as a few years extra.”

Applegate stated her priorities could be guaranteeing thriving faculties all through the district, ensuring security is a part of the coed expertise, and enhancing group belief by funds transparency. 

She stated she would work to enhance the hiring and retention of high-quality educators and ensure faculties have the sources they want. Serving to the district navigate funds challenges and guarantee there may be cash for trainer pay and classroom wants is a part of that, she stated.

After the Columbine bloodbath, Jeffco Public Faculties invested closely within the bodily security of college buildings and has usually been supportive of college useful resource officers. Applegate stated the district wants to consider security extra broadly and discover a stability that features the fitting relationship with SROs and help for scholar psychological well being. 

Michelle Applegate is married to Bob Applegate, who ran unsuccessfully for varsity board in 2019. Whereas Bob Applegate was endorsed by the now-inactive training reform group Jeffco College students First, Michelle Applegate is endorsed by the lecturers union.

Thomas Wicke is the Aurora campus president for for-profit Concordia Profession School, which trains college students for well being care careers. He’s additionally the mum or dad of two graduates of Jeffco Public Faculties and a highschool freshman. His spouse teaches at Drake Center College, and he stated he sees how lecturers convey their work dwelling — actually and emotionally — and the way they aren’t at all times supported by directors. 

Wicke stated he’s been watching previous board conferences and believes board members may very well be extra engaged in essential points.

“I’ve discovered that the college board, although extremely essential, doesn’t management every part,” he stated. “On the identical time, they appear to be spending a ton of time speaking about how the furnishings ought to be organized on the Titanic deck. I’ve to consider we will turn into a extra concerned and accountability-holding board.”

Wicke stated his priorities could be enhancing tutorial achievement and addressing main fiscal challenges dealing with the district. He’s involved that lower than half of scholars meet tutorial expectations on state checks and stated it’s time for brand spanking new management after union-backed candidates have managed the board for many of the final decade. On the identical time, he stated he doesn’t blame lecturers and has gathered a lecturers advisory board to provide him enter.

Wicke stated his school is held to excessive requirements by its accrediting physique — required to make sure most graduates earn their skilled licenses and safe jobs of their subject — and he needs to see Jeffco faculties held to equally excessive requirements based mostly on scholar outcomes.

He stated dad and mom want extra perception into what’s being taught in faculties — ”to not point out the stuff you would possibly lump into woke ideologies, which is a secondary level” — and that mum or dad mistrust of how lecturers deal with politically delicate matters is contributing to decrease enrollment, as dad and mom with the means to take action enroll elsewhere.

District 4 consists of Edgewater and central and southern Lakewood from roughly thirty second Avenue and Sheridan stretching southwest to Bear Creek Reservoir.

Amara Hildebrand stated she’s operating as a result of she worries that public college now not prepares most youngsters for achievement in school or within the workforce.

“Youngsters are actually not thriving,” she stated. “Public college was a springboard for my success and I need each child to have the ability to have that, to take their training and thrive in life.”

Hildebrand is an engineer and the mom of a sixth and a ninth grader. Hildebrand eliminated her kids from public college throughout digital studying and enrolled them in Catholic college. Her daughter is again in public college now, whereas her son stays in personal college.

Hildebrand stated she’s involved about low tutorial achievement and the fiscal well being of the district. She described herself as fiscally-minded and stated she enjoys working with budgets. She believes Jeffco has sufficient cash to raised help lecturers and studying if much less cash have been higher managed. As a faculty board member, she stated she would go to faculties and speak to principals to study what they must be profitable.

Now 4½ years sober, Hildebrand has skilled her personal struggles with dependancy and psychological well being, and he or she needs to focus extra consideration on scholar psychological well being. She blames on-line communication for degrading each civil discourse and psychological well being and even contributing to violence.

On the identical time, Hildebrand stated she doesn’t see a necessity for extra counselors in faculties. As a substitute, she thinks giving children a better sense of goal with group service initiatives and hands-on studying, elevating tutorial achievement, and decreasing the time kids spend on-line will enhance their general well-being.

Erin Kenworthy is a former public college trainer turned non secular educator, and the mum or dad of two Jeffco college students, a primary grader and a sixth grader. Kenworthy has served on college and district accountability committees, teams made up of appointed group members who present oversight of public faculties. 

As a mum or dad, Kenworthy stated she has discovered Jeffco faculties to be “extremely supportive,” and he or she needs all college students and households to have that have.

Whereas she’s now been out of the classroom longer than she was in it, Kenworthy stated she nonetheless has a robust understanding of the gaps between principle and actuality that classroom lecturers should handle and the heavy burden lecturers are carrying. 

Kenworthy stated the present superintendent has finished an excellent job shifting extra sources to the classroom and he or she needs to help and broaden on these efforts. Kenworthy stated she’s enthusiastic about group engagement and listening to from dad and mom who historically have been marginalized. She needs to make it simpler for folks to take part within the accountability course of. 

And as a former social research trainer, she needs to see extra alternatives for college kids to precise themselves and have company of their studying.

“If there may be something we may give attention to shifting ahead, we have to middle voices which have usually been saved on the margins or denied a seat on the desk,” she stated.

Joel Newton is the daddy of two Jeffco college students and a longtime training advocate. His expertise founding and operating the Edgewater Collective for the final 10 years formed his determination to run. The group works with households from Title I faculties with excessive charges of poverty within the japanese a part of the district close to the Denver border. Newton noticed college students at these faculties posting decrease tutorial scores — and accessing far fewer sources, comparable to afterschool programming and superior coursework. 

The district’s general demographics — whiter and extra middle-class than neighboring Denver — obscure some important gaps that have an effect on college students of colour and people from low-income households, Newton stated. Newton needs to push the district to do extra to shut these gaps.

“For the longest time, I assumed the way in which to maneuver the needle was to advocate from the skin,” he stated. “The extra I watch college board conferences, I believe there must be somebody on the board desk who brings the angle of Title I households, particularly as college budgets are declining.”

Newton emphasised he doesn’t blame lecturers — these are systemic issues that must be solved on the district degree, he stated. Newton sought the lecturers union endorsement however didn’t get it. Whereas that was a disappointment, Newton stated, he hopes the dearth of endorsement offers him extra skill to speak to individuals throughout the political spectrum and discover consensus.

As he has traveled across the district as a candidate, Newton stated he’s heard many LGBTQ college students and college students of colour don’t really feel protected or heard in school. He needs to convey extra dad and mom into conversations about training and work to seek out consensus and construct belief. His high precedence in that work, although, might be guaranteeing college students really feel protected in school — in any other case they’ll’t study, he stated.

Bureau Chief Erica Meltzer covers training coverage and politics and oversees Chalkbeat Colorado’s training protection. Contact Erica at emeltzer@chalkbeat.org.