Keep Jeffco Moving Forward

Have you noticed how little there's been in the news about the Jeffco Public Schools of late? That's probably because the current school board has been a model of good governance, listening and responding to parents, students, teachers, and other community stakeholders.

It's a big change from just a few years ago, when an ideological and divisive faction of tea-partiers and Libertarians seized control of the school district and made just about everyone in Jeffco angry. That previous board-- made up of Ken Witt, John Newkirk, and Julie Williams--  managed to make national and even international news for their efforts to censor AP History. In the end, they were removed by two-thirds of voters in an unprecedented recall election.

So yes, the quiet has been good. Witt, Newkirk, and Williams were replaced by Brad Rupert, Susan Harmon, and Ron Mitchell, and since then school board meetings have gone back to being the sleepy affairs they were before the tea party takeover. Eschewing ideology, Rupert, Harmon, and Mitchell have focused on nonpartisan governance and transparency, and have regained the trust of parents and the wider community. In one of their best moves, they hired Dr. Jason Glass, superintendent of the Eagle Count Schools and former Director of Education of Iowa's public schools. Dr. Glass has put a hold on school closures, and has been a ubiquitous presence at public events throughout the county, asking questions, reaching out to parents, and calling on teachers to transform the student experience.

Because Rupert, Harmon, and Mitchell were elected only to fill out the remainder of the recalled board members' terms, all three are up for reelection again this fall. Running against them are several partisan candidate who would take us back to the battles of the past few years.

Personally, I feel we need keep Jeffco moving forward, and that means re-electing Brad Rupert, Susan Harmon, and Ron Mitchell.