All questionnaires in one place!
- Kaci Cole
- 24 hours ago
- 10 min read
These are the published, local questionnaires available to the public. As more become available, I will post them here.
Daily Sentinel
Click to expand:
1. Please identify the 3 most important policies that you either support or would like to implement.
IHB: Class Sizes: Currently the policy around class sizes has been contested. The word that seems to be most contested is “reasonable”. Class size language is important because words like “reasonable” are too vague. We need clear, measurable standards so every child receives the attention they deserve. Families and educators consistently tell us class sizes are a top priority. We need clear parameters and a process for class sizes so students and staff aren’t left struggling or wondering what to do next.
Policy JK, JKR (1), and JKR (2) are very important policies that I want to ensure are reviewed carefully as educators, families, and students increasingly cite that student behavior is a large issue affecting our schools. Behavior policies must balance accountability with support, ensuring that classrooms are safe and focused on learning
I’d like to also implement a policy that addresses educator workload. For many years a constant issue our educators have expressed is the amount of workload they are required to do. Workload policies must protect teachers’ time, giving them the space to plan, collaborate, and connect with students.
All three policies focus on ensuring safe, supportive classrooms where teachers can teach and students can learn.
2. Why do you want to serve or continue to serve on School District 51 (SD51) Board of Education, and please describe your qualifications and experience that can give voters confidence you should be a SD51 Board member. Please be specific.
I am running because I believe every family should feel proud to choose D51. My own journey started when this district wasn’t my first choice, but instead of leaving, I leaned in. I took what I knew as an educator and started to learn how the system worked as a community member.
As a former educator, I bring the classroom perspective; as a parent, I know what families need; and as someone with business leadership experience, I know how to navigate complex organizations.
I want to serve to strengthen communication, clarify processes, and solve problems so our schools work better for every student and family. I will bring these skills to the Board of Education when developing or refining policies or within committees. I also have had first hand knowledge of how important it is to build a strong work ethic and strong thinking practices within our students as our future workforce. We need a citizenry that is strong in critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration so our community can thrive for years.
3. Please describe your vision of public education. What specific changes, if any, would be needed for SD51 to implement your vision?
My vision for public education and D51 is: Educate, Elevate and Empower.
Educate: All students have equal access and opportunity to attend high quality schools that prepare them for their future. In order to do this, we must make sure our schools have educators who are talented, passionate, and eager to be each child’s champion. We will need to be innovative and creative in meeting the needs of our students and our society. This may mean having more magnet or innovation schools within and across our school district.
Elevate: similar to the above statement. I’d like to see D51 elevated so all parents, staff, students, and community members are eager and proud to be part of D51. Closing our achievement gap will not only encourage our families from across the district to be part of our district, it also lifts the entire district when all students are supported, achieving, and growing.
Empower: All stakeholders in Mesa County should have a true sense of belonging and understanding of our School District. This goes beyond transparency and delves deeper into true involvement in the processes. We need to make sure our business community and community at large are valued and involved in our district so our students are supported. And we need to ensure our parents have a clear understanding of how our school district works so they are empowered to make the decisions they need to for their child.
Finally, our school district needs to be financially steady. We cannot keep a school district thriving if we are not financially stable. We know the revenue for D51 is limited, so we are tasked with the responsibility to use those dollars as efficiently as possible to ensure our children and schools have the resources they need. Since our revenue options are limited, it’s time we bring our community into the budgeting process so our community trusts our stewardship and would support some of the options available to us to increase our revenue. Our children deserve to be funded more than the bottom 5 in the state.
4. What does ensuring transparency look like to you when making Board decisions, and how will you make sure public/stakeholder input is considered in Board decision making?
Transparency means more than posting information online. It’s about clear communication and honest context so the public understands not just what decisions were made, but why they were made and how they will affect our schools. True transparency also means making it easy for the community to stay engaged through accessible information, open dialogue, and opportunities to participate in committees and decision-making. In short, transparency builds trust when people feel informed, included, and respected. As board members we need to be able to easily and accessible answer these questions when governing through policy: How did a former policy not meet the needs of our students and schools? How does this new policy meet the needs of our students and schools? What has changed and why was it changed? What new laws or statutes do these policies now represent?
I believe transparency is a very good start. It’s one thing to be open and honest about what is happening in the district and another to do the additional work to involve and educate our community about various roles, committees, finances, and other parts of our school districts. Transparency should mean you’ll never have to guess why the board made a decision, you’ll hear it directly and clearly.
5. What is your view of the curriculum and instruction being taught in SD51? Please elaborate.
Curriculum should focus on core academics and life skills, while giving students choices in advanced, career, or technical paths. I believe we are well on our way to a unified curriculum for our students to have a solid and common foundational education. It is very important to maintain curriculum resources for the long term so our educators and our students are not re-learning new curriculum every few years. At the elementary level, it is important to have deeply vetted and educator-selected curriculum resources that teach our students foundational, reading, writing, math, social studies, sciences, and social skills. These skills do need to be commonly taught so all students have the same foundation to go onto middle and high school where they can begin to focus on and develop their talents and passions. At the middle and high school level, it is important to have both accelerated and advanced coursework as well as career, trade, or other options so our students are prepared and ready to move into their adult lives.
6. How do you view the future funding needs of SD51? How do you think these needs should be met?
School funding is a balancing act between expenses, revenue, and enrollment. Our responsibility is to ensure every dollar supports student learning while also being accountable to taxpayers. That means reviewing expenses carefully, protecting classroom resources, and exploring sustainable revenue options like mill levy overrides. It also means engaging the community early and often so they understand both our needs and our stewardship.
D51 has limited revenue options, it’s our role as Board Members to steer our financial department to ensure we are working within our means. It is the School Board’s role to work with the community at large to attempt to bring in additional revenue or decide where the “extra” money should go. This is why intentionally involving our community into the ongoings of the school district - whether positive or negative - is so important to me. I know I am more willing to vote on a ballot measure when I know that it has specific language that I understand and have been educated around. I feel the same is true for our general public. People want to believe and trust in the school district, but the understanding and the education is not quite there.
We have a few options to increase our revenue when there are no other options to reduce spending. D51 can get additional income from student enrollment and Mill Levy Overrides/Bond Options. In order to encourage our community to either invest in D51 with their children or taxes, we are going to need to truly involve our community to see where we can increase our revenue. I do think our community is open to options for MLOs, we just need to be more transparent and involve our community in much more authentic ways so our community feels confident in offering more income to our schools.
If the community trusts how we use our money and can see exactly where it’s going, they’ll likely be more willing to invest.
7. What is your long-term vision of the financial sustainability of SD51 and how do you see the role of the Board in achieving that vision?
My vision for financial sustainability starts with our community. State and federal dollars are unpredictable, and while I will continue to advocate for our fair share, we must also take local responsibility for how we fund our schools. That means pursuing alternate funding streams like grants in areas like STEM, mental health, and career pathways to free up general funds. However, grants are temporary, not permanent. We also need to bring our community into the budgeting process to encourage our community to understand our finances, build trust, and eventually invest in our schools. Just as importantly, we should actively build partnerships with nonprofits, businesses, and community organizations that help meet student needs and reduce costs. True sustainability comes from a combination of fair state support, careful spending, and smart, community-driven solutions. Long-term financial sustainability begins with advocacy and ends with community responsibility and engagement.
8. How will you ensure that policies are developed, implemented and followed to protect students' physical health, mental health and emotional well-being?
Strong student health and well-being policies are developed with input from families, educators, and community partners. We must keep our students at the center and require in-depth discussions and explanations when new policies are presented. If we cannot prove or show how these policies will benefit our students or keep us in compliance with state law, we cannot adopt them. We also must require clear and authentic procedures that ensure follow up and results. Once a policy is developed, we need to direct our district leadership to develop the follow-through plan. Finally, our Board members need to have options to verify that the work from the policy is effective. Once a policy is presented, we should have a very clear cycle of review and refinement. Policies must not just be passed, they must work, with results we can measure.
9. Staff retention is one of the most challenging issues facing SD51. What would you recommend SD51 do to attract and retain quality classroom teachers, administrators, and support staff?
To retain staff, we must pay them fairly and respect them as experts. Our staff, including educators, para professionals, administration, and building operations deserve a liveable wage. In order to pay for highly qualified staff, we are going to need to find it in the budget. Already, our budget is mostly spent on salary and benefits. As I said earlier, if we want to retain and attract highly qualified staff, we need to increase our revenue. When attracting staff, we are in a similar boat. Though, I believe we can partner more closely with the students at CMU to encourage them to stay in the Valley and work in D51. As the largest employer of Mesa County, we need to wrap around the students graduating from CMU so they feel a sense of belonging and a desire to stay here. We know the hardest to fill positions have been the highly specialized positions like Special Education, Speech Language Pathologists, Math and Science. D51 needs to be creative in how we attract these professionals so they move into Grand Junction. Some ideas may be housing assistance, partner or spouse career help, or higher pay and better benefits. However, all of these options come at a cost. We will need to be intentional in our spending to ensure our students are getting the highest quality educator.
10. By now, you have read and considered the eight political principles we feel should guide political conduct in Western Colorado. Please tell us whether you agree with the principles and will observe them or whether you disagree with them and why.
As someone who was interested in the Restore the Balance questionnaires and work prior to running for school board, I believe Restore the Balance fits well within my own way of deciding which candidate I vote for. I agree with the principles, especially putting the public interest before party interest. That’s what school boards should be about - students, not politics.
*Will Jones did not complete the Restore the Balance Questionnaire.
Links to online forums and interviews:
Now, if you've made it this far...wow! Thank you for taking the time to read through all of this! You may have noticed that I put local in italics at the beginning. That is because we have been sent numerous questionnaires over the last few months. I prioritized the ones that were sent to me by local groups here in Mesa County. There has been one questionnaire that has been floating around created by the Truth and Liberty Coalition. I chose not to answer these questions for two reasons: 1- They are not a local group, they are from Woodland Park. 2- They required a yes or no answer. The questions they asked cannot and should not be answered in yes/no or agree/disagree. However, I understand that there are many people who do want to know my answers to these questions. So, I will post them here. Click to expand and scroll through.
