On Nov. 8, voters in the 3rd Congressional District will select either Joyce Rankin or Christine Pacheco-Koveleski for the Colorado State Board of Education.

The district covers more than 50,000 square miles and 29 of Colorado’s 64 counties, including the entire Western Slope, San Luis Valley and as far east as Pueblo. It includes 344 public schools.

“One thing it’s hard for people to understand is that Board of Education members aren’t lawmakers – that’s the Legislature’s job – we’re the rulemakers after the laws are passed,” said Rankin, who was appointed to the board in 2015 after Marcia Neal stepped down. A Republican, she taught fifth grade and was a school principal before becoming a legislative aide to her husband, Rep. Bob Rankin. The only board member who has had experience at the elementary-school level, she is running her first campaign for the seat.

Pacheco-Koveleski, a Democrat, sat on the Pueblo School District 60 Board of Education for six years in the early 2000s. She ran for the same state board seat in 2002 but was defeated. She is passionate about education because it lifted her out of economically difficult circumstances.

According to The Pueblo Chieftain, her time on the Pueblo board was turbulent and ended when she had taken a job in Virginia and was calling in for board meetings. Her fellow board members voted 3-1 to remove Pacheco-Koveleski, an attorney, when they determined that while she maintained an apartment in Pueblo, her primary residence was in Virginia.

“It was 11 years ago,” she said, “and it was a case of killing the messenger. I said things the district did not want to hear, because we had not made a difference in how many children had graduated. Now, they’re close to losing the district.”

In January, the state board must take action on districts and schools that have been considered failing five years in a row on the accountability clock, including Pueblo, and closer to home, Montezuma-Cortez. Options the board has at its disposal are taking over the failing districts or schools, turning them over to a charter school and closing schools.

Several districts and schools are appealing the decision to keep them on the list because high opt-out rates on tests, including the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, means test results may not accurately reflect what is happening in their schools.

“It’s of the utmost importance and our biggest priority,” Rankin said. “Failing districts will have to come in front of us and present something outrageously different to help those students. This is brand new for us, we’ve never done anything like this.”

Rankin said she has been working with the Colorado Department of Education to ensure she understands what is happening in all districts and schools on the list before the January meeting. Inequalities in funding among the different districts is a concern.

She would like to see pre-kindergarten classes available everywhere in the state to help close achievement gaps for minority and at-risk students.

“And I really worry about the C and B students, who might really thrive with some extra help,” Rankin said.

Pacheco-Koveleski, who is Hispanic and whose family has lived in Pueblo for generations, is worried about minority and at-risk children.

“I want to make sure all children are represented at the state board level,” she said. “I don’t want to play the race card, but in the current makeup of the board, there is no one of color, and there are a sizeable number of Hispanic children in this state.”

Her priorities are improving access to early-childhood education and full-day kindergarten, supporting parent choice with charter schools – but not vouchers – and making sure all the children in 3rd Congressional District, which has some of the poorest and richest districts in the state, have access to technology and the arts. As the mother of a physically disabled student and a gifted-and-talented student, she wants to ensure special-needs children get what they need to succeed.

The board of education has major issues coming before it over the next few years.

The CDE is operating under its second interim commissioner in a year, so it will be hiring for that job. And a committee of educators from around the state, including Durango School District 9-R Superintendent Dan Snowberger, is working on integrating the new Every Student Succeeds Act into Colorado’s education system. Deciding whether to continue contracting for the PARCC tests and other decisions that come up, such as a recent decision to allow diet sodas back in high schools if districts so desire, demonstrate the variety of topics that come before the board.

abutler@durangoherald.com

Joyce Rankin

EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree in elementary education, Michigan State University; master’s degree in education, California State University, San Jose.

POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: Two years, Colorado State Board of Education (appointed); legislative aide to husband, State Rep. Bob Rankin, R-Carbondale.

OCCUPATION: Former teacher and principal.

WEBSITE: www.joycerankinsbe.com.

Christine Pacheco- Kovelenski

EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree in political science, Colorado College; Doctor of Law, University of Colorado Boulder.

POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: Six years, Pueblo School District 60 Board of Education.

OCCUPATION: Lawyer, semi-retired.

WEBSITE: none.

Election Guide

The Durango Herald will bring you daily election stories through Oct. 23 on every contested race and every local and state ballot issue. You can find all election coverage at durangoherald.com/election.

Voter information

The Nov. 8 election is the first presidential election in which all voters will receive a ballot through the mail if registered to vote by Oct. 31. Here are some details:

Ballots will be mailed beginning Monday.

Ballots can be returned by mail or dropped off at secure, 24-hour drop boxes at: La Plata County Clerk & Recorder’s Office, 98 Everett St., Durango; Bayfield Town Hall, 1199 Bayfield Parkway, Bayfield; La Plata County Administration Building, 1101 E. Second Ave., Durango; or Farmers Fresh Market, 535 Goddard Ave., Ignacio.

Voter registration is open through Election Day.

Voter Service and Polling Centers in La Plata County will be open Monday through Saturday, beginning Oct. 24.

For a sample ballot and times and addresses for polling centers, go to

bit.ly/2dGU3VD

.