The election for the Durango School District Board of Education presents voters with a clear choice: continue the hard-won momentum and success built by the incumbent board members and Superintendent Dr. Karen Cheser. Simply put, there is no reason to make a change at this time. The Herald’s editorial board believes the evidence overwhelmingly supports continuity and experience.
Three contested seats—Districts A, C, and E—are up for election with all district voters casting ballots in each district (Herald, Sept. 12). The district deserves leaders focused on the complex work of governance. Voters should support candidates who have demonstrated dedication, expertise, and a shared commitment to advancing academic progress, strengthening equity initiatives, and advocating for greater funding and support for teachers and staff.
District A: Incumbent Erika Brown (current VP), whose focus is on academic progress and strengthening transparency, faces challenger Jody Trampp, whose focus is on expanding vocational programs and rebuilding trust with families.
District C: Incumbent Rick Petersen (current Treasurer), who fights for increased school funding and supporting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, faces challenger Pearl Stegner, whose governance philosophy emphasizes student success and parental partnership.
District E: Incumbent Andrea Parmenter (current Secretary), who advocates for staff and equitable use of resources, faces challenger Tamra Fenberg, who seeks to build a balanced curriculum and collaborative community.
These experienced incumbents have overseen a period of remarkable success, and their expertise is invaluable:
The district demonstrates outstanding academic results, ranking ninth in the state of schools serving over 3,000 students —the only rural district on that top-tier list. This success is tangible: CMAS math scores are up nearly 10%, and 86% of graduates earn college credit, saving district families an estimated $7 million in tuition annually. Though enrollment is down due to demographic changes, strong scores on the rigorous CMAS test prove performance rivals the state’s most affluent districts.
The district has been inducted into the Digital Promise League of Innovative Schools (Herald, Sept. 26) and is celebrated for new initiatives like the Portrait of a Graduate vision and the Ikigai concept, which, respectively, outline the key skills students need for life, whie ikigai guides them to find purpose and direction.
Voters have twice affirmed the board's leadership, approving a 2020 bond for the Miller Middle School reconstruction and the Impact Career Innovation Center (the hub for Career and Technical Education programs). Voters overwhelmingly approved the 2024 $150 million bond (with 61% support), funding a new elementary school at Three Springs and dedicating $20 million to workforce housing (enabling the Lightner Creek Village Apartments purchase) and long-deferred maintenance across all schools. This is a crucial investment in teacher recruitment and retention.
School board elections are nonpartisan by Colorado law and must be focused squarely on students and public education. The core principle of Colorado's public education is simple: politics and religion out of the classroom (Opinion, Herald, Aug. 20).
The challengers represent differing core motivations that could threaten the district's secular mission. We see attempts by political figures like Heidi Ganahl from Denver (see: tinyurl.com/mr3z688s) to inject national culture wars into local races (Herald, Sept. 28). This partisan strategy undermines public education by weakening support for inclusive measures. The board's actions – developing policies that support DEI, Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ+ flags – represent a response to the needs and concerns of the majority of students and parents seeking an inclusive learning environment.
Some challengers, including Tamra Fenberg (who taught seminary) and Pearl Stegner (who has faced scrutiny for scrubbing her conservative Christian blog, “The Average Pearl” – see tinyurl.com/mwkr3ypp) just before announcing her candidacy, bring backgrounds that may be in conflict with the secular mission required for guiding inclusive public education. District schools are public, not private or religious, and the board must respond to the needs of all families.
The challengers have not offered detailed plans that substantially warrant disrupting the current trajectory. It is crucial to keep the momentum going and maintain the effective working relationship between the experienced board and Superintendent Cheser.
We thank all candidates for their willingness to serve, and we encourage those who represent challenger perspectives to remain involved in district affairs. But this year, the choice is clear: Vote Brown, Parmenter, and Petersen.
