It’s election time again

“An election is a bet on the future, not a popularity contest of the past.”

— James Reston

We’ll know in a few weeks. Ballots are arriving in our mailboxes now. We’ll find out the results of our voting the evening of Nov. 4, subject to a final official certification.

Every voting cycle has its signature issues. Sometimes it’s a candidate. Sometimes it’s a tax issue, ergo the successful high school bond issue or the financing for the community recreation center now under construction. Sometimes procedural changes are in question, such as raising salaries of elected officials or changing the timing of city elections.

This time around, there’s no question that the signature issue is who’ll be elected or re-elected to the District 51 Board of Education. Whether Andrea Haitz, Angela Lema and Will Jones will continue in their positions or one or more of them will be replaced by challengers Vicki Woods, Kaci Cole or Mike Rathbone.

Two issues seem to dominate campaign rhetoric so far. One is how much credit the current board can assume for notable increases in student achievement and for under-budget completion of the new Grand Junction High School. No doubt both came during the term of the current board. In question might be whether results in both cases were due to causation or coincidence. In the case of GJHS, the case could be made for good outside construction management, a longtime policy for D51, and oversight by district staff. As far as student achievement is concerned, it’s safe to say none of the five board members spent the necessary time in classrooms shepherding students toward loftier goals. Teachers did, guided by principals and district administrators.

But if credit is to be assumed, there’s also blame to be assigned.

There’s the attempt early on, headed by Haitz, to replace a demonstrably competent and experienced D51 attorney with one from the Front Range more in line with the politics of a new board majority. Public questioning prompted a local hire.

Recall the unnecessary brouhaha over an in-house student medical clinic during the construction of the new high school. Despite excuses about supposed legal issues, reticence to include the same medical services as the successful clinic at Central High School clearly was a response to a minority of parents upset about parental notification and other requirements under state laws. Only a late change of heart by Will Jones reversed discussions about the clinic, including assumptions that moving it across Fifth Street would resolve parental issues.

Wrapped together are a couple of other issues, MVEA support for challengers and the decision that board members would no longer participate in teacher contract negotiations.

Don’t we all have a right to choose between those with educational experience versus those whose advertising as a team most prominently features their “conservative” label? Isn’t it just as valuable to have folks with classroom and administrative experience as one part of a board as it is to have someone with financial acumen on a bank board or with direct experience in applicable operations on the board of any other business?

The current board’s decision to opt out of involvement is teacher contract negotiations ended decades of direct MVEA/board collaboration on not just salaries and benefits but also student and curriculum issues. My experience is that “talk to my attorney” is never an invitation to collaboration and the sort of sincere back and forth valuable to better understanding of concerns from both sides of the table.

For those and other reasons, my choices for the next D51 board will be Vicki Woods, Kaci Cole and Mike Rathbone.

Other questions on the Mesa County ballot will be just as important to those affected as D51 board choices.

They include formation of a taxing district to support the Glade Park Fire Department and tax and TABOR override proposals advanced by fire departments in Clifton and Plateau Valley.

Mesa County voters will help decide two statewide issues impacting the Healthy School Meals for All program. Proposition LL would allow a TABOR override keeping revenues above the current limit to support providing free breakfasts and lunches for all school children. A companion measure, Proposition MM, would increase taxes on those earning $300,000 per year or more to provide additional funding for that same program.

“People often say that in a democracy decisions are made by a majority of the people. Of course, that is not true. Decisions are made by a majority of those who make themselves heard and who vote - a very different thing.”

— Walter Judd

Generations of Jim Spehar’s extended family have attended D51 schools. Comments welcome. Email them to speharjim@gmail.com.