Candidate Forums Set for October in Ultra-Competitive Race
Trevor Phipps
During the last two Woodland Park School Board elections, sparks flew as the candidates quickly got grouped into two political slates. The controversy stirred was unprecedented, while the amount of money spent on campaigning broke all-time records.
This November, the stage is set again for a very competitive school board election, with three out of the five Board of Education seats open. Incumbent Board of Education Directors Suzanne Patterson, Cassie Kimbrell and David Rusterholtz have all decided not to seek a second school board term.
Meanwhile, the terms of School Board President Mick Bates and Director Keegan Barkley do not end until 2027.
This has left a wide-open field for the remaining seats.
The deadline recently passed for candidates interested in seeking board positions, as prospective contenders needed to apply and have signatures turned in by the end of August. Originally, the Colorado Secretary of State website had seven candidates listed to fill the three open seats, but records show that one of the original board contenders, Josh Hudnall, terminated his candidacy before the application deadline.
The official list consists of six names with four of them being new to the local political scene. Austin Clayton, Norm Michaels, Laura Gordon and Kassidi Gilgenast are all new to the any type of local election of this kind. On the other hand, candidates Carol Greenstreet and Berton “Bert” West III have both served on the school board in the past.
RE-2 Election Slate Features a Diverse Candidate Background
Carol Greenstreet was the first to announce her school board candidacy when she entered the race last June. Greenstreet served on the school board from 2010 to 2019, including a stint as school board president.
In media interviews, Greenstreet has emphasized how her experience can help the district with the complicated financial statements they are tasked with presenting. “For the last couple of years since they have lost all of the previous administrators and people that had been working in the finance area for the district for a while, they have struggled with getting budgets that were correct,” Greenstreet said. “And that’s really concerning to me. It was for sure played out in the audit this year that the budget was off.”
Bert West put his name into the hat earlier this summer when he announced his candidacy during a Teller County Republicans meeting. West has been a member of the community for a number of years, and he once served on the school board over a decade ago.
West could not be reached by TMJ for comment prior to press time. But is a well-known local figure, serving as the president of Kiwanis International. In addition, he was former owner of a local roofing company. “I’ll make a promise to the stakeholders of RE-2, the students, the parents, teachers, the staff and just as important, the citizens of the school district, that there will be clear communication, civility and kid-focused leadership,” West said, according to an article in The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. “I’m hoping my leadership style will bring a little bit of hope and trust to the board, that the decisions being made are for the students, parents and staff.”
Norm Michaels served in the U.S. Army for 20 years including several years as an officer. Michaels has lived in Teller County for 25 years where he owns several rental properties.
Michaels applauded the record of the conservative RE-2 school board members, who have controlled the majority seats. He agrees with everything they have done, including raising scores, establishing the American Birthright Curriculum and the Merit Academy Charter School. “I heard that other school board candidates wanted to eliminate the American Birthright Curriculum and eliminate Merit Academy,” Michaels said. “So, I couldn’t let that happen. That’s why I jumped into the school board race so that we could maintain our conservative values.”
Austin Clayton has lived in Colorado for 12 years after getting stationed as a Black Hawk helicopter in Fort Carson. His family relocated to Woodland Park two years ago, and he has two children in the district.
Clayton said that he jumped at the opportunity to make a difference. “After seeing our district and how it is very divided and an ‘us vs. them’ mentality, the opportunity arose,” Clayton said. “This is a non-partisan position, so I think it is a great way to keep politics completely out of it because the school board is obviously 100 percent for the kids and the families in the Woodland Park School District.”
Kassidi Gilgenast grew up on the north side of Colorado Springs and she moved to Woodland Park with her husband who is in the Army Special Forces. Her husband was stationed at Fort Carson in 2012. Gilegenast has worked as an assistant coach for the Woodland Park High School volleyball program for the last 10 years and she has also been a member of the Keep Woodland Park Beautiful Committee. She also has two children in the district.
“From my experience as a parent in the district for the last four years, I noticed there was really no interest to engage the community in a lot of the decisions that were being made,” Gilgenast said. “A lot of things were being done behind closed doors. As a parent and a community member, I was concerned that the district really didn’t have a positive path forward and we were doing a lot of damage along the way to our families, to our teachers and to the school that we know and love. And I also know too that there were a lot of families in the district that haven’t felt heard for a long time.”
Laura Gordon moved to Woodland Park with her family 12 years ago after they specifically chose Woodland Park to raise their family. Gordon has more than 10 years of bookkeeping in non-profit organizations and private businesses.
“I know our families, our students and are teachers and I want them to be accurately represented by their leaders and listened to,” Gordon said. “The other big thing for me is accountability. I really want accountability to our community and all of our district’s stakeholders.”
Parents and residents in the district will get a few good opportunities next month to engage with the RE-2 candidates and hear their views on key issues.
Candidate Meetings
A Meet and Greet for the school board candidates is scheduled at the Ute Pass Cultural Center in Woodland Park on Oct. 1. The greater Woodland Park Chamber of Commerce then plans to hold a candidate forum on Oct. 6.
The election day is set for Nov. 4. That is the deadline for returning ballots.
