A new era for the Jefferson County school district — one likely to be less politically charged than the past two years — begins Thursday with the swearing-in of a new five-member board of education.
Brad Rupert, elected earlier this month to help lead Colorado’s second-largest school district, said he’s not sure what the exact dynamics will be among the new members. But, he said, there won’t be the personal vituperation that seemed to mark the outgoing board.
“The five of us certainly won’t be going at it,” Rupert, an Arvada attorney, said Wednesday.
Soon-to-be colleague Ali Lasell, a teacher in the Adams 12 district, said the new board will have the job of bridging the deep divisions that formed within the district over the past two years.
The board, often split by contentious 3-2 votes, that led to the on Nov. 3.
The two other board members chose not to run for re-election.
“We need to get everyone engaged again,” Lasell said.
Lasell and Rupert, as well as Susan Harmon, Amanda Stevens and Ron Mitchell, are scheduled to be sworn in at 5:30 p.m. at district headquarters in Golden. There will be a reception for outgoing board members an hour earlier.
Also, on Thursday morning, Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Dan McMinimee will hold a town hall with students.
Although more harmony is one of the stated goals of the new board, there already are indications that those upset with the recall won’t stand idly by.
Several community members spoke out against an “all union-backed” board. A website called is already up. It describes itself as a “group of Jeffco community members dedicated to shining light on the actions of the Jeffco School Board.”
It assumes a similar watchdog role to that of , which often posted critical assessments of majority decisions on the outgoing board.
A request by e-mail for an interview with a representative of Eye on Jeffco School Board was not returned Wednesday. An attempt to reach a member of the anti-recall group Jeffco Students First was also unsuccessful.
John Ford, president of the Jefferson County teachers union, said there’s a “huge chunk of optimism that we’re going to move our schools in a new direction.”
Lasell said the 10-month performance-based teacher compensation agreement, which expires at the end of June, needs review.
“We need to make sure the people who are evaluating and being evaluated have a voice in those evaluations,” she said.
Lasell also said it’s critical to wrestle the issue of school construction and facility improvements to accommodate a growing student population, especially in northwest Arvada.
Rupert said the new board can’t wait to pursue capital projects.
“That needs to be addressed right away because there’s a long lead time to getting schools built and getting them online,” he said.
One of the first changes under the new leadership already occurred: Brad Miller , a move that many recall proponents had espoused.
