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Three of five Re-2 board seats up for election

by Carrie ClickPost Independent Staff

RIFLE – The Garfield School District Re-2 board of education race on Nov. 4 will decide who will take three out of the five seats on the board. All the candidates are running for four-year terms. In the upcoming election, voters can cast ballots for all three open school board seats, although candidates represent specific districts. District A (Rifle) Director Kim Goossens and District E (New Castle) Director and board president Vicki VanEngelenburg are not up for re-election. In District B (Rifle/Silt) Director Sally Brands is not seeking re-election. Jay Rickstrew and Nancy Whitcombe are running for that seat. Their interviews appear below.Incumbents Jan Hubbell of District C (Rifle area) and Howard Stapleton of District D (Silt/New Castle) are running unopposed. Interviews with them will be published in Tuesday’s edition.School board members serve without pay. Garfield County is holding a mail-in vote only. All ballots are due at the Garfield County Clerk’s offices in Glenwood Springs or Rifle by 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 4. Ballots may safely be mailed until Oct. 29, and should be hand delivered after that date.District B (Rifle/Silt)Jay Rickstrew, 34, bank president-Children in the district: Two-Previous elected office: None -Previous community service: Rifle Chamber of Commerce president, Re-2 facilities needs committee member, founding member of Re-2 Education Foundation -Why are you running? What are your goals? “Re-2. I’ve worked with the facilities needs committee and the Re-2 education foundation. I have a real interest in the district, and I see being elected to the school board as the next step.” -What’s your position on the mill levy override? “I am for it. It’s necessary … to continue to attract and keep strong, quality teachers here. If the override is not approved, I see the district having to make some tough decisions.”-Besides the mill levy override, what do you consider the other big issues for the district? “Since April, I’ve been spending time trying to understand all the issues the district is addressing. Our area’s continual growth is a big issue. I recently attended a Colorado Association of School Boards meeting, and learned we’re one of the few districts that’s growing in the state. The latest figures indicate we’ve added 60 to 80 students to the district just this year.”Nancy Whitcombe, 43, self-employed architect-Children in the district: Two, and brother David Whitcombe teaches at Rifle High School-Previous elected office: No-Previous community service: Rifle Planning and Zoning Commission, Destination Imagination coach, volunteer art teacher and aide in schools, Children’s House Preschool board, Aspen Art Museum education committee-Why are you running? What are your goals?”My background as an architect would be helpful as the district embarks on a major building scheme. My support is for the good teachers in the district, getting more good teachers and preventing the good ones from leaving.”I will also try to mute the emphasis on standardized testing that is coming down from the state. Testing is skewing our schools in a direction disadvantageous to kids. We need to consider the whole school. Are kids safe? Can they write and read? Those things aren’t measured by the test.”-What’s your position on the mill levy override?”I’m going to vote for it. “I can see how little things can change how a city is, and one of the easiest things to change is to have good schools. It’s a huge amenity that is very attractive to young families, and it’s going to be a real selling point for our community. It’s an investment that will pay dividends in the future.”-Besides the mill levy override, what do you consider the other big issues for the district? “Keeping and attracting good teachers. Making sure we can ease into the new schools with the fewest lumps and jerks, making sure there are equal opportunities at the new and the older schools.”And making the workings of board more transparent to people. When people know what’s going on, they are a lot more supportive of it.”Contact Carrie Click: 945-8515, ext. 518cclick@postindependent.com


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