According to preliminary, unofficial results on Nov. 9, Sherri Wright will be the newest member of the Colorado State Board of Education. Ellen Angeles ran against her.
Unofficial results have Wright winning with 61.58% of the vote, as Angeles trails at 38.42%.
Wright, 71, had been appointed to the seat in District 3 on Oct. 22, 21 days after former member Stephen Varela resigned. Though Wright was appointed the seat, the voters ultimately decided who would hold the position.
Wright will hold the seat until Jan. 8, 2025. The term is up for the elected seat on January 2027.
According to Chalkbeat, Wright “wrote that her top three priorities if elected to the State Board of Education would be parents’ rights, school choice, and making sure students can read by third grade and are taught history ‘so society will not make the same mistakes they have in the past.’”
In the past, Wright, who ran on the Republican ticket, has served as a teacher, member of the Montezuma-Cortez school board and was the executive director of the Colorado Association of School Boards.
When news of her appointment to the seat was made public, Wright told The Journal she was honored.
“I am deeply honored to be appointed to the Colorado State Board of Education, and will do my utmost to uphold the students and parents so they will have the best education possible.”
A press release from the BOE noted that the voting members of the board were “impressed with Wright’s four decades of service.”
Angeles is also an educator, with multiple current and past jobs showing her passion for education.
Angeles has been a substitute teacher and ELD specialist in the Montrose school district since 2006 and an EF Tour Guide Coordinator since 2016.
Along with these two positions, Angeles is also a facilitator for CEA COpilot (since 2018) and courtroom bailiff for the Seventh Judicial District (since May 2023).
Some of the issues Angeles shared would be a priority are teaching students how to think and not what to think, media literacy, STEM, art, music, awareness around technical education and more.
“If elected, I will be a strong advocate for robust education policies, increased funding and vital resources for our schools. By fostering partnerships with local businesses and actively listening to the concerns of parents and communities, I believe we can bring a balanced perspective to the school board,” Angeles said.
