There are two seats up for grabs on the Durango School District Board of Education in the November election, but only one has a race.
Matthew Sheldon will take on incumbent Brieanne Stahnke for the District D seat. Stahnke was appointed to the seat in 2013.
Incumbent Stephanie Moran is running unopposed for the seat representing District B.
The race comes as the 9-R board shrinks from seven to five seats, a move voters approved in 2013. The 9-R school board follows a policy-governance style, which means it provides oversight but does not micro-manage the district’s activities such as curriculum, hiring and student-support services.
The school board will have a number of challenges in the next few years, many of them funding-based. What programs and activities should they cut? Should they ask voters for a bond/mill levy increase? What standards should a 2021 graduate from Durango High School meet?
In interviews last week, both candidates sat down with the Herald to discuss issues key to the school district:
Q. Why are you running for the school board?
A. Sheldon: I love education and think I can do a good job. This is home for me. I knew the second I moved here, I planned on making this the place I want to live for my future children.
A. Stahnke: It’s a good way for me to give back to the community, to prepare kids for the future. I have two little ones coming up and want it to be the best for them.
Q. What is the biggest challenge facing District 9-R?
A. Stahnke: As the community knows, the funding coming in is set. We’re running a deficit this year, and we ran a little deficit last year, and that can’t continue. We have to make some hard decisions, like either bring in more funds in a bond/mill levy or increase class size. We offer full-day kindergarten, will we have to make that a partial day? There are a lot of different ways to reduce spending by eliminating programs and activities, but the community needs to have a discussion on that. Wages are 80 percent of the budget and continue to increase, and we’ve reached a point where we can’t cut the number of pencils we use to fix the problem.
A. Sheldon: Funding is a problem, not just locally but across the state. Colorado is 46th in the nation on K-12 spending per pupil and 49th on higher education. La Plata County is 145th out of 178 counties in Colorado. And affordable housing is a big concern for teachers. I think having someone on the board who is going through the housing challenge like I am is a good idea.
Q. What skills would you bring to the board?
A. Stahnke: I think I bring a unique perspective to the board. I see the value of (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) every day, so I make sure we remember that focus, provide emphasis. And it’s a critical time in education, a hard time in education, and we’re going to have to do a lot of problem-solving. I’m good at problem-solving. The other four members of the board are either currently involved in education or have been involved in education. I feel like my perspective, coming from the private sector, is valued.
A. Sheldon: Because of the funding limitations, the board is going to be addressing those issues and making some tough calls. I have strong skills as a communicator – I’m good at explaining why we’re doing things – and bringing people together to undertake really big challenges. Because my mother is an educator, I worked at the Boys and Girls Club (of La Plata County) and now organize campus tours at Fort Lewis (College), where I talk to prospective students and their parents. I feel like I’ve been on both sides in understanding the skills needed for success.
Q. Is there an area in particular where you would like to see improvement at 9-R?
A. Sheldon: The district does an incredible job educating the top tier students, but I think we can do a better job giving all students better preparation and life skills. I’m also concerned about recruiting and retaining the best possible teachers. Education is getting a lot of very top-down national pressures. What is that doing to the morale and psyches of teachers? And how can the school board address cost-of-living increases? If not monetarily, are there other realms where they can do something?
A. Stahnke: I think the whole education system needs a revitalized interest in math, to get rid of the negative perception of math. Not everyone wants to do calculus, but when they graduate from high school, they should have a number sense. If you get a credit card with a 29 percent interest rate, what does that really mean to you? They should be able to use TurboTax and not pay an accountant $300 to do their taxes.
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