Voter guide: Jeffco school board candidates answer 6 questions about the issues

A school cafeteria full of students and a food bar full of apples.
Voters in Jeffco Public Schools will elect three new school board members in the Nov. 4 election. (RJ Sangosti / The Denver Post)

In Jeffco Public Schools, voters are selecting three school board members this year.

Seven candidates are running in total. Two candidates, Michael Yocum and Denine Echevarria, are running for a seat representing Jeffco’s District 1. Two candidates, Peter Gibbins and Samuel Myrant, are running for the District 2 seat. Three candidates, Tina Moeinian, Mary Parker, and Gloria Rascon, are running to represent District 5.

All Jeffco voters will have the opportunity to select one candidate for each race in the Nov. 4 election.

Gibbins and Moeinian have the endorsement of the Jefferson County Education Association, the teachers union. Parker, the current District 5 board member, is seeking reelection but declined to participate in the JCEA interview and endorsement process.

The three seats up for election are currently held by Danielle Varda (District 1), Paula Reed (District 2), and Mary Parker (District 5). With all three seats contested, the composition of the five-member board could shift depending on the outcome of the election.

To help readers learn more about the candidates, the Colorado Trust for Local News asked each of them the same set of questions.

Read their answers below. Responses may have been edited for formatting, but otherwise each candidate’s answers are as submitted.

This voter guide was produced by the Colorado Trust for Local News in collaboration with Chalkbeat Colorado.

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Board members asked what the district can do to center parents in conversations about attendance at Tuesday’s board meeting.

Revuluri, a former teacher and instructional specialist who previously served as school board vice president under Mayor Lori Lightfoot, said he wants to run to help improve student achievement and “stand up to special interests.”

Two of the four schools slated for closure are located in Frayser. MSCS leaders say next Wednesday’s meeting will give families important information about suggested shutdowns

“It was the first time I wanted to be ‘better’ for the sake of helping others. I knew that teaching was what I was meant to do,” said Corey Rosser, explaining what drew him to the classroom.

Mayoral front-runner Zohran Mamdani proposed a plan to recruit 1,000 teachers annually for New York City schools, offering tuition assistance in exchange for a three-year commitment.

Voters in the Adams 12 Five Star Schools district will elect 2 school board members on Nov. 4.