by Khaleigh Reed, staff writer
It’s that time of year, election time, and if you or someone you know, is 18 or older you are eligible to vote in this year’s District 11 school board election on November 7, 2023. As a prospective voter, you can obtain information that may support you when voting for a candidate. You may choose from 10 candidates with a variety of agendas and issues they aim to shed light on.
Sources such as Ballotpedia, give a quick rundown of the candidates and websites to follow to get your knowledge directly from the source you may want to consider.
If you are really looking for all things nitty gritty, take a glimpse at the Finance article, “Dark Money and the School Board Industrial Complex” by Heidi Beedle from the Colorado Times Recorder. She not only mentions D11 but discusses issues other school districts in Colorado Springs have had with campaign donations, which could have interfered with the current and former election processes.
For social and political concerns, The Gazette’s Voter Guide, brings up a deeper conversation that should be recognized and may possibly impact the future of curriculum. D-11 Candidates such as Jason Jorgensen and Kate Singh have rather opposing views on such topics but explain briefly how their belief can improve the ongoing discussion of LBGTQ+ rights or even Critical Race Theory in the classroom. Ultimately decisions such as these have found its way to impact the entire country, divided or not.
Even so, there are limitations for the candidates as well. Recently in 2022, a new law, House Bill 1245, would limit individual donations from donors, in particular, schoolboard candidates who have a limit of $2,500 granting a fair play for those running and enforcing deadlines on finance reports. While this has not been much of a strain on school districts, the political divide as mentioned beforehand may just put a halt for student’s who go to school for an education, as administrators and parents, and community organizations continue to dispute.