Serving on the Durango School District 9-R Board of Education is fundamentally a labor of love. Those who choose to do so commit themselves to a challenging role of guiding the school district through a difficult funding landscape that requires decisions with ramifications for students, teachers, and educational offerings in Durango. That budgetary reality, which has tightened significantly and shows little promise of turnaround, is compounded by a growing need for more resources — human, technological, financial, curricular, nutritional, supplemental — to meet the complex educational demands of the community.
Stephanie Moran, Brie Stahnke and Matthew Sheldon all deserve thanks for their willingness to serve on the 9-R board. To maximize its effectiveness, Moran and Sheldon are best-suited for the job.
Incumbent Moran is running unopposed in District B. She was appointed to the board in 2012 and elected in 2013, bringing valuable insight from her background as an educator. Moran is the high school equivalency/GED program manager at the Durango Adult Education Center, a role in which she sees firsthand how critical education is to success in all post-K-12 endeavors. In her board service, Moran has focused on ensuring that all 9-R students make gains in their academic achievements regardless of socioeconomic circumstances. Hers is an important voice in helping shape 9-R’s priorities. Vote for Stephanie Moran in District B.
Matthew Sheldon is challenging incumbent Brie Stahnke for 9-R’s District D seat. Sheldon works in the admissions office at Fort Lewis College, where he helps prospective students – often the first in their families – navigate the admissions process, and previously worked at the Boys and Girls Club of La Plata County.
Sheldon also has extensive political campaign history, giving him a clear understanding of the processes and strategies essential to electoral success – skills that will be instrumental to 9-R, should the district seek voter approval for additional funding. Given the ongoing budgetary challenges that have forced 9-R to dip into its reserves for each of the past two years, Sheldon sees the importance of funding conversations, and would bring a watchful eye to the existing budget as well as a commitment to community outreach to engage support for all of 9-R’s endeavors.
Sheldon would add to Moran’s voice urging the district to better serve kids in middle- and lower-performing tiers — including those who might be further challenged by circumstances out of school. Sheldon sees potential for the 9-R board to increase its community presence, engaging citizens by calling for important conversations around achievement, housing, cost of living and other peripheral but influential issues with respect to K-12 education.
Brie Stahnke was appointed to fill a vacancy on the 9-R board in 2013. She is an engineer at BP and brings to the board a dedication to engaging students in science, technology, engineering and math, with an emphasis on connecting kids with these topics in a relevant way, regardless of future career plans. Hers is an important voice for a diverse board, ensuring that the global trend toward improved STEM education is represented in Durango.
Stahnke has served the board well, but Sheldon is better-suited for the next phase 9-R is entering. Vote for Stephanie Moran and Matthew Sheldon for the Durango School District 9-R Board of Education.
