The Roaring Fork School District Board of Education candidates sparred over various topics Monday evening at Glenwood Springs City Hall, but it was the district’s new health curriculum that took center stage during a issues and answers forum.

Hosted by the Post Independent and the Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association, the forum was moderated by KMTS’s Ron Milhorn and featured candidates Alan Kokish and Betsy After for District B, Phillip Bogart and Lindsay DeFrates for District C, with Jasmin Ramirez re-running unopposed for District D.

Kokish, the District B challenger, positioned himself as a concerned parent, emphasizing the need for broader community representation on the board. 

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“I may not be running for this board with as many qualifications as Betsy, but I am running because I am a concerned dad who feels that a lot of people’s voices in the district are going under, or possibly even being ignored,” Kokish said.

Kokish was relentless in bringing the new health curriculum into the limelight, a topic that resonated throughout the hall. Passed in May, the curriculum aims to support students’ physical and personal wellness, social and emotional wellness, and prevention and risk management, with an emphasis on inclusivity for gender-expansive and LGBTQ+ students.

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Kokish, despite saying he supports the LGBTQ+ community, expressed disapproval over the newly passed curriculum. 

“To the LGBTQ+ community, I care about your struggles,” Kokish said. “I care about your mental health issues … Let’s work to create a curriculum and a support system that we can all be proud of.”

Amid this, After expressed support for the curriculum following a call-out from Kokish regarding her silence toward the subject.

“I do support the sex-ed curriculum as it was passed,” After said. “And I believe one of the reasons I support it is because I believe that it supports our students in their health and wellness journey.”

While Kokish was relentless in sharing his thoughts about the curriculum, After made it a point to cover other topics of district concern.

“This is a very consequential election because you have an opportunity to vote for people who take the job, the entire job, with all of the issues at stake, seriously,” After said. “Or, you can vote for someone who is very concerned about one issue.”

In District C, DeFrates underscored her six years as a Carbondale Middle School teacher, emphasizing the necessity of retaining skilled educators. 

“When we lose teachers from this valley, we are not only losing experience, time and investments financially to train them, but we lose a little bit of trust within our community,” DeFrates said. “We need to make sure that our teachers feel like the respected professionals that they are.”

Bogart highlighted his adeptness in managing multimillion-dollar budgets, lending a perspective of financial prudence to the discourse that can benefit the district’s school board.

“I’ve dealt with multimillion dollar budgets for my occupation for the course of a few decades now,” Bogart said.

Yet, the new health curriculum proved to be the common denominator linking the two candidate pools. In agreement with After, DeFrates said she opposes the curriculum’s repeal. Meanwhile, Bogart sided with Kokish in his disagreement.

Fiscal management and the controversial housing of RFSD Superintendent Jesús Rodríguez were also addressed. After stressed the board’s role in sound fiscal management. 

“The responsibility for fiscal management of the school district is one of the most important responsibilities that board members have,” After said. “I hope that folks take a look at the qualifications of the candidates as they think about running this massive institution in the Roaring Fork Valley.”

As the candidates left the stage, their positions on the health curriculum, teacher retention, budget management, achievement gaps and superintendent housing revealed some common ground. Their opinions surrounding the health curriculum, however, may be what shapes the ballots of Roaring Fork residents come election day, Nov. 7.

The school board is scheduled to reconvene for a regularly scheduled board meeting at 6:15 p.m. on Wednesday at the Carbondale District Office, 400 Sopris Ave. The board will enter an executive session following the meeting, where they are set to meet regarding legal advice for the superintendent’s contract.

For more information regarding the health curriculum, visit here.

To learn more about the petition regarding the health curriculum, visit change.org.