2023 BoE Campaign Comparisons: “Community’s Voice; Community’s Choice”

DougCo Collective is providing a two-part analysis of the candidates running for school board director positions in Douglas County School District this November.

In this second edition, we examine the group of candidates aligned in values of supporting public education.

The Douglas County community has nicknamed them the “the good guys.” And their actions show that they are

It seems like an obvious choice that candidates for a school board election would run on a pro-public education platform. This is, indeed, the role of BoE Directors, to support public education. And yet, here we are in 2023 with the need to distinguish candidates who support public education from those who do not.

While the opposition focuses on manufacturing chaos and repeating 2021 campaign dog whistles, candidates Susan Meek, Brad Geiger, and Valerie Thompson bring expertise and level-headed leadership. Unswayed by the winds of the moral panic machines of pundits on cable news, they understand the need for increased funding for our schools. Meek, Geiger and Thompson recognize that this year’s MLO/Bond initiatives are not the endgame for funding our district, but the beginning, and that we need to consistently prioritize funding for our district.

Their platform is rooted in centering the needs of DCSD students, which again seems like another obvious choice for candidates running for school board. They offer tangible solutions for prioritizing student well-being and safety, such as: accessible mental health services, equity in education, and stable learning environments by recruiting and retaining quality staff. They are willing to confront the difficult systemic issues facing students such as racism, homophobia, antisemitism, misogyny, etc., rather than pretending these are simply isolated incidents of bullying.

Meek, Geiger and Thompson all acknowledge the rich value of family engagement in the district. And they make the important distinction that although parents are the experts on their own children, they are not the experts on everyone else’s children. This is where they uplift the expertise of educators and staff, in contrast to their opponents, who have been known to demonize and demoralize them and accuse teachers of a nefarious agenda. They also respect the value of data and evidence-based best practices in making decisions about our school district.

Instead of gaslighting community members, they fully acknowledge that the community distrusts the BoE, and they are ready to do the work to rebuild that trust, beginning with a simple and yet oddly controversial action – following the law.  

Susan Meek – District A

Meek’s deep-rooted knowledge of how the district and school boards function is absolutely unmatched by her opposition. Having served our community through the upheaval of a pandemic and the Critical Race Theory (CRT) crusaders, Meek takes a balanced, intentional, and pragmatic approach in serving as a director. With 22 years of service to DCSD that included her children’s School Accountability Committees (SAC), roles as a DCSD employee, a current board director, and board liaison to district committees. 

Additionally, Meek has extensive knowledge of best-practices school board policy and functionality with an accreditation as a Governance Systems Professional. She has continually brought that knowledge and guidance as a BoE Director that is, unfortunately, often ignored by the “Kids’ First” directors to the detriment of our community, with a cost of more than $1 million in lawsuits so far.

Meek lands as a voice of reason on the school board, inviting board members to consider the impact of their decision-making, not simply their intentions. As we know, the “Kids’ First” decision-making has put the district in the middle of multiple lawsuits. Most recently, Meek spoke out against the changes to the Parent Engagement Policy that was forced through without proper vetting and input from stakeholders, noting concerns of potential lawsuits as the changes were putting students at risk of discrimination and harm.

Brad Geiger – District C

Geiger is a fierce advocate for school funding, having served on the Mill Bond Exploratory Committee (MBEC) in 2018, 2022, and 2023. Even DCSD BoE Director Becky Myers appreciated Geiger’s passion at the 2022 MBEC presentation demonstrating the dire need for district funding. She positively noted (starting at 2:12:38), “I don’t think I’ve had a preaching like that in quite a while.”

In addition, Geiger has a deep context and analysis of the shifting demographics of our community and district needs with his nine years of service on the district’s Long-Range Planning Committee.

Not one to mince words around the disingenuous concerns brought by the national extremist narratives and so-called “parents’ rights” groups, Geiger is quick to dismantle these dog whistles, equating them with “Aunt Gertrude’s Facebook page” rather than genuine concerns of students and families in the district. He is committed to finding local solutions for local issues.

Valerie Thompson – District F

Like her opponent, Thompson is a relative newcomer to Douglas County, having lived here for two years. That is where the similarities end. 

Immediately after moving into the community, Thompson became involved as a volunteer and board member of her children’s PTO. She then became involved at the district level with the District Accountability Committee, and as a liaison for DAC for the MBEC in 2022 and 2023. Her service to the community through this district involvement has given her a comprehensive understanding of how the district functions. While Thompson understands the needs of students, educators and staff, her opponent throws out nonsensical ideas like adding AP courses and CTE classes, which already exist in DCSD. 

Thompson also has a keen understanding on how acquiescing to these so-called parents’ rights agendas will ultimately harm students. While “Best DCSD” campaign manager Holly Horn rounded up residents from El Paso County to provide public comment on our community’s Parent Engagement Policy at the BoE meeting on June 20, 2023, Thompson offered public comment as an actual community member, DAC member, and parent with students in DCSD. She cited (starting at 55:46) concerns of potential harm for LGBTQIA+ students with this policy, potential litigation, and spoke out against the influence of this national extremist agenda on the development of this policy revision that was being pushed through by the “Kids First” directors without following proper board procedures.

The Bottom Line

We’ve heard apathy voiced from some community members about voting in this election, noting that nothing will change as the board majority will remain the same. We want to remind those community members how important it has been over these last two years to have minority BoE members like Meek speak out against the harm the board majority has caused, leaning on both law and board policy as guideposts. If these minority members didn’t use their voices, we would have never known that former Superintendent Corey Wise was illegally fired, that outside legal counsel was being hired unilaterally, or pushing for transparency and accountability with monitoring reports and criteria for superintendent review.

When casting a ballot for school board directors, what really matters? 

Candidates who have proven that they have subject matter expertise and lived experience within the school district? 

• Candidates who want to center the well-being of students in their work as directors? 

• Candidates who are guided by data and evidence-based best practices?

• Candidates who follow the law? 

As mentioned earlier, many community members have affectionately referred to these candidates as “the good guys.” If by that, they mean compassionate, knowledgeable, and level-headed, then we wholeheartedly agree.