AURORA | In Cherry Creek School District, three of the five seats on the school board are up for election this fall, but just one is seeing much of a race.
Just one candidate is running in districts A (Eric Parish for outgoing Board President Jim O’Brien’s seat) and C, where incumbent Dave Willman is running unopposed for re-election.
But the race for District B is a much more-crowded affair, with David Aarestad, Matt Batcho, Vince Chowdhury and Janice McDonald running to replace term-limited Claudine McDonald.
While board members are elected by voters from across the district, each member represents a particular corner of CCSD. District B covers a swath of Aurora surrounding Overland High School and several of the schools that feed into it.
Aarestad said he has long been connected to Cherry Creek schools, having started in the district in kindergarten and later graduating from Overland; he now volunteers at his children’s schools. The Cherry Creek Education Association, the union that represents the district’s teachers, has endorsed Aarestad.
“We need school board members who will base their decisions on what matters most for our students’ success. From our perspective, this means up-to-date technology and training for teachers; small classes; and attracting and retaining the best teachers and school staff,” CCEA President and middle school teacher Sheryl Cunningham said in a statement announcing Aarestad’s endorsement.
As for issues he would like to tackle, Aarestad said he would like to review the busing radiuses the district uses. He said some students were forced to walk further when budget woes forced the district to cut some routes. While budgets are still tight, he said the district could possibly change the routes back so some students don’t have to walk as far.
Batcho has lived in the district for 13 years and said he has been an active volunteer at his two daughters’ schools.
He said that with more students opting to wait a few years before college, it’s important that the district prepare every student whether they want to go to college, join the military or enter the workforce.
“Our job is to provide opportunities for students to start a career that has advancement potential as well as an income level that provides financial independence and the possibility to support a family,” he said.
Chowdhury has experience on a school board but is a relative newcomer to Cherry Creek schools.
He served on the Jefferson County school board for two terms until resigning in 2008 after being charged with child abuse for assaulting his 16-year-old daughter.
Chowdhury said that incident was a serious mistake, but one he put behind him.
“All that is behind me, that happened almost seven and a half years ago,” he said.
While he doesn’t have children or grand children in CCSD, Chowdhury said he thinks he could bring an important perspective to the board.
“I’m thinking maybe 60 percent of the community are empty nesters or seniors so that’s an important voice at the table,” he said.
McDonald, who is running to replace her daughter-in-law, Claudine McDonald, said she has lived in the district for 40 years and her five children all graduated from Overland. She now has grandchildren attending schools in CCSD.
In the 1980s, McDonald said she sought appointment to a seat on the board but was passed over, a decision she said had to do with her ethnicity.
McDonald, who is black, said she thinks it’s important that the school board reflect the diverse community it serves.
As for issues she would like to tackle, McDonald said she would try to make parent involvement her signature issue. As a longtime parent volunteer, she said she recognizes how important parents can be for their child’s education.
“I think that’s where it all starts,” she said.