Telluride’s Paul Reich taking over as Colorado Association of School Boards board president

The association representing Colorado school boards is about to have a new board president.

Paul Reich, a member of the Telluride school board since 2011, on Jan. 1 will take over as board president of the Colorado Association of School Boards, a powerful voice in state education policy.

“Paul is a steady hand but leads with his heart,” Carrie Warren-Gully, the outgoing board president, said at the organization’s annual convention earlier this month. “Paul is thoughtful, but speaks with passion. Paul is organized but is flexible, and Paul has a vision and will work to involve us all.”

The school board association represents and advocates for more than 1,000 Colorado school board members and superintendents at the statehouse and other policy arenas. It also provides services, information and training programs to support school board members as they govern.

Reich and his wife, Christine, own two retail stores in Telluride. Their five children attend or have graduated from Telluride Public Schools. Reich also works as the behavioral health program manager for Tri-County Health Network, focusing on reducing the stigma of mental illness, expanding access to care in the region, and advocating on behalf of mental health services in his community and in the state, according to a statement from the association.

Reich also serves as secretary of the board for the Center for Mental Health, the mental health provider for a six-county region; and on the Telluride Commission for Community Assistance, Arts and Special Events. He has a bachelor’s in history from Grinnell College in Iowa.

Reich gave a stirring speech at a meeting of school board association members earlier this year, calling for an end to the “attack” on public schools. He told Chalkbeat that he hopes the state’s next governor will help change the conversation about the state’s schools.