Government Transparency Emerges as Top Concern
Six RE-2 Candidates Bombarded with Questions on Key Issues
Trevor Phipps
For the last four years, actions of the Woodland Park RE-2 District School Board have stirred controversy and commanded national news headlines.
In the months leading up to the last two school board elections, the issues of contention got super-heated with a definite split in candidates into two opposing camps.
This year, though, the atmosphere has calmed down, even if the competition has still remained tense with six candidates vying for three seats. The races could, in effect, determine the political fate of the elected panel. Although the stakes are high, the campaigning hasn’t been nearly as aggressive, and the amount of money spent has dropped significantly.
During the school board election in 2023, the opposing sides were so divided that candidate forums failed to get all six candidates on stage at the same time.
That hasn’t been the case in the 2025 race, with two candidate gatherings held recently within a week period.
This year, all six candidates attended a meet and greet put on by the WPSDForward Taskforce on October 1. All six candidates again shared the stage on Oct. 6 for a candidates’ forum, organized by the Greater Woodland Park Chamber of Commerce. The chamber has been organizing forums for the last two decades for a variety of local and state races.
For the most part, the candidates shared a desire to mute the political noise and have more transparency at both evens, which attracted large crowds at the Ute Pass Cultural Center.
The highly watched chamber forum on Oct. 6 started with every candidate giving an introduction. They then were each asked prepared questions, composed by the chamber of commerce representatives and moderators. The questions posed a wide range of topics.
More specifically, the school board candidates were grilled on big issues of concern, such as what areas of the budget should get cut if district revenue decreases. They were also questioned about the role of the school board within the district, how to deal with declining enrollment numbers, the fate of special education and how to better attract home school children.
Even though none of the candidates directly said that they approved or disapproved with previous board decisions, most talked about better transparency and accountability at the school board level. They also stressed the importance of seeking feedback from the community when important decisions are made. These same themes were echoed at the earlier WPSDForward forum, although questions were not asked by the audience.
Candidates Address Issues Concerning Heated Division
Candidate Carol Greenstreet maintained that division and distrust get created when decisions are made quickly and without public input. “I think a lot of the healing of the trust is going to be how we conduct board meetings,” Greenstreet said. “I believe we have got to get back to at least two board meetings a month where one is a work session where we are actually discussing the issues and the problems that are coming forward.”
Candidate Laura Gordon said that she would start by getting together with all stakeholders including parents and staff to formulate a strategic plan and mission statement. “I think with that there is trust and accountability people know what to expect,” Gordon said. “And then when that is established we work on the unity part. I would love to see a committee of parents and teachers and students from all of our schools in the district working together to come up with ways to bring our schools together and unify us as one district.”
Candidate Norm Michaels said he wanted to create more ways to get input from the public, but he didn’t believe that the meetings needed more time for public comment. “A web portal would allow people who are just getting home from work be able to share their ideas when it’s convenient for them,” Michaels said. “Many community members think of good ideas between meetings and they have no place to report them. This online system would fix that and make sure every voice has a place to be heard.”
Candidate Kassidi Gilgenast agreed that everybody in the district should have a buy in to where the district is headed. “What I really enjoyed was during homecoming week was the opportunity for our kids, our teachers and stakeholders in the community to get together, celebrate each other and build camaraderie,” Gilgenast said. “Doing things like the homecoming parade that finished at Merit Academy, it was great bon fire, and everybody got together. We need more of those opportunities to bring our community together around our schools and help rebuild some of those relationships.”
Candidate Bert West stressed that visibility was important. “It’s important as a board member to be visible in the community and be visible where parents and students feel comfortable to come up and speak with you,” West said. “Whether they are coming up to give you encouragement or ask you a question, they have to feel comfortable to be able to do that. Visibility will help with that.”
Candidate Clayton Austin agreed that healing division all boils down to transparency. “A topic I touched on a pretty good amount this evening was financial transparency,” Austin said. “We have all seen the tremendous legal fees for frivolous lawsuits that boil down to mistakes being made. With proper training, we can make those mistakes not happen in the future.”
The school board election will be decided on November 4, the deadline for returning ballots. Ballots will be mailed out to registered voters in the district and throughout Teller County, starting Oct. 10.
