The Editorial Board of the Estes Park Trail-Gazette (TG) was fortunate to have the opportunity to meet and talk with each of the six candidates for the upcoming Estes Park School District Board election. The TG, as many newspapers of record, has traditionally offered endorsements as a way of further informing our readers of our consolidated thoughts on the candidates with a recommendation on who we think might be best to serve under the current environment or conditions. Please note that the following are our opinions intended to inform our readers.
The intent of our meeting was to provide the TG Editorial Board members the ability to get to know and talk with each candidate in an open forum, discussion-based environment. We have found that these types of environments allow us the ability to get to know the candidate on a different level than the standard process of each candidate answering the same question in an allotted amount of time. Our sessions during this forum were both enjoyable and enlightening, and we applaud each candidate for agreeing to run for office. That in itself is admirable and quite a challenge both emotionally and financially for those who simply wish to serve their community. So, from all of us at the TG, thank you all very much.
In addition, it should be known that we did not hear or sense any red flags from any of the candidates that would suggest any of them are unfit to serve or worthy of elimination from consideration. We thought that each candidate could positively make contributions to the School Board, and each deserves the complete consideration of the voting public.
During our conversations, numerous topics, including but not limited to, Equity Grading, the downturn in the district’s performance from a top 5 award-winning Advanced Placement for the High School program in 2013 to the recent state-mandated probation on the Estes Park elementary school, retention issues, and inconsistencies of information and goals on the School District’s web sites, etc.
The need for better communication between the community and the leadership of the School District was also a topic that came up over and over again with one candidate stating that she had heard from her own child that they no longer needed to do homework because of a new school policy, referring to the new Equity grading agenda that has been discussed of late. Other community members including some from the editorial board were also somewhat confused as to what this initiative is and that, regardless of where the fault lies, the community and the schools would benefit from a good information outreach program. To the district’s credit, they have indeed sent out information on this topic as well as posting the program on the district’s website so for one interested, the information is available. With that, good communication on topics of this magnitude needs to be conveyed often and it must be a two-way street, but the initiative must be taken by the originator, in this case, the board first.
Other topics discussed also could be impacted by limited communication as well. These included the elementary school probation, testing, inability to retain teachers and administrators, and annual School District goals.
We strongly recommend that the Board and its leadership establish an outreach communication plan to our entire community to be sure equitable solutions are explained thoroughly for all stakeholders, including all-district taxpayers who support the district financially. This would ensure programs are not misunderstood before an actual understanding of the plan is established. We at the TG have made an offer to each candidate to allow them space in the TG without charge to communicate openly with the taxpayers at any time, in their own words. We hope this is accepted going forward regardless of the election outcome. We would also suggest that the goals of the School District and the contact names and numbers, emails, etc. of these elected public servants be made available on the School District website to further enhance the district’s mission statement and success towards meeting its goals via effective communication.
We would also suggest that at year’s end the board does a published review of the goals for the year as to how or whether each was accomplished. This would provide full disclosure annually on the goals and the progress made in each area for the stakeholder’s review.
After our discussion with all six candidates, we again want to make it clear that each candidate is worthy of consideration for the public vote and that each has a great deal to offer.
Given the current environment of the district and the challenges that lay before it in the upcoming years, we felt that a wide spectrum of candidates and thought processes would best address the challenges at hand. For more details on each candidate, please see our article in this paper and a recording of the League of Women Voters candidate forum at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DTSMANccIy-Qquw1RBM-k_VhqlFl_CRr/view.
Therefore, based on the interviews on one day, we felt that identifying the four candidates we felt were stronger was more appropriate than a full endorsement given they are all capable of contributing to the board.
The four stronger candidates listed in random order are:
Ava Kendall – Significant direct educational experience as a teacher and in education leadership. Communicated passion for teaching our youth. Would bring the fresh but informed perspective of an experienced educator from outside the district. Clearly is someone who puts kids first.
Courtney Cabrera – Significant direct educational experience as a teacher and in education leadership in schools and at a State level. As a 7-month Board member seemed well informed about current school issues and evidence-based approaches to improvement.
Danielle Wolf – Significant direct educational experience as a teacher and four years as a Board member. Seems to have a thorough understanding of current school challenges and possible solutions. Communicated commitment to bringing about educational excellence.
Stacy Ferree – Significant direct experience with our schools as a coach and tutor over 15 years. Communicated passion and commitment to focus on School District accountability from the top down. Would bring the perspective of someone who has a long record of involvement with the local schools both as a parent and a volunteer participant and coach.
The other two candidates listed in random order are:
Peggy Mauerman – Has a great deal of business experience from her years-long career with Hewlett-Packard. Passionate about education, but has no direct education experience as a teacher, tutor, or coach.
John Davis – Has a great deal of experience as a military and commercial airline pilot, but has no direct education experience as a teacher, tutor, or coach. Emphasized the importance of accountability, deadlines, and the need for a solid education system.
