Ten candidates are running for four open seats on the seven-member Boulder Valley Board of Education.
They are seeking to represent District A, which includes the City of Boulder; District C, which includes South Boulder and the county’s mountain towns; District D, which is mostly northeast of the City of Boulder’s downtown; and District G, which includes the City of Lafayette and the outskirts of Erie. (For more on these districts, check out this map.)
Click on the candidates’ profiles below to learn more about them. You’ll also find their answers to our six-question candidate questionnaire, covering topics from declining enrollment to the presence of school resource officers and the youth mental health crisis:
- Closing the achievement gap: According to a June 2023 presentation from district officials, Latino students and students who qualify for free and reduced lunch score lower than white students on literacy and math tests, reflecting a longstanding disparity in academic achievement. How would you seek to close this gap?
- Reducing discipline disparities: Overall, out-of-school suspensions declined during the 2022-23 school year, according to BVSD data. But Latino students were still about three times more likely to be suspended than white students. How would you help reduce disproportionate rates of student punishment in BVSD’s schools?
- Position on school resource officers: Earlier this year, the Denver school board voted to reinstate police offices in schools. Some parents have called on Boulder to do the same. What are your thoughts on BVSD’s decision to remove school resource officers from its schools?
- Position on academic policies related to LGBTQ people: The Colorado Board of Education last year updated the state’s social studies standards to include references to racial and ethnic groups and LGBTQ people. Meanwhile, parent groups and activists are urging school districts to ban books that contain LGBTQ content. What are your thoughts on BVSD’s academic policies related to LGBTQ people?
- Addressing the student mental health crisis: Emergency department visits for suicidal ideation by Boulder County residents ages 10 to 17 were 18% higher in 2022 than in 2021, and the highest since at least 2019, according to data from Boulder County Public Health. What can the school district do to improve the mental health of students?
District A
District C
District D
District G
Note: Candidate Andrew Steffl had not provided answers to our questions at the time of publication.