Durango 9-R School Board Candidate Questionnaire 2025
- Louise
- Oct 23
- 12 min read
The La Plata Democrats delivered a questionnaire via email to all candidates running for seats on the Durango School District 9-R Board of Education. Each candidate was invited to respond to a series of questions on district priorities, including teacher retention, budgeting, academic equity, and student wellness. Answers were collected between 10/2 - 10/14.
The following candidates submitted responses: Andrea Parmenter, Erika Brown, and Rick Petersen. Jody Trampp, Tamra Fenberg, and Pearl Stegner did not respond to the survey.
Andrea Parmenter (District E – Incumbent)
Teacher Recruitment, Retention, Compensation & Diversification
What steps would you advocate to attract, retain, fairly compensate, and diversify our teaching staff?
Position: Yes – Supports increasing teacher compensation
Response: Attracting and retaining teachers starts with fair compensation, and I will keep fighting for the funding to make that happen. Investing in workforce housing is another step we’ve taken to ease the cost of living in our community for starting teachers. Retention depends on employee satisfaction, which means teachers feel supported, valued, and able to do their best work in the classroom. Our satisfaction scores are already 10% above the state average, and that matters because when teachers feel good about where they work, they stay—and that stability is what our students deserve. Finally, we must keep welcoming diversity in our staff so that our classrooms better reflect and serve all students.
Academic Achievement & Equity Gaps
What policies or programs do you believe the district should prioritize to close these gaps?
Position: Yes – Supports targeted funding for equity programs
Response: The district already prioritizes targeted interventions, enrichment, and strong curriculum for multilingual learners, students with disabilities, and low-income students—and we are seeing huge increases in student outcomes because of it. As we try new interventions and are innovative with technology and resources, we strengthen our MTSS (multi-tiered systems of support) and are better able to provide each student what they need. This work is closing gaps, and it must remain a focus so every student continues to grow.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion / Civil Rights
How should the school board respond to such complaints while ensuring that all students feel welcomed and supported?
Position: Yes – Supports continuing DEI initiatives
Response: The board should respond to any civil rights complaint with transparency and a focus on fairness, while reaffirming that every student in the district deserves a safe, supportive, and inclusive environment.
Community Engagement & Transparency
How will you ensure that parents, teachers, and community members are meaningfully included in board decision-making?
Response: Community trust comes from listening and being transparent. Our board already encourages participation and feedback through public comment and committee work, but we can continue to strengthen outreach and communication.
School Choice, Charters & Open Enrollment
What is your view of school choice and charter schools, and how should the board respond to these pressures?
Position: No – Opposes using public funds for private vouchers
Response: I support school choice and local control. Charter schools can serve specific needs within our district, but public funding should remain dedicated to public education.
Equitable Access to Programs
How should the district balance offering advanced classes with ensuring that all students have appropriate course options?
Position: Yes – Supports expanding both AP and career/technical pathways
Response: The district currently works to balance advanced coursework and equitable access. Continuing to expand both academic and technical programs ensures that all students have meaningful options that align with their goals.
Health & Nutrition
What role should the district play in ensuring every student has access to healthy meals and wellness supports?
Position: Yes – Supports continuing universal free school meals
Response: The district has to provide these supports so that no student is hungry or distracted in class. Food security is fundamental to learning.
Mental Health & Student Wellness
What role should the district play in supporting student mental health and counseling services?
Position: Yes – Supports expanding mental health resources
Response: Community trust comes from showing how we serve students holistically. Investing in mental health support ensures that students are emotionally prepared to learn and succeed.
Erika Brown (District A – Incumbent)
Teacher Recruitment, Retention, Compensation & Diversification
What steps would you advocate to attract, retain, fairly compensate, and diversify our teaching staff?
Position: Yes – Supports increasing teacher compensation
Response: Staff are our most valuable asset as a school district and attracting, retaining, fairly compensating, and diversifying them has been a top priority for the board over the last several years. I am proud that we were able to provide substantial raises over the last several years whenever funds were available and to cover the majority of rising health care costs. At the same time, we know compensation is not the only factor in staff satisfaction. That’s why we’ve invested in improving working conditions, providing additional supports and resources to teachers so they can focus on what they do best—teaching. These efforts have contributed to higher staff satisfaction and strong retention rates in our district.
We also recognize that housing costs are one of the biggest challenges for educators in Durango. Thanks to community support for our recent bond, we secured $20 million to address staff housing needs, and we’ve already invested $10 million to purchase 35 apartments that will be available to staff at far below market rates starting next year. This kind of long-term investment is essential to keeping excellent educators in our community.
Finally, we’ve broadened our recruitment strategies to reach more diverse pools of candidates and ensure we are attracting the very best people to our schools. While we may not always be able to provide the level of compensation our teachers deserve, we can—and will—continue to find creative, community-driven solutions to support, value, and retain them.
Academic Achievement & Equity Gaps
What policies or programs do you believe the district should prioritize to close these gaps?
Position: Yes – Supports targeted funding for equity programs
Response: Closing opportunity gaps for has been one of my top priorities throughout my 5.5 years on the Board. In 2020, many families voiced frustration about these gaps and shared that they often felt disconnected from schools, unwelcome, and dismissed. In response, we created what is now our Inclusive Excellence team—a diverse group of district leaders, staff, parents, community members, and students who meet regularly to shape and implement our Inclusive Excellence strategic plan. That plan has three main goals:
Enhancing awareness of cultural diversity and intentionally implementing inclusive policies and practices
Continuing consistent and effective Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) across all schools—both for academics and student wellness—while involving families in the process
Increasing student, family, and community engagement and partnership
It’s exciting to see progress: some opportunity gaps are beginning to narrow, and measures like sense of belonging and family engagement are improving. At the same time, we know gaps persist, and that means there is still significant work ahead—because we believe all kids can achieve at high levels.
Moving forward, I believe it is essential that we continue to use data to guide our efforts, engage diverse stakeholders in honest and difficult conversations, and not lose focus on the importance of this work. We must continue to reduce barriers to family engagement and ensure that every student and family feels welcomed and supported in our schools.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion / Civil Rights
How should the school board respond to such complaints while ensuring that all students feel welcomed and supported?
Position: Yes – Supports continuing DEI initiatives
Response: I want to be clear that while there have been media reports of civil rights complaints, the District has not received any such complaints from the Colorado Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Education, or any other official body. We have proactively checked with both agencies to confirm this. To date, no formal complaints have been filed with the District, nor have we been notified of any pending investigations.
Unfortunately, misinformation sometimes circulates in ways that can undermine trust. What I can say with confidence is that our District takes issues of equity and inclusion very seriously. When concerns are raised, we address them directly and in partnership with families, staff, and the community. We’ve invested significantly in this work through our Inclusive Excellence team and our strategic plan focused on belonging, inclusion, and equitable support systems for all students.
Our goal is to create schools where every student feels valued, respected, and supported to succeed. That remains at the heart of our work—regardless of outside noise.
Community Engagement & Transparency
How will you ensure that parents, teachers, and community members are meaningfully included in board decision-making?
Response: Ensuring that parents, teachers, and community members are meaningfully included in board decision-making has been one of my top priorities since I joined the board. Early on, I co-created the board’s first communication plan to improve transparency and engagement. In 2020, we began holding regular coffee chats so community members—including staff and parents—could talk with board members outside of business meetings, ask questions, raise concerns, and have real conversations.
We also created a Thought Leaders group, bringing together a diverse array of community leaders to provide feedback on challenging issues. I’ve worked to expand public input opportunities by increasing the number of public comments allowed at meetings, enabling remote participation, and prioritizing comments from staff, students, and families. For particularly difficult or controversial issues, we hold community forums to ensure voices are heard.
Board members are also available via phone and email. I am always open to exploring new ways to include stakeholders meaningfully, because I believe that strong schools are built through collaboration, transparency, and ongoing dialogue with the people we serve.
School Choice, Charters & Open Enrollment
What is your view of school choice and charter schools, and how should the board respond to these pressures?
Position: No – Opposes using public funds for private vouchers
Response: I support school choice, but I strongly oppose the use of public dollars to fund private schools through vouchers or similar programs. I believe families should have options within the public system, and that local control is essential when it comes to school choice and charter schools.
Durango already provides a wide array of options for a community our size, including three charter schools, two private schools, and the ability for families to choose between Durango School District schools through open enrollment. I believe the board’s role is to support this local choice while ensuring that public resources are used responsibly and equitably to serve all students in our district.
Equitable Access to Programs
How should the district balance offering advanced classes with ensuring that all students have appropriate course options?
Position: Yes – Supports expanding both AP and career/technical pathways
Response: I am unaware of this specific issue, but I recognize the importance of ensuring that all students have access to course options that meet their needs and abilities. Balancing advanced classes like AP with appropriate alternatives is important so that every student has a pathway to succeed. I would rely on the expertise of our principals, staff, and superintendent to determine the right balance. My focus would be on ensuring that decisions are made with student learning, equity, and opportunity in mind, and that families have a voice in the process.
Health & Nutrition
What role should the district play in ensuring every student has access to healthy meals and wellness supports?
Position: Yes – Supports continuing universal free school meals
Response: I strongly support programs like Healthy School Meals for All and support ballot initiatives LL and MM this fall to help secure stable funding. Ensuring that every student has access to nutritious meals is critically important—students cannot focus on learning if they are hungry. Historically, our district has backfilled deficits in the nutrition program to make sure students are fed, but relying on district funds limits our ability to invest in other critical student needs.
As a board, we have a responsibility to provide nutrition and wellness supports, but we also must balance our budget and prioritize resources effectively, because funding is limited. That’s why I support advocating for sustainable funding solutions like these ballot initiatives, which help ensure that every student has access to healthy meals and the supports they need to thrive academically and socially.
Mental Health & Student Wellness
What role should the district play in supporting student mental health and counseling services?
Position: Yes – Supports expanding mental health resources
Response: Community trust comes from showing how we serve students holistically. Investing in mental health support ensures that students are emotionally prepared to learn and succeed.
Rick Peterson (District C – Incumbent)
Teacher Recruitment, Retention, Compensation & Diversification
What steps would you advocate to attract, retain, fairly compensate, and diversify our teaching staff?
Position: Yes – Supports increasing teacher compensation
Response: Continued work to pressure our state government to prioritize adequately funding K-12 education in Colorado, and utilize the 2024 Adequacy Study to fully fund education. The study since completion has not been used in any way to make meaningful change to K-12 funding. Increased funding would be a giant step toward offering a livable wage to all our staff. The District has just purchased a 35 unit building specifically for staff housing assistance, as mandated by the 2024 Bond approved by voters. This will greatly help in recruiting the best and most diverse work force by significantly increasing the affordability of housing in Durango.
Academic Achievement & Equity Gaps
What policies or programs do you believe the district should prioritize to close these gaps?
Position: Yes – Supports targeted funding for equity programs
Response: Under our governance model, Coherent Governance, the Durango School Board does not make operational policies nor do we choose programs or curriculum; we rely on and have complete faith in our professional educators and staff. We have an exceptional Academic staff who are constantly looking for the most up to date and cutting edge programs and methods to help reduce achievement gaps. They stay abreast of all the latest research and innovative instructional models. The board receives regular updates from the superintendent, and an annual comprehensive report regarding all their work.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion / Civil Rights
How should the school board respond to such complaints while ensuring that all students feel welcomed and supported?
Position: Yes – Supports continuing DEI initiatives
Response: During last school year the district Department of Student Services undertook an extensive evaluation of each one of our schools in response to our diversity equity and inclusion policy. At each School they held events that included staff and parents to evaluate all aspects of the welcoming and inclusive nature of each school. The results of those events were used to continue work on ensuring that each one of our schools offers every student and family a feeling of being included, belonging, and welcomed. The board and the school district will continue to stand by our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging policy and resolution to ensure that every student has all they need to thrive each and every day
Community Engagement & Transparency
How will you ensure that parents, teachers, and community members are meaningfully included in board decision-making?
Response: The Durango Board of Education continually makes efforts to expand and improve communication with our constituents. All of our board meetings are made available to the public through our website. Each monthly business meeting of the school board includes opportunity for up to 15 community members to speak publicly.
The school board is always available via email to any member of the public at schoolboard@durangoschools.org. The school district recently held the first state of the district meeting to share with the community our successes and challenges. The board holds quarterly coffee chats or constituents can speak with directors in an informal setting regarding whatever might be on their mind. All of these events are announced at our public meetings along with being posted on our website and included in our community newsletters sent to every family weekly. We also schedule forums when issues of particular relevance or resonance arise in our community. The board is constantly looking for new ways to engage the public. Everything we do is for our students, families, and our community, as such the board is very interested in sharing this work and hearing the feedback from those constituents.
School Choice, Charters & Open Enrollment
What is your view of school choice and charter schools, and how should the board respond to these pressures?
Position: No – Opposes using public funds for private vouchers
Response: School choice is beneficial to our school district. We currently have two charter schools within the boundaries of the school district under the chartering authority of the Colorado Charter School Institute. We also have one that is chartered by the Durango School District. These schools all offer alternative Learning opportunities to families within the school district. The Durango School Board supports choice in schools, and works in a variety of ways in conjunction with these schools to offer varying opportunities to all the families within the district. The reality is, there is a balance to be struck as Charter Schools do draw students and by extension state funding away from our district budget.
Equitable Access to Programs
How should the district balance offering advanced classes with ensuring that all students have appropriate course options?
Position: Yes – Supports expanding both AP and career/technical pathways
Response: I am unaware of this occurring. Decisions like this are completely operational, and would be exclusively regarding Durango High School, as it is the only School within the district offering advanced placement classes. Any question regarding this should be directed toward the superintendent.
Health & Nutrition
What role should the district play in ensuring every student has access to healthy meals and wellness supports?
Position: Yes – Supports continuing universal free school meals
Response: There is reliable data that students learn better with a full belly. The district should continue to do everything possible to ensure all our students are well fed with healthy foods so they can learn their best.
Mental Health & Student Wellness
What role should the district play in supporting student mental health and counseling services?
Position: Yes – Supports expanding mental health resources
Response: Students mental health is a great concern for the Board of Education. Given the amount of hours each week that educators spend with our students, they can provide valuable insight into students mental well-being. Our staff that are in regular contact with our students can be a valuable partner in monitoring for potential signals of students struggling with mental health and well-being. Our staff are not mental health practitioners, but can be quite beneficial in helping the entire District to continue to support the students health and well-being. The partnership between the District staff and parents in helping our students to thrive both academically and social emotionally, cannot be understated.
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