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Four seats on Colorado’s nine-member State Board of Education are up for election on Nov. 5. The election is unlikely to change the board majority, which is currently held by Democrats, but it could narrow that majority and change the board’s dynamics.
The State Board of Education holds schools and school districts accountable for student test scores, hears appeals when school districts reject charter school applications, and sets standards for what students should learn and what schools should teach.
One at-large seat on the board represents the entire state. The other eight seats represent Colorado’s eight congressional districts. The seats representing Congressional Districts 2, 3, 4, and 8 are up for election this year. The other seats will be up for election in 2026 or 2028.
Board members are elected for six-year terms. They do not earn a salary.
Just one incumbent, Democrat Rhonda Solis, is running for reelection. She represents District 8. Republican Yazmin Navarro is also running for the seat.
Republican Sherri M Wright and Democrat Ellen Angeles are running in District 3. Democrat Krista Holtzmann and Republican Kristi Burton Brown are running in District 4. In District 2, Democrat Kathy Gebhardt is running against a write-in candidate, Libertarian Ethan Augreen.
We asked the seven candidates about school safety, immigrant students, restricting books in school libraries, what students should learn about health and science, and more. Their answers are exactly how they submitted them; we did not edit what they wrote. You can view the answers by candidate or by question.
Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org .
