Future of charter schools unclear as Colorado’s competitive Board of Education race is too close to call
Johnstown Republican and substitute teacher Yazmin Navarro had a slight edge with about 51% of votes by 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, compared to incumbent Rhonda Solis, who was trailing with about 49% of votes. Most counties were set to stop counting by then. The Associated Press estimated that about 73% of votes had been tabulated.
The 8th District was created by the state's 2021 redistricting process and includes parts of Adams, Larimer and Weld counties. The race became pivotal to the future of charter schools , with the outcome poised to influence their ability to open and expand across the state.
Charter schools are public schools managed by nonprofits that establish a performance contract with a school district, which serves as the authorizer. The contract gives charter schools more flexibility than traditional public schools over how they educate children, but they are still subject to the same standards and assessments as traditional public schools.
When school districts reject applications for new charter schools, the state board is central to the appeals process. A charter school can appeal a school district's rejection and the state board has the authority to override the decision.
The outcome of the Democratic primary in June for the 2nd Congressional District seat on the State Board of Education set the stage for a high pressure election in the 8th District. Former Boulder Valley School Board President Kathy Gebhardt, who has been critical of charter schools for adopting admissions policies that discriminate against certain groups of students, won that race against education consultant Marisol Lynda Rodriguez. Gebhardt was elected despite close to $1 million pouring in for Rodriguez from charter school advocates.
The winner of the 8th District seat will determine whether the majority of the board is more likely to accept a school district's rejection of a charter school or shoot it down.
Solis, a Greeley Democrat who was elected to the board seat in 2022 as the first board member to represent the 8th District, takes a different approach to charter schools than Navarro. Solis previously told The Colorado Sun that she wants to make sure charter schools are transparent and accountable with the information they give the state and worries that many charter schools are not enrolling a very diverse set of students.
But she also pointed out that some charter schools in the state are seeing success in teaching students.
Navarro, meanwhile, campaigned on a vision to expand school choice options for families and said she would vote in favor of charter schools during the appeals process so long as they were giving students a quality education.
Solis was supported by the Colorado Education Association, the state's largest teachers union. Navarro was endorsed by CLCS Action, an affiliate nonprofit of the Colorado League of Charter Schools.
The candidate who wins will begin a six-year term in January.
