Paula Noonan
The race for the Colorado State Board of Education seat in the 2nd Congressional District between two Democrats, former Boulder Valley School Board Chair Kathy Gebhardt and charter school consultant Marisol Rodriguez, is a perfect experiment in electoral politics. Here’s the crucial question: Will money be the deciding factor, or will experience and informed decision-making prevail?
It’s astonishing how much money Progressives Supporting Teachers and Students, an independent expenditure committee (IEC), has invested in Marisol Rodriguez to win the seat currently held by Angelika Schroeder, a reliable charter school voter on the State Board of Education. Rodriguez has raised $33,000 for her campaign. As of June 18, the “Progressives” committee, a front organization for the Colorado League of Charter Schools, has spent $1.13 million on mail, television ads and social media to support Rodriguez or oppose Gebhardt and buy that seat.
What other purpose is there for the more than a million dollars paid for a normally obscure elected office? Still, Coloradoans don’t know who is raising the money to support Rodriguez because the “Progressive” IEC doesn’t disclose donors. One conclusion is most likely: Only the richest of the rich have donated their money to this campaign.
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Gebhardt has raised $71,000 for her campaign, of which she has received about $9,000 from local unions in the CD2 district. Her other donors are the many people who know her work as president of the Boulder Valley School Board and as a public school finance advocate who argued the case that laid the foundation for the state’s BEST funds to build, equalize and improve school facilities. The outcome of the case ensures that all children have a fair chance at adequate physical infrastructure for their education.
Let’s examine the facts to compare the two candidates. Gebhardt’s mother was an elementary school teacher and instilled an interest in public education in her daughter. Gebhardt attended exclusively Boulder public schools (K-12) and graduated from Boulder High School. Her five children attended and graduated from Boulder public schools. Two of her children currently teach in Boulder schools. She served on the Boulder Valley School Board from 2015-2023, recently leaving due to term limits, and served two years as president.
During Gebhardt’s tenure, she weathered the COVID epidemic, negotiated constructive contracts with teachers and school staff, oversaw successful charter school renewals, and joined a majority of the board in opposing a charter application from Ascent Classical Academy. Ascent uses the conservative Christian curriculum of Hillsdale College and refused to implement the Boulder Valley district’s anti-discrimination policies. The board also rejected the charter because of its poor record of admitting and educating special education students. There were concerns about the school being run by an unelected board. Ascent appealed the district’s decision to the State Board of Education. This event led to the controversial intersection of Gebhardt with the Colorado League of Charter Schools.
The state board upheld Ascent’s appeal and sent the application back to the Boulder board to negotiate a settlement. Ascent continued to refuse to implement the district’s anti-discrimination policies, so the district continued to deny its application. Ascent eventually moved north to Fort Collins, where the Poudre Valley School District was stripped of its charter eligibility. The Charter School Institute, the state’s charter eligibility authority, granted Ascent charter eligibility.
Recently, Ascent Classical Academies in Colorado cut ties with the school’s leadership in the middle of the school year, causing disruption throughout the system. The board also sold $77.5 million in BB bonds through the Ascent Colorado Building Association to expand its “classical” movement. The bonds are paid back by student enrollment growth, meaning state, per-student public money is used to pay for this debt.
There is a complicated financial entanglement between the Ascent charters, the Ascent board, and the real estate transactions. Given the complexity of the transactions and the ambiguity about who manages and receives this bond money, it was undoubtedly a wise decision by the Boulder Valley district to stay away from the Ascent Academy schools.
Governor Jared Polis, a staunch supporter of charter schools, supports Marisol Rodriguez. He also vigorously supports the Colorado League of Charter Schools and the lack of compliance with the regulations that apply to all traditional school districts. It seems he doesn’t mind that these “traditional” academies don’t want to comply with the school districts’ anti-discrimination policies. When it comes to charter schools’ special education, he is unperturbed.
Many prominent elected officials and citizens disagree with the governor’s support for CD2’s state Department of Education. Congressman Joe Neguse of CD2 has endorsed Gebhardt, as have most House and Senate elected officials whose districts are in or overlap with CD2. Most CD2 county commissioners have endorsed the candidate, as have major education organizations such as the Colorado Association of School Executives.
Rodriguez’s main claim to the CD2 state board seat is that she has children in the school district. The League of Charter Schools points to her work as a consultant in the charter school industry, much of which is in Missouri. It’s unclear how much she works or has to do with traditional public schools, which educate 85% of Colorado’s children. She opposes education vouchers, an easy decision in Colorado. She supports school choice, as does Gebhardt. The question for voters is whether she supports school choice, no matter how much some schools violate the state’s principles on discrimination, and whether she supports all schools that educate all students, including special education students with unique challenges and needs.
People with money do what people with money often do: They throw their influence around and try to get what they want by spreading the Franklins among them. Rodriguez is receiving more than a million dollars in expenses to support her candidacy. She has apparently made enough claims and statements to get that support.
Gebhardt has built her campaign on her belief in the integrity and genius of the state’s founders, who trusted in the public value of public schools. She has invested her intellectual wealth and passion in advancing public education. Will Gebhardt’s commitment and proven actions hold up in the face of over a million dollars? Only the voters of the Second District can answer that question.
Paula Noonan is the owner of Colorado Capitol Watch, the leading platform for tracking the state’s legislature.
