This is what Jeffco school board candidates say about their priorities

There are three open seats on the five-member school board for Jeffco schools.

Jeffco voters will decide whether to change the direction of the district’s school board this year.

The Jeffco district, the second-largest in Colorado, has a five-member school board. 

The three open seats are divided by district, meaning each candidate must live in that part of Jefferson County, but voters in the entire school district can vote in all three races. 

Seven candidates are running for the three seats, and none of them are incumbents. 

The  school board will work with the district’s new superintendent to oversee a pandemic recovery, which includes improving academic performance. The district is also dealing with a declining student population, which has already resulted in school closures and will likely require planning how to deal with facilities in the long term.

Many parents and community members have also been calling for the district to improve its mental health support for students.

One slate of candidates includes Mary Parker, Danielle Varda, and Paula Reed, supported by the district’s teachers union, and is focused on improving neighborhood schools and improving recruitment and retention of staff. 

Three other candidates, Jeff Wilhite, Theresa Shelton, and Kathy Miks, are running as an informal slate, hosting some events together and earning the support of the group Jeffco Kids First, a group that organized protests against masking requirements. They are more conservative candidates who say they want to prioritize better use of existing funds, and improve academic achievement on state tests. 

For more information about this year’s school board elections, click here for our previous coverage.

To help voters weigh the candidates, Chalkbeat sent the same set of questions to each one. Below are their answers. We’ve edited them lightly for clarity.

The Latest

Derlis Snaider Chusin Toaquiza was completing his junior year at Grover Cleveland High School in Queens when ICE agents detained him last month.

The district’s two STEM middle schools will launch a STEM Scholars program and create STEM Future Centers where students can go for academic support and hands-on opportunities.

The changes to the Detroit school district’s special education department will mean some students will be transferred to different schools for the coming school year.

The Trump administration cut a prestigious national award for STEM teachers, prompting a campaign to save it.

In a dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor called the decision ‘indefensible.’ Education Secretary Linda McMahon has said the job cuts are a first step toward eliminating the department, although a legal challenge to the layoffs can continue in the lower courts.

Despite the judge’s ruling, officials at American Paradigm Schools charter network, which operates Memphis Street Academy, say they expect to continue to operate the school this fall.