One of the most important elections in the country is happening in 2017 in Colorado. It’s not some high-falutin office, but, instead, the Douglas County School Board election. Four candidates – Randy Mills, Ryan Abresch, Debora Scheffel, and Grant Nelson, have filed to run for four seats up for election this year, all are part of a slate called Elevate Douglas County, which wants to quell discord that’s been ever present in the district since the 2015 election.
The stakes for this election couldn’t be higher. The election could determine whether board members sympathetic to school options control the board or if a new union-backed majority would limit parent choice in their kids’ education. In addition, a recent court case that would determine whether private schools could receive vouchers is still working its way through the court system. Will a pro-union majority continue to pursue clarity on this contentious matter? Likely not.
As we have reported in the past, there also is a turf war happening down in Douglas County as the Colorado Education Association and affiliates of the American Federation of Teachers each hope to re-unionize the state’s third-largest school district.
This will certainly be a race to watch.