Four candidates are in the running for three open seats on the Bayfield School District Board of Education. Each seat holds a four-year term. Candidates include newcomers Robert Coronado Jr. and Gary Maestas and incumbents Rebecca Parnell and Matthew Turner.
Unlike the larger Durango School District, whose school board candidates run for seats in specifics, Bayfield school board candidates are elected at-large to represent the district.
Coronado Jr. has lived in Bayfield for a decade with 12 years of experience in wildland and structure firefighting and education, and certifications specific to fire science and forestry. Coronado and his wife own and operate Coronado Consulting & Fire Mitigation LLC, which strives to reduce hazardous fuels, create defensible space and best prepare La Plata County residents for wildfire and forest health. Coronado has also coached youth baseball and flag football in Bayfield for several years.
Coronado was driven to seek a seat on school board through a passion for being involved with the Bayfield community and his experience serving on the Native American Parent Advisory Committee for the district.
“Serving on the NAPAC really grew my drive to continue serving in additional capacities,” Coronado said in a written statement to The Durango Herald. “Having two school-aged children currently enrolled in the Bayfield School District, it is very important to me that I offer my highest level of contributions to help shape the future of not only the School District, but of my children’s future. I truly believe that running for The Bayfield School Board of Directors is my next step in becoming a bigger, and more beneficial, part of the Bayfield community.”
If elected, Coronado said his top initiatives would be digging deeper into better understanding and utilizing the district’s budget; looking into why some local students opt out of enrolling in Bayfield schools; and working on improved, enhanced or new in-house educational program opportunities for high school students.
“The Bayfield students are our future, and I would be grateful for the opportunity to serve, ensuring a thriving School District that provides these students with the right tools to succeed in their upcoming lives ahead,” Coronado said. “... The families of Bayfield deserve the highest level of satisfaction with our School District, and if I can be provided an opportunity to make a difference, I won’t let our community down.”
Gary Maestas, Southern Ute Police Department lieutenant and Bayfield Marshal’s Office employee, is a Southwestern Colorado native, and has a background in maintenance department work with the Bayfield School District.
“Bayfield School District has always been strong academically, and I would like to see that continue,” Maestas said of his choice to run for school board.
If elected, Maestas’s top priorities would be working to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers and supply stronger support for teachers dealing with classroom issues.
“We have a strong community in Bayfield, and the schools are a vital part of this community,” Maestas said.
Ignacio High School graduate Rebecca Parnell holds an associate degree in business and a bachelor’s degree in marketing via CSU Global. She currently works as a Bayfield real estate agent at Bayfield Realty, and has occupied a seat on the Bayfield Board of Education for the past four years.
During that time, Parnell has sat on the District Advisory and Accountability Committee, the Student Accountability Committee, and the Policy Committee as the board representative for the Bayfield School District.
Parnell’s top three initiatives if reelected include creating exceptional protocols and responses that prioritize staff and student safety, ensuring an intentional budget where “every penny is accounted for and in alignment with district priorities” and helping to foster a board that is “more than just good and lawful.”
“(The district) deserve(s) a board that is excellent and is willing to be a voice for them,” Parnell said. “I believe that strong schools create strong communities, and I want Bayfield to have a strong community, now and in the future. I want this to be a district where people want to send their kids; where teachers want to work; and be a community where people want to live. This work matters to me, and the outcomes we help create as board members deeply matters to me.”
Former Bayfield student and Ignacio High School graduate Matthew Turner holds an associates degree in diesel and transportation technology. After a 15-year career with Wagner Equipment in the Denver metro area, Turner returned to his hometown of Bayfield with his wife and two kids to help out on his family’s farm and work part time for Horizon Environmental Services as a fleet mechanic.
Turner has served on the Board of Education since 2019, and is also serving as a board member with the Colorado Association of School Boards.
Turner said he is primarily running for reelection to support and help retain the district’s new superintendent, Dylan Connell, who he said is a capable leader for the district.
If reelected, Turner’s top three initiatives would be continuing to advocate for salary increases across the district, finding funding to make repairs to Bayfield Middle School and continuing to advocate for career technical education.
“I am very proud to be part of the Bayfield community,” Turner said. “I would like the people of Bayfield to know how much joy it gives me to have been able to be on our school board and be involved in helping grow Bayfield kids into the amazing adults I know they will be.”
epond@durangoherald.com
