Democrats selected a former Denver school board member Sunday to represent the 1st Congressional District on the State Board of Education.
Elaine Gantz Berman, the east-central Denver representative on the school board until 2005, was among seven candidates vying to fill the state seat formerly held by lawyer Rico Munn.
Munn was nominated by Gov. Bill Ritter to serve as executive director of the state’s Department of Regulatory Services. He resigned from the education board this month.
Candidates for the vacancy included Beverly Ausfahl, former president of the Colorado Education Association; Polly Baca, executive director of Colorado’s Latin American Research and Service Agency; and Lucia Guzman, a member of the Denver Public Schools board.
Berman, who was selected by a Democratic vacancy committee from the 1st District, said she is eager to “make some significant changes” in education, particularly aligning the state’s three accountability systems. Districts in Colorado are held accountable by the federal No Child Left Behind law, Colorado’s accreditation system and School Accountability Reports.
They “are in conflict with each other and have become very tedious for school districts,” Berman said.
Berman also said reducing the rate of dropouts also is a priority. She expects to start on the board this week and will represent the Denver, Englewood and Sheridan school districts.
The board has four Republicans and three Democrats.
Staff writer Karen Rouse can be reached at 303-954-1684 or krouse@denverpost.com.
