DENVER – The Republican primary for
Anita Stapleton – who has revolved her campaign around drives to eliminate certain testing and curriculum standards – is trying to unseat Joyce Rankin, who was named last year to fill a vacant seat.
The seat was vacated by State Board of Education chairwoman Marcia Neal of Grand Junction, who resigned citing dysfunction on the seven-member board.
Whoever wins the primary will take on Democrat Christine Pacheco-Koveleski, who is not facing a primary on June 28.
Rankin, a former teacher and principal from Carbondale, is the wife of state Rep. Bob Rankin, a Republican member of the powerful Joint Budget Committee.
Rankin, 68, serves as an aide to her husband, which she says offers her an advantage to understanding the bureaucracy that can revolve around school funding and other issues.
“We make rules that go with the legislation, and with Bob on the Joint Budget Committee, and how the money is disbursed and how much money is allocated to the different departments, I feel I have a leg up,” Rankin said.
Stapleton, a 49-year-old registered nurse from Pueblo, has maintained a laser-like focus on Common Core, standards that set guidelines for K-12 education. The state adopted the standards in 2010.
“We really started getting involved with local liberty groups,” Stapleton said. “I’m not a tea partier, but I have mixed many times with members of tea party groups.”
She said the larger issue is that the Republican Party has lost its way, pointing to the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act, which passed Congress last year to replace the unpopular No Child Left Behind Act.
“In my opinion, the Republicans handed to America a facade, that we’re all about limited government, when we are not, not today,” Stapleton said, suggesting that the Every Student Succeeds Act is simply Common Core “on steroids.”
She also believes that digital learning drives a national curriculum under the guise of developing 21st-century skills.
“They sell it as a bag of goods that we need to be competitive,” Stapleton said. “But they want to change American culture from a free-thinking society.”
The candidate also had strong words for Dan Snowberger, superintendent of Durango School District 9-R, who supports School Vault, an online platform to map teacher and student academic success. The program has served as a model to other districts in Colorado and across the nation.
Snowberger said of the program, “Like medical records that help drive our health care, wouldn’t it be helpful for teachers to be able to see patterns of success and adjust instruction throughout the school year to maximize all students’ learning?”
But Stapleton has a different take: “What I see is, Durango is developing a monopoly over the rural schools.”
For her part, Rankin believes assessments are important for tracking progress. She thinks there may just be a disconnect.
“Maybe our tests aren’t clearly understood or explained to the district, to the parents, to the stakeholders, to the teachers – why they are doing it,” Rankin said.
“I think of these failing schools, the turnaround schools, the schools and districts that aren’t serving all of the students well.”
pmarcus@durangoherald.com
Joyce Rankin
AGE: 68
RESIDENCE: Carbondale
EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Michigan State University; night school to receive master’s degree in administrative services credential
POLITICAL BACKGROUND: Member of state Board of Education from 3rd Congressional District
OCCUPATION: Aide to her husband, state Rep. Bob Rankin, R-Carbondale; former teacher and principal
FAMILY: Husband, Bob
TOP ISSUE: “My job should represent excellence in education, and value for the taxpayers. We can do better.”
ON FINDING A NEW COMMISSIONER: “We selected a new commissioner, and now we’re doing it again. That’s a real concern of mine. I want one with a vision.”
ON COMMON CORE: “Common Core is a federal issue, legislation would have to be passed, but as far as federal control goes, we’re a local-control state, and I support that.”
ON STUDENT ASSESSMENTS: “They’re very important in mapping accountability ... But it’s better to monitor this every step of the way, than at the end of the year having a test, and then you don’t get the results back until the next year.”
ON CHARTER SCHOOLS: “Some people don’t think of them as public schools because they’re called ‘charter,’ but they are public schools in our school system, and I think they should be treated equally.”
ON ATTRACTING RURAL TEACHERS: “It’s a crisis situation. When I get out into my district, I hear that a lot.”
ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN SCHOOLS: “It would be like a medicine that was given by the school nurse. It’s not just that the kid could have it in his back pocket.”
ON GUNS IN SCHOOLS: “Different districts have different concerns over that. Here in rural Colorado, it’s not uncommon for us to have meetings where people come with guns on their hips, and no one thinks about it, but in Denver, you can’t do that.”
Anita Stapleton
AGE: 49
RESIDENCE: Pueblo
EDUCATION: EMT certificate from the then-University of Southern Colorado; associate degree in nursing from Pueblo Community College.
POLITICAL BACKGROUND: Grass-roots conservative advocacy; assisted with recalling Democratic state senators who supported gun control.
OCCUPATION: Registered nurse.
FAMILY: Husband, Michael; three children
TOP ISSUE: “We are already seeing negative things coming out of the (Every) Student Succeeds Act; digital blended learning is empowering bigger government and more control over our schools.”
ON FINDING A NEW COMMISSIONER: “I am looking for integrity, transparency and fiscal responsibility, someone who would entertain trimming the bureaucratic excess at the CDE, and most important, someone who understands our unique state constitution.”
ON COMMON CORE: “Common Core came around, and I started really paying attention. I saw changes in our schools ... The more research I did, I was alarmed.”
ON STUDENT ASSESSMENTS: “They sell it as a bag of goods, that we need to be competitive ... But the government, the federal government, doesn’t care about how successful your student is in the competitive work world.”
ON CHARTER SCHOOLS: “Charter schools need to be vetted. I do not believe in just granting them their status to open up ... I do not believe in turning my back on public schools.”
ON ATTRACTING RURAL TEACHERS: “Hold firm to your traditional values ... That’s what’s going to attract teachers back into rural areas.”
ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN SCHOOLS: “Up until I joined hospice, I was very anti-cannabis, and as I’ve been working in hospice ... I’ve seen how cannabis is beneficial.”
ON GUNS IN SCHOOLS: “Absolutely” supports allowing teachers to carry.
