The 10 candidates running for the four open seats on the Boulder Valley School District’s (BVSD) Board of Education were invited to participate in a candidates’ forum in Nederland on October 17. All 10 candidates drove up to Nederland to take part in the forum.

This was an impressive evening. Ashley Kardos, Vice President of the Nederland Elementary PTA, organized the event along with Erin Wilson, President of the Nederland Elementary PTA. The PTA at Nederland Middle Senior High School also helped.

Max Marschhausen at Teens, INC. and the youth at the Youth Leadership Academy (YLA) in Nederland prepared and asked the questions of the candidates. Nederland Community Library Director Elektra Greer and her team helped with the space and scheduling. Approximately 40 people attended the event.

The evening began with the candidates introducing themselves and naming some of the issues that are most important to them. An issue that was mentioned several times was the importance of mental health in our schools. These candidates understand that schools are more than just pencils, computers, and books. They all seemed to understand that advocating for students is vital to being a BVSD Board member.

Candidates for District C Andrew Steffl, Alex Medler, and Cynthia Nevison are all vying for the seat being vacated by term-limited President of the Board Kathy Gebhardt. District C covers a large amount of territory including Superior, parts of Boulder, Nederland, and part of Gilpin County.

When asked how she will care for Nederland schools, Nevison said that she loves the Nederland area and spends time up here. “I want to listen to the needs of the community and school.”

Steffl made a connection to some in the intimate setting in the Nederland Library when he said that he understands how some people feel up here after his house burned in the Marshall Fire. He added, “We need to take more action with our mountain schools.”

When Medler was asked how he would care for and help Nederland schools he responded by saying that it is not viable to close Nederland schools. He continued, “We need to listen… we [the Board] need more face time throughout the district.”

Voters need to understand that they will be voting for all four seats, not only for the district that they reside in.

District G also has three candidates: Jorge Chavez, Stuart Lord, and Anil Pesaramelli.

Pesaramelli says that he has passion for education and he wants kids “ready for life when they graduate with the skills they need.”

When asked how he would advocate for mountain schools, Lord said that Nederland schools have all this nature that surrounds them that the entire district should be taking advantage of.

Chavez spoke to the vital importance of Board members and District administration coming to Nederland schools and the other mountain schools to communicate with each other.

When the question of mental health for students came up, Neil Fishman (District A) said, “I take this very seriously.” He was very candid about his experience of feeling marginalized and the importance of the wellness centers that are now in some schools in BVSD.

NMSHS has a wellness center that is staffed most hours of the day.

Jason Unger, also running for the seat in District A, said that mental health support needs to be a priority for the Board and that the wellness centers are a great start.

Andrew Brandt and Lalenia Quinlan Aweida are vying for the seat in District D. Both have goals to keep kids safe. Aweida has a background in restorative justice. Brandt spoke about equity in music and the arts.

Those who came to see the candidates were able to ask questions. The central message of the questions and comments was that Nederland schools are not like the other schools in the district. There are different needs here. They stressed giving the schools some stability in staff so they can thrive. Also, that it was important to take time to listen, and understand the needs of mountain schools; take the time to see the amazing things happening in the mountain schools.

Lord said that the Board should be asking the superintendent for a strategic plan for the mountain schools. This would be in addition to the District’s Strategic Plan that is already in place.

Chavez added passionately, after a parent said that NMSHS lost its school librarian, that this is an equity issue. It was clear after this parent explained the situation that Chavez and these candidates care about equity for BVSD students.

After the formal part of the forum – or as formal as Ned gets – wrapped up, the candidates and the community members continued to chat informally about issues within the school and community.

Ten people who want to be part of the BVSD Board of Education came to Nederland to share their visions and to listen. They listened. Now we need to see some action.

Please, be an informed voter. It matters to our kids.

Learn more about the candidates by going to https://www.bvsd.org/about/ board-of-education/candidates2023on on the BVSD website.

You can also read more about them in this week’s paper. We sent a survey to all candidates. Seven responded and are featured on pages 10 to 16.