I am writing in support of Matt Sheldon’s candidacy for the 9-R school board. I attended the candidates’ forum held by the League of Women Voters last week and heard remarks by Matt and his opponent, Brie Stahnke. Overall, I was impressed with Matt’s intelligence, enthusiasm and especially with his commitment to communication with the public. This element has been sorely lacking recently.
While I thank Brie for her service, I was not impressed with her knowledge and experience considering that she has been on the board for almost two years. She excused her lack of communication with the 9-R community based on the board’s adherence to “policy governance.”
Just what is “policy governance” supposed to look like? The approach was adopted in Durango some time ago when the school board was accused of micromanaging the schools.
Since then, the pendulum has swung the other way, such that the current board is seemingly a mere rubber stamp for the central administration.
Properly implemented, policy governance demands that the board’s primary relationship be with the community, not the management of the district. The board must have input from a variety of sources and must know how its policies are actually playing out in the schools.
Recently, the board appeared oblivious to the impact of its support for a program of “common formative assessments,” administered through the controversial, expensive “School Vault.” Efforts to implement this testing program seriously undermined staff and student morale last year, and generally wreaked havoc in our schools. In these times of fiscal crisis for the district, expensive, new programs like this need more scrutiny by the board.
Electing Matt Sheldon would bring a welcome breath of fresh air to the school board and give the community a voice that is much needed. I urge you to vote for Matt to represent District D on the board.
Michelle Harlow
Durango
