Dear Editor,

I don’t have kids attending the Gilpin County School, but I think it’s extremely important that all of us who are RE-1 Gilpin County residents vote in the school board election this year whether we have kids or grandkids in the school or not.

Why? Because the quality of our school is reflective of our values as a community; it impacts our property values, labor availability, crime rates, and many other quality of community issues in the short-term, but certainly in the long-term. Our children are our future. If you care about our future as a community, you should care about the upcoming school board election.

Our cat sitter is a curious, industrious, studious, amazing elementary school neighbor and I think about how she may be negatively influenced by people who think they “know” better than professional educators. I consider the quality of education all of our kids in our county are receiving and think about the profound ways that they will influence our community and our society as a whole. We must support our teachers and school staff and make sure they are paid an equitable wage. We need the students, teachers, and staff to feel safe and well-informed.

I ask you to join me in supporting Tami Velasquez, Rana Silver, and Victoria Edwards for Gilpin RE-1 school board.

Won Cho

Gilpin County