As this year’s to fill four seats approaches, some candidates are aligning themselves with others.
In an Oct. 13 e-mail to constituents, , who is running against Tonya Aultman-Betteridge in District 1, wrote, “If you want a board that promotes education excellence and fiscal stewardship remember to cast your vote for ‘WNW’ — Williams Witt and Newkirk,” referring to and , who are running for seats in District 5 and District 2, respectively.
Whoever wins the Nov. 5 mail-ballot election will join board president and District 3 representative , whose terms don’t end until 2015.
Each of the six candidates running for the board answered a survey about why they are running and what the top three priorities should be for the board in 2014.
“I want to be the voice that represents parents and taxpayers,” Williams said.
Her opponent for District 1, , said, “I am passionate about public education and want to use my experience and skills to help ensure that every single child in Jefferson County has an equal chance to receive a high-quality education.”
Williams listed closing the achievement gap, increasing school choice and enforcing transparency and accountability as her top three priorities for the board.
Aultman-Bettridge said that creating a common vision in Jeffco, implementing changes in testing, standards and literacy made or adopted by the state in recent years, and setting a clear vision for teacher evaluation are her focus.
Running against Newirk in District 2, said he wants to “add a balanced and constructive voice to Jeffco Schools’ leadership; every child deserves access to an excellent education, and that our best investment is in our kids’ education.”
Similarly, Newkirk said, “I want all students to have the same access to the same great public education that I had.”
Newkirk listed student achievement, fiscal management and making the most of approaching changes in new student assessments, teacher evaluations and compensation, and standards. “The school board will need to keep a close eye on these various initiatives to provide feedback as to how each can be improved,” he said.
In District 5, Witt and his opponent listed student achievement as a top priority. Van de Water addressed new initiatives coming to the county in such a short amount of time.
“I’d address the challenge with careful planning, a great deal of communication, and attentive monitoring to make sure we are strengthening our mission and not being distracted from it,” he said.
Witt highlighted equal student access to resources and accountability for teachers. “We must recognize and reward great teachers and principals,” he said.
For more information about the school board election and other issues on the ballot, go to
Josie Klemaier: 303-954-2465, jklemaier@denverpost.com
