October 13, 2025 • 20 mins
PAY ATTENTION TO THE SCHOOL BOARD RACES And I've got two of the four candidates running on a slate in DougCo on today at 1. Matt Smith is running in District B and Steve Vail is running in District G and they are part of the Common Sense slate that believes the district's focus on student achievement is working and can be built upon without bringing back the collective bargaining agreement. Find out more about the entire slate by clicking here.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Today we have with us two candidates who are part
of the common Sense slate for school board in Douglas County.
I am trying to beat you guys over the head
and let you know this school board race, no matter
where you are, is critical. There's a few things that
are happening in various districts that really need special attention.
In Douglas County is one of them. Number one, I
(00:22):
live there. Number two. There has been a push for many,
many years, since the first year that the Douglas County
School Board simply decided not to do a collective bargaining
agreement with the teachers union, that the unions have never
given up. They have relentlessly tried to bring back the
collective bargaining agreement in Douglas County, and very recently, after
(00:43):
D eleven in the Springs decided not to negotiate with
the teachers union and do away with their collective bargaining agreement,
there was a one day strike in D eleven and
they were trying to get the Douglas County teachers to
strike with them. That did not happen. I don't know
if any of you know anything about that, but thanks
(01:04):
to the teachers in Douglas County for not participating. First
of all, I appreciate that as a parent and joining
me now to talk about that and so much more.
Matt Smith is running in District B, Steve Vale is
running in District G, and they are part of the
common Sense slate. First of all, I'm going to ask
you to school board candidates. The first thing I ask
(01:26):
all school board candidates, why would you want the most thankless,
unpaid job in politics where at least half of your
constituents are going to hate your guts no matter what
you do. Matt, I'll start with you.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Awesome.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
So I have a sign of the district and this
is for him and all the other kids in the
district as well. And I've seen what happens when the
school board does not listen to parents, and so I
want to make sure I step in and we listen
to parents who listen to the community. And I feel
like we can make a real difference.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
How about you, Steve.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
You know my daughter asked me that I'll time. She's like,
why didn't do this five years ago? So my youngest
just graduated from Chaparral and I saw the benefit that
we got from that school system, and my wife and
I moved to Douglas County specifically waiting too. Yeah, and
so even though my kids are out of school, I
want to do this for the next generation. I want
to make sure that we continue the great momentum that
(02:18):
the current Conservative board and that Aaron is doing, and
that we can just keep that momentum going. So I'm
really doing this for the next generation.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Well, what people need to understand is your slate of candidates.
And I'm going to take a little sidewinder here. The
reason that we're seeing slates of candidates is because many
years ago, the teachers unions started to get behind a
slate of candidates in order to be able to spend
more money more efficiently by promoting a number of candidates
that they were supporting instead of just one. And now
(02:47):
people who were not backed by the unions are like,
you know what, not a bad strategy, So let's do
the same thing. And that is how slates like the
Common Sense slate are born. I want to start with
this question because I think it's a really big one. Matt.
We are the highest performing district in the metro area. Absolutely,
I think the highest performing district of our size in
(03:09):
the state, correct with as many Okay, so what do
you think we are just crushing it on? What do
you think we have room to improve?
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Awesome?
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Yeah, so we are definitely nailing it on academics. We're
number one in the metro area, as you mentioned, ninety
two percent graduation rate. Things are going really well and
a lot of this happened after the superintendent change, so
with with Aaron coming on board and just completely changing
the cultures, we are definitely crushing it on academics right
now and making sure that we're saying focus on student
outcomes and there's always going to be areas of improvement.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
You know.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
I still think there's room in the district to clean
up things around like the equity policy and things of
that nature. Just making sure we're focusing on academics and
we remove all the ideology out of the school.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Is there a difference between focusing on academics and removing
the ideology and still making sure that kids who are
black or Hispanic or some other minority are are feeling
like they're a part of the district as well.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
One hundred percent. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
We all kids need to feel like they're they belong
they need to feel a part of the community. And
you know, we're definitely not advocating against that. What we're
what I'm personally against is putting folks in boxes based
on immutable characteristics like race, you know, skin collar, of
their background. I think all students, you know, have the
potential to achieve the same thing, and so we just
(04:29):
want to make sure that we're keeping the outcomes the
same and the standards the same for all students and
not putting folks in boxes.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
Steve, same question to you, why in the world would
you want this job? But what are we doing? I
already asked you that what are we doing right? What
would you like to see us improve on?
Speaker 2 (04:44):
So again, we're number one in academics.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
The teachers are as we've talked about, are not necessarily
the highest paid.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
They just did get a raise with five A and
five B. Ye. But we're also not seeing.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
This mass exodus to other districts.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
I just start to a cheery Creek teacher who said
they have lost a ton to Douglas County correct lower pay.
Speaker 4 (05:05):
Correct because of that culture and because of those student outcomes.
I truly believe that teachers do want the best for
their students. Oh yeah, And so we're building that culture
and I think we're doing great there, and that starts
at the top. That starts with the administration the tools
that we're giving them. And I think Douglas County, while
there's areas of improvement, is doing a great job of
keeping the politics mostly out.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Of the schools. We're not, as you know, we're not.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
Some of the other districts are much more focused on
those equity outcomes and we're really focused on and maybe
that's the wrong word, but we're focused on those students.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
You know, it's a perfect way to say it. And
I've been banging on Cherry Creek School District. They just
did away with valedictorians. Yeah what Nothing says we don't
care about achievement more than doing away with the biggest
prize that a kid can fight and compete for their
entire school career. And that's what those valedictorian kids do well.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
And I want those people.
Speaker 4 (05:57):
I want all of those students to feel good and
the self esteem, but we need to teach them those
life skills.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
And one of those life skills is the.
Speaker 4 (06:03):
Day you graduate, you're immediately judged on your abilities, right,
So we need to teach them that you will have
to compete in the real world. I mean, and when
you get out and you're competing in this job market,
you can't just say, well, I'm as good as everybody else. No,
you have to say I'm better right the skills that
I know.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Selling point, I'm the same as everyone. No, I mean
to your point, it kind of I hate to say it,
but being disappointed is also part of building character, right.
It's like if you everybody can't be the valedictorian, but
you know, if you, if you work really hard and
you get close, you learn one of those hard lessons
in life, which is sometimes you work hard and it's
(06:40):
not enough, but you have to bounce back and move on.
That's part of the process. Let me ask you, guys
some specific questions. You mentioned Aaron Kane, who is our superintendent.
I am an unabashed Aaron Kane fan. I think she
really has an eye on things like AI and how
they can be utilized by teachers in school rules that
(07:00):
I don't hear coming out of other districts. Right, would
you vote to retain her? Would you keep her on
as superintendent?
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (07:10):
I mean, you have no none of us on the
slate have ever talked about making any of those changes.
I mean, obviously that's our role to make sure that
we have the best superintendent, but none of us have
any intention of making any change.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
I think she's doing a great job.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
I mean, again, you mentioned that that's not going to
make everybody happy, right, Oh no.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Yeah, I'm going to get yell. You know. I just
think she's she's got a great vision, and because of
her tech background, she's got an engineering background, she's got
a slightly different sort of view on where the future
might be for these students, and I think that's really critical.
We've seen some the coolest stuff. The robotics stuff that
they're doing in Douglas County is crazy.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Have you taken a not?
Speaker 1 (07:50):
And I should? I should, But I have friends who
have sons who are in that program and they love it. It
is incredible.
Speaker 4 (07:57):
They they had to convince me to take this shop
because again, as we've mentioned, it's for zero dollars. But
when they were trying to recruit me and get this,
and again I wanted to do this, but one of
the things that they did that they knew would appeal
to me as a technology leader and an engineer. They
took me through that Legacy campus and we looked at
the robotics Again, I'm kind of stuffed up here, but
(08:23):
the robotics lab, and they've got the flight simulator, and
they've got even just the automotive stuff, and then they've
got the cooking program and the chef. Thisary he's a
personal friend, he was a neighbor of mine, and I
just looked at all of this and I thought, I've
driven by that campus so many times and all it
says is legacy. I think we need to do a
better job of advertising that because had I known about that,
(08:46):
I would have loved for my daughters to have had
that opportunity, right because they're partnered with ACC. They're partnered
with CU for their nursing program, So see you is
still in the basement teaching nursing in that building.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
ACC.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
You can get there's opportunities that you can go through
that program for sixty five dollars a credit instead of
twenty six hundred dollars.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
You can just if you map it out. My daughter
refused to do this for my pocketbook. You can map
it out. You can graduate with like sixty college credits
if you take advantage of the whole program, right, and.
Speaker 4 (09:17):
They'll let you do two extra years. I believe it
is if they If you sign up for now, there
is a waiting list. So that's something that Douglas County
would love to see them expand that beyond the Legacy campus,
put that into more schools, because not everybody's on the
university path.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Right.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
I'm a big believer in the university path, but that's
not for every family. And that opportunity and that cost
savings and that life skill, Yeah, we need to expand
on that.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
So let's talk about some of the hot button issues.
And this is an area where I think that there
are a lot more people who agree with my view,
and that is is that biological males after you know,
pre puberty, it's fine to have little co ed teams
after puberty. Biological males do not need to be in
females spaces and they don't need to be in female sports.
(10:02):
That is a bone of contention because right now Colorado
has different laws about it than the federal executive order
from the Trump administration. I'd love to see the Department
of Education makes some kind of like actual like take
care of this, right, But what do you think Douglas
County's role is. What do you think you'd like to
see happen.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
Yeah, I think it's a great point to distinguish. It's
not about you know, necessarily co ed sports. This is
about you know, biological boys entering female only sports in
their spaces, and so we want to make sure that
we protect them. I think the role of the school
board is critical because our role number one is to
protect protect children, look out for their well being, and
so I think we have a role here and there
(10:43):
are ways that we can implement, you know, certain policies
to make sure that girls' sports are reserved for girls
and that we can keep biological boys out of girls sports.
And then we also want to fight hard to keep
the biological boys out of their spaces because it really
makes women and girls uncomfortable to be forced into those spaces.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
Oh absolutely, I mean, as a woman, I can assure
you about that, Mandy. This textter said number one in
student achievement, but it still sucks terribly, It really doesn't,
you guys, I mean the trust me. I would love
to see every kid in every school district achieving at
the highest level. But the reality is is that there
(11:20):
are kids who have more struggles. They're going to bring
more struggles to work or excuse me, to school. And
it's Douglas County is doing a great job getting the
majority of kids, well over the majority of kids.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
But I think a lot of people are looking at
the tests that they took when they were in school,
because I know that's I went in like that Steve,
when we went in that day and we actually learned
these tests for reading in math are not the same
things that we took, so it's much harder. There's actually
you can go online and take the test that a
third grader would take, and I hear it's a humbling experience.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
You know what, Now I'll be doing that's the way
to have a full report tomorrow. Let's talk about something
that is on everybody's minds. There's two things, and I
think they're very much connected. The first is school safety.
The second is a cell phone policy. So let's talk
about school safety first, because I think the perception in
Colorado that is earned because of the multiple instances that
(12:16):
we have had in Colorado, that schools are not safe.
So what can the board do. I know that part
of the bond that we passed in Douglas County is
going to go towards security. So what does that look
like with the next board, What are your responsibilities? How
do you see that going forward?
Speaker 4 (12:33):
So I'm a huge fan of the SROs. My father
was a police officer. My daughters were very close with
the SROs at Chaparral. I think that those are individuals
that understand the inner workings of the school. So we
really need to celebrate them and support them and make
sure that we've got that program. Beyond that, they can't
(12:54):
be everywhere at all times, right, so we do need
to as a board. We need to understand how we
can manage or help erin Right, she's our singular employee,
but help her with programs where we could have I
don't know if it's more cameras, if it's electronic locks.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
How can we make sure.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
That those schools are state of the art in terms
of being able to respond to instances like that, because
right now we don't have students can prop doors open
in the back right?
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Right?
Speaker 4 (13:25):
Sometimes that's necessary, Right, if the air conditions out work,
you want to be able to have that. But we
want to understand that that's happening and so that there's
an awareness. So there's all sorts of modern technology that
we can help with as a board help erin and
her administration understand how do we make these schools safer
through technology, But it starts with that SRO. It starts
with that human understanding the students. Because a camera's not
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going to necessarily see somebody come in. The camera's not
going to identify suspicious behavior. A human being is and
that SRO is the one that understands. And so I
really want to celebrate them and support them.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
I'm going to tell you I think the SROs go
well beyond that, and too, they establish relationships for these
kids that establish a positive, you know, feeling towards kids.
And you know when I was a kid, it was like,
if you got lost or you got you had trouble,
you look for the cop, right, you look for someone
in uniform. That is what I want these kids to have.
(14:20):
I want them to feel like law enforcement is someone
they can trust, because overwhelmingly they are. I mean, that's
that's the.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
Fact that's so important. As a former deputy schriff, I
can tell you know, typical people are calling you on
the worst day of their life and so that or
you're pulling them over for something that's not pleasant. So
being able to give those kids positive experiences I think
is crucial.
Speaker 4 (14:39):
Well, Matt, you've mentioned it before. The that SRO is
the God forbid. There's you know, that that active event,
that person it's minutes or seconds, and every second counts.
That on site person is going to be the first responder, right,
and they have to understand the vulnerabilities. They have to
understand who's who they can trust, who they can write.
(14:59):
So again, I just I can't say enough about him
because you can make a phone call, but even the
closest cop is minutes away exactly.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
And I would go a different direction and make sure
that we address bullying head on, because I think there's
common themes with these with these kids that want to
do harm against their you know, their own school or
their peers, and I think a lot of that boils
down to bullying, and I think that's something we could
have a direct impact on.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
I got to tell you, it's like my daughter. I've
been in to the school since she was in kindergarten, right,
volunteering in various capacities, and I feel like the district
overall has really made bullying a huge focus for the kids,
like they're constantly talked about bullying. But the reality is
(15:42):
is that I've talked to many students over those years
who said I reported and nothing happened. So I think
from the district's perspective, there needs to be more follow
up and maybe a better strategy to how to efficiently
or effectively follow up on some of these issues the
kids are having, because sometimes there're be dismissed out of
hand when I would have preferred as a parent to
(16:03):
have some questions asked and you know, maybe a conversation
at least.
Speaker 4 (16:07):
Well, and as a girl dad, I would say I
agree with that because I think that the type of bullying,
if it's a particular class of bullying, it gets attention,
right all right, right, this this class of student got bullied,
and so we need to propers Guess what I can say,
as raising.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Two girls, girls are mean.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
Right, let me tell you something as someone who used
to be a girl and someone who has a girl. Girls,
girls have the capacity for evil, especially in middle school,
with no capacity for empathy or understanding. Right, so that
part of their brain advances faster than the part that
says God you're being a horrible person if you do this.
So yeah, well I'm starting.
Speaker 4 (16:43):
To address all bully and not ignore and say, oh, well,
you're just girls being girl. No, they're just as mean
and they just don't get the visibility.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
So we need to have a bigger program.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
Let's let's talk about how that goes to cell phone policy. Girl,
So we do that because I am one of those
people that, even with a mom in high school, I
think cell phones should be banned in school, a flat
out I do. I realize that's not a popular opinion,
trust me. Every time I bring it up my text
line lets me know it's not a popular opinion. But
I think schools are a net negative for kids. Yeah,
I mean, I mean phones are a net negative for kids.
(17:14):
What do you think?
Speaker 3 (17:15):
Yeah, no, I agree with you. The hard part is
parents want to be able to get hold of their kids.
I think you know, as as parents, we become more
helicopter in this generation, so we always want to have
that lafeline to our kids. And that's typically the argument
that we hear. What if something happens in school, they
need to report it. So I think there's a nice
balance where you could leave your phone you know, in
a phone bank inside of each classroom. The problem we
(17:36):
have in Douglas County is that every school handles it
differently right now. So that's one of the biggest issues.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
There needs to be a policy. There needs to be
a policy. And I think that when you start looking
at now, we have all these districts all over the
country they're banning phones, and you know what the kids say,
I'm happier, Oh yeah, at school, I'm more focused, I'm concentrating.
I'm not being bullied as much. I mean, we've got
convinced parents to put their own fears mine included my
(18:03):
own fears aside because this is not good for students.
It's not good for student mental health, it's not good
for student learning, it's not good for any of those things.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
So I've even gotten a ding here in my pocket,
and you know, in the back of my mind, I'm wondering,
you know who's texting me?
Speaker 2 (18:17):
Right?
Speaker 3 (18:17):
So, well, that's going to happen in school to kids
as well. They're gonna be they're not gonna be able
to focus.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
I purposely like delay it.
Speaker 4 (18:25):
Yeah, and you can train yourself because I used to
carry a you know, a pager back of the black U.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
Pag your game. I had one too, we all.
Speaker 4 (18:34):
Did, but like that, I would hear that tone and
it would turn my stomach because I knew it meant
something like that. And so you get conditioned, and same
thing with phones. So now I purposely don't immediately because
you can train yourself. Not too right, because you you
do feel this. It's almost like high school, like are
they looking at it?
Speaker 1 (18:50):
He's talking about me, He's talking about Okay, these guys
are part of the common sense slate of the school board,
and I just want to make one more comment. The
other four people, well, I got to see during a
forum that we did for the Douglas County Citizenry Project.
Lovely people. Some of them have some great ideas. But
here are the things that concern me. Number one, the
Teachers' Union that has enthusiastically backed them all because they
(19:13):
believe those four candidates are the best chance to bring
back a collective bargaining agreement. Obviously, I'm going to just
assume you guys think this is a bad.
Speaker 4 (19:22):
Idea, bad idea, bad idea, vote for a CBA.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
Why it's going to create an adversarial relationship between the
teachers and the administration in my opinion, but also the
teachers aren't even asking for it. Just to be very
clear about unions, we are not against, you know, teachers whatsoever.
We love and support teachers. This is about the union leadership. Typically,
I've seen it before in other industries, being in law
enforcement and things like that. You will end up looking
(19:48):
out for yourself and this will not be about students
or outcomes. And that's and that's the number one reason
I'm against it, because it's not going to benefit students.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
Well, we certainly haven't appeared to any one up to
this point, Steve, I'll let you have the last.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (20:00):
No, we want to make sure that the teachers have
what they want, and a lot of them want the indemnification.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
They want the right there. So we want to work
with the.
Speaker 4 (20:07):
Teachers and understand what is the benefits of the union
and are their alternatives for them that they can get
the best benefit out.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Nobody seems to be asking for this. Our teachers are happy.
Speaker 4 (20:17):
We've got a close to eighty percent approval rate from
our teachers, and we don't have all the numbers, but
the union membership currently in Douglas County is pretty low.
We believe it to be in the mid twenties maybe,
so nobody's asking for this. And if they do need
the things that the union is promising, can we get
them to those teachers at a lower rate or at
a higher quality without having the other disruptions that the
(20:40):
union brings. Right, So keep those funds and those benefits
closer to the teachers.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
That's our goal.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Matt Smith is running in District B, Steve Vale is
running in District G. They're part of the Common Sense
slate and best of luck, guys, thanks for coming in
making time on the show.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Thank you, thanks for having us
Today we have with us two candidates who are part
of the common Sense slate for school board in Douglas County.
I am trying to beat you guys over the head
and let you know this school board race, no matter
where you are, is critical. There's a few things that
are happening in various districts that really need special attention.
In Douglas County is one of them. Number one, I
(00:22):
live there. Number two. There has been a push for many,
many years, since the first year that the Douglas County
School Board simply decided not to do a collective bargaining
agreement with the teachers union, that the unions have never
given up. They have relentlessly tried to bring back the
collective bargaining agreement in Douglas County, and very recently, after
(00:43):
D eleven in the Springs decided not to negotiate with
the teachers union and do away with their collective bargaining agreement,
there was a one day strike in D eleven and
they were trying to get the Douglas County teachers to
strike with them. That did not happen. I don't know
if any of you know anything about that, but thanks
(01:04):
to the teachers in Douglas County for not participating. First
of all, I appreciate that as a parent and joining
me now to talk about that and so much more.
Matt Smith is running in District B, Steve Vale is
running in District G, and they are part of the
common Sense slate. First of all, I'm going to ask
you to school board candidates. The first thing I ask
(01:26):
all school board candidates, why would you want the most thankless,
unpaid job in politics where at least half of your
constituents are going to hate your guts no matter what
you do. Matt, I'll start with you.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Awesome.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
So I have a sign of the district and this
is for him and all the other kids in the
district as well. And I've seen what happens when the
school board does not listen to parents, and so I
want to make sure I step in and we listen
to parents who listen to the community. And I feel
like we can make a real difference.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
How about you, Steve.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
You know my daughter asked me that I'll time. She's like,
why didn't do this five years ago? So my youngest
just graduated from Chaparral and I saw the benefit that
we got from that school system, and my wife and
I moved to Douglas County specifically waiting too. Yeah, and
so even though my kids are out of school, I
want to do this for the next generation. I want
to make sure that we continue the great momentum that
(02:18):
the current Conservative board and that Aaron is doing, and
that we can just keep that momentum going. So I'm
really doing this for the next generation.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Well, what people need to understand is your slate of candidates.
And I'm going to take a little sidewinder here. The
reason that we're seeing slates of candidates is because many
years ago, the teachers unions started to get behind a
slate of candidates in order to be able to spend
more money more efficiently by promoting a number of candidates
that they were supporting instead of just one. And now
(02:47):
people who were not backed by the unions are like,
you know what, not a bad strategy, So let's do
the same thing. And that is how slates like the
Common Sense slate are born. I want to start with
this question because I think it's a really big one. Matt.
We are the highest performing district in the metro area. Absolutely,
I think the highest performing district of our size in
(03:09):
the state, correct with as many Okay, so what do
you think we are just crushing it on? What do
you think we have room to improve?
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Awesome?
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Yeah, so we are definitely nailing it on academics. We're
number one in the metro area, as you mentioned, ninety
two percent graduation rate. Things are going really well and
a lot of this happened after the superintendent change, so
with with Aaron coming on board and just completely changing
the cultures, we are definitely crushing it on academics right
now and making sure that we're saying focus on student
outcomes and there's always going to be areas of improvement.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
You know.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
I still think there's room in the district to clean
up things around like the equity policy and things of
that nature. Just making sure we're focusing on academics and
we remove all the ideology out of the school.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Is there a difference between focusing on academics and removing
the ideology and still making sure that kids who are
black or Hispanic or some other minority are are feeling
like they're a part of the district as well.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
One hundred percent. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
We all kids need to feel like they're they belong
they need to feel a part of the community. And
you know, we're definitely not advocating against that. What we're
what I'm personally against is putting folks in boxes based
on immutable characteristics like race, you know, skin collar, of
their background. I think all students, you know, have the
potential to achieve the same thing, and so we just
(04:29):
want to make sure that we're keeping the outcomes the
same and the standards the same for all students and
not putting folks in boxes.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
Steve, same question to you, why in the world would
you want this job? But what are we doing? I
already asked you that what are we doing right? What
would you like to see us improve on?
Speaker 2 (04:44):
So again, we're number one in academics.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
The teachers are as we've talked about, are not necessarily
the highest paid.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
They just did get a raise with five A and
five B. Ye. But we're also not seeing.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
This mass exodus to other districts.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
I just start to a cheery Creek teacher who said
they have lost a ton to Douglas County correct lower pay.
Speaker 4 (05:05):
Correct because of that culture and because of those student outcomes.
I truly believe that teachers do want the best for
their students. Oh yeah, And so we're building that culture
and I think we're doing great there, and that starts
at the top. That starts with the administration the tools
that we're giving them. And I think Douglas County, while
there's areas of improvement, is doing a great job of
keeping the politics mostly out.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Of the schools. We're not, as you know, we're not.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
Some of the other districts are much more focused on
those equity outcomes and we're really focused on and maybe
that's the wrong word, but we're focused on those students.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
You know, it's a perfect way to say it. And
I've been banging on Cherry Creek School District. They just
did away with valedictorians. Yeah what Nothing says we don't
care about achievement more than doing away with the biggest
prize that a kid can fight and compete for their
entire school career. And that's what those valedictorian kids do well.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
And I want those people.
Speaker 4 (05:57):
I want all of those students to feel good and
the self esteem, but we need to teach them those
life skills.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
And one of those life skills is the.
Speaker 4 (06:03):
Day you graduate, you're immediately judged on your abilities, right,
So we need to teach them that you will have
to compete in the real world. I mean, and when
you get out and you're competing in this job market,
you can't just say, well, I'm as good as everybody else. No,
you have to say I'm better right the skills that
I know.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Selling point, I'm the same as everyone. No, I mean
to your point, it kind of I hate to say it,
but being disappointed is also part of building character, right.
It's like if you everybody can't be the valedictorian, but
you know, if you, if you work really hard and
you get close, you learn one of those hard lessons
in life, which is sometimes you work hard and it's
(06:40):
not enough, but you have to bounce back and move on.
That's part of the process. Let me ask you, guys
some specific questions. You mentioned Aaron Kane, who is our superintendent.
I am an unabashed Aaron Kane fan. I think she
really has an eye on things like AI and how
they can be utilized by teachers in school rules that
(07:00):
I don't hear coming out of other districts. Right, would
you vote to retain her? Would you keep her on
as superintendent?
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (07:10):
I mean, you have no none of us on the
slate have ever talked about making any of those changes.
I mean, obviously that's our role to make sure that
we have the best superintendent, but none of us have
any intention of making any change.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
I think she's doing a great job.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
I mean, again, you mentioned that that's not going to
make everybody happy, right, Oh no.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Yeah, I'm going to get yell. You know. I just
think she's she's got a great vision, and because of
her tech background, she's got an engineering background, she's got
a slightly different sort of view on where the future
might be for these students, and I think that's really critical.
We've seen some the coolest stuff. The robotics stuff that
they're doing in Douglas County is crazy.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Have you taken a not?
Speaker 1 (07:50):
And I should? I should, But I have friends who
have sons who are in that program and they love it. It
is incredible.
Speaker 4 (07:57):
They they had to convince me to take this shop
because again, as we've mentioned, it's for zero dollars. But
when they were trying to recruit me and get this,
and again I wanted to do this, but one of
the things that they did that they knew would appeal
to me as a technology leader and an engineer. They
took me through that Legacy campus and we looked at
the robotics Again, I'm kind of stuffed up here, but
(08:23):
the robotics lab, and they've got the flight simulator, and
they've got even just the automotive stuff, and then they've
got the cooking program and the chef. Thisary he's a
personal friend, he was a neighbor of mine, and I
just looked at all of this and I thought, I've
driven by that campus so many times and all it
says is legacy. I think we need to do a
better job of advertising that because had I known about that,
(08:46):
I would have loved for my daughters to have had
that opportunity, right because they're partnered with ACC. They're partnered
with CU for their nursing program, So see you is
still in the basement teaching nursing in that building.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
ACC.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
You can get there's opportunities that you can go through
that program for sixty five dollars a credit instead of
twenty six hundred dollars.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
You can just if you map it out. My daughter
refused to do this for my pocketbook. You can map
it out. You can graduate with like sixty college credits
if you take advantage of the whole program, right, and.
Speaker 4 (09:17):
They'll let you do two extra years. I believe it
is if they If you sign up for now, there
is a waiting list. So that's something that Douglas County
would love to see them expand that beyond the Legacy campus,
put that into more schools, because not everybody's on the
university path.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Right.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
I'm a big believer in the university path, but that's
not for every family. And that opportunity and that cost
savings and that life skill, Yeah, we need to expand
on that.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
So let's talk about some of the hot button issues.
And this is an area where I think that there
are a lot more people who agree with my view,
and that is is that biological males after you know,
pre puberty, it's fine to have little co ed teams
after puberty. Biological males do not need to be in
females spaces and they don't need to be in female sports.
(10:02):
That is a bone of contention because right now Colorado
has different laws about it than the federal executive order
from the Trump administration. I'd love to see the Department
of Education makes some kind of like actual like take
care of this, right, But what do you think Douglas
County's role is. What do you think you'd like to
see happen.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
Yeah, I think it's a great point to distinguish. It's
not about you know, necessarily co ed sports. This is
about you know, biological boys entering female only sports in
their spaces, and so we want to make sure that
we protect them. I think the role of the school
board is critical because our role number one is to
protect protect children, look out for their well being, and
so I think we have a role here and there
(10:43):
are ways that we can implement, you know, certain policies
to make sure that girls' sports are reserved for girls
and that we can keep biological boys out of girls sports.
And then we also want to fight hard to keep
the biological boys out of their spaces because it really
makes women and girls uncomfortable to be forced into those spaces.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
Oh absolutely, I mean, as a woman, I can assure
you about that, Mandy. This textter said number one in
student achievement, but it still sucks terribly, It really doesn't,
you guys, I mean the trust me. I would love
to see every kid in every school district achieving at
the highest level. But the reality is is that there
(11:20):
are kids who have more struggles. They're going to bring
more struggles to work or excuse me, to school. And
it's Douglas County is doing a great job getting the
majority of kids, well over the majority of kids.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
But I think a lot of people are looking at
the tests that they took when they were in school,
because I know that's I went in like that Steve,
when we went in that day and we actually learned
these tests for reading in math are not the same
things that we took, so it's much harder. There's actually
you can go online and take the test that a
third grader would take, and I hear it's a humbling experience.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
You know what, Now I'll be doing that's the way
to have a full report tomorrow. Let's talk about something
that is on everybody's minds. There's two things, and I
think they're very much connected. The first is school safety.
The second is a cell phone policy. So let's talk
about school safety first, because I think the perception in
Colorado that is earned because of the multiple instances that
(12:16):
we have had in Colorado, that schools are not safe.
So what can the board do. I know that part
of the bond that we passed in Douglas County is
going to go towards security. So what does that look
like with the next board, What are your responsibilities? How
do you see that going forward?
Speaker 4 (12:33):
So I'm a huge fan of the SROs. My father
was a police officer. My daughters were very close with
the SROs at Chaparral. I think that those are individuals
that understand the inner workings of the school. So we
really need to celebrate them and support them and make
sure that we've got that program. Beyond that, they can't
(12:54):
be everywhere at all times, right, so we do need
to as a board. We need to understand how we
can manage or help erin Right, she's our singular employee,
but help her with programs where we could have I
don't know if it's more cameras, if it's electronic locks.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
How can we make sure.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
That those schools are state of the art in terms
of being able to respond to instances like that, because
right now we don't have students can prop doors open
in the back right?
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Right?
Speaker 4 (13:25):
Sometimes that's necessary, Right, if the air conditions out work,
you want to be able to have that. But we
want to understand that that's happening and so that there's
an awareness. So there's all sorts of modern technology that
we can help with as a board help erin and
her administration understand how do we make these schools safer
through technology, But it starts with that SRO. It starts
with that human understanding the students. Because a camera's not
(13:48):
going to necessarily see somebody come in. The camera's not
going to identify suspicious behavior. A human being is and
that SRO is the one that understands. And so I
really want to celebrate them and support them.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
I'm going to tell you I think the SROs go
well beyond that, and too, they establish relationships for these
kids that establish a positive, you know, feeling towards kids.
And you know when I was a kid, it was like,
if you got lost or you got you had trouble,
you look for the cop, right, you look for someone
in uniform. That is what I want these kids to have.
(14:20):
I want them to feel like law enforcement is someone
they can trust, because overwhelmingly they are. I mean, that's
that's the.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
Fact that's so important. As a former deputy schriff, I
can tell you know, typical people are calling you on
the worst day of their life and so that or
you're pulling them over for something that's not pleasant. So
being able to give those kids positive experiences I think
is crucial.
Speaker 4 (14:39):
Well, Matt, you've mentioned it before. The that SRO is
the God forbid. There's you know, that that active event,
that person it's minutes or seconds, and every second counts.
That on site person is going to be the first responder, right,
and they have to understand the vulnerabilities. They have to
understand who's who they can trust, who they can write.
(14:59):
So again, I just I can't say enough about him
because you can make a phone call, but even the
closest cop is minutes away exactly.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
And I would go a different direction and make sure
that we address bullying head on, because I think there's
common themes with these with these kids that want to
do harm against their you know, their own school or
their peers, and I think a lot of that boils
down to bullying, and I think that's something we could
have a direct impact on.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
I got to tell you, it's like my daughter. I've
been in to the school since she was in kindergarten, right,
volunteering in various capacities, and I feel like the district
overall has really made bullying a huge focus for the kids,
like they're constantly talked about bullying. But the reality is
(15:42):
is that I've talked to many students over those years
who said I reported and nothing happened. So I think
from the district's perspective, there needs to be more follow
up and maybe a better strategy to how to efficiently
or effectively follow up on some of these issues the
kids are having, because sometimes there're be dismissed out of
hand when I would have preferred as a parent to
(16:03):
have some questions asked and you know, maybe a conversation
at least.
Speaker 4 (16:07):
Well, and as a girl dad, I would say I
agree with that because I think that the type of bullying,
if it's a particular class of bullying, it gets attention,
right all right, right, this this class of student got bullied,
and so we need to propers Guess what I can say,
as raising.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Two girls, girls are mean.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
Right, let me tell you something as someone who used
to be a girl and someone who has a girl. Girls,
girls have the capacity for evil, especially in middle school,
with no capacity for empathy or understanding. Right, so that
part of their brain advances faster than the part that
says God you're being a horrible person if you do this.
So yeah, well I'm starting.
Speaker 4 (16:43):
To address all bully and not ignore and say, oh, well,
you're just girls being girl. No, they're just as mean
and they just don't get the visibility.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
So we need to have a bigger program.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
Let's let's talk about how that goes to cell phone policy. Girl,
So we do that because I am one of those
people that, even with a mom in high school, I
think cell phones should be banned in school, a flat
out I do. I realize that's not a popular opinion,
trust me. Every time I bring it up my text
line lets me know it's not a popular opinion. But
I think schools are a net negative for kids. Yeah,
I mean, I mean phones are a net negative for kids.
(17:14):
What do you think?
Speaker 3 (17:15):
Yeah, no, I agree with you. The hard part is
parents want to be able to get hold of their kids.
I think you know, as as parents, we become more
helicopter in this generation, so we always want to have
that lafeline to our kids. And that's typically the argument
that we hear. What if something happens in school, they
need to report it. So I think there's a nice
balance where you could leave your phone you know, in
a phone bank inside of each classroom. The problem we
(17:36):
have in Douglas County is that every school handles it
differently right now. So that's one of the biggest issues.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
There needs to be a policy. There needs to be
a policy. And I think that when you start looking
at now, we have all these districts all over the
country they're banning phones, and you know what the kids say,
I'm happier, Oh yeah, at school, I'm more focused, I'm concentrating.
I'm not being bullied as much. I mean, we've got
convinced parents to put their own fears mine included my
(18:03):
own fears aside because this is not good for students.
It's not good for student mental health, it's not good
for student learning, it's not good for any of those things.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
So I've even gotten a ding here in my pocket,
and you know, in the back of my mind, I'm wondering,
you know who's texting me?
Speaker 2 (18:17):
Right?
Speaker 3 (18:17):
So, well, that's going to happen in school to kids
as well. They're gonna be they're not gonna be able
to focus.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
I purposely like delay it.
Speaker 4 (18:25):
Yeah, and you can train yourself because I used to
carry a you know, a pager back of the black U.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
Pag your game. I had one too, we all.
Speaker 4 (18:34):
Did, but like that, I would hear that tone and
it would turn my stomach because I knew it meant
something like that. And so you get conditioned, and same
thing with phones. So now I purposely don't immediately because
you can train yourself. Not too right, because you you
do feel this. It's almost like high school, like are
they looking at it?
Speaker 1 (18:50):
He's talking about me, He's talking about Okay, these guys
are part of the common sense slate of the school board,
and I just want to make one more comment. The
other four people, well, I got to see during a
forum that we did for the Douglas County Citizenry Project.
Lovely people. Some of them have some great ideas. But
here are the things that concern me. Number one, the
Teachers' Union that has enthusiastically backed them all because they
(19:13):
believe those four candidates are the best chance to bring
back a collective bargaining agreement. Obviously, I'm going to just
assume you guys think this is a bad.
Speaker 4 (19:22):
Idea, bad idea, bad idea, vote for a CBA.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
Why it's going to create an adversarial relationship between the
teachers and the administration in my opinion, but also the
teachers aren't even asking for it. Just to be very
clear about unions, we are not against, you know, teachers whatsoever.
We love and support teachers. This is about the union leadership. Typically,
I've seen it before in other industries, being in law
enforcement and things like that. You will end up looking
(19:48):
out for yourself and this will not be about students
or outcomes. And that's and that's the number one reason
I'm against it, because it's not going to benefit students.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
Well, we certainly haven't appeared to any one up to
this point, Steve, I'll let you have the last.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (20:00):
No, we want to make sure that the teachers have
what they want, and a lot of them want the indemnification.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
They want the right there. So we want to work
with the.
Speaker 4 (20:07):
Teachers and understand what is the benefits of the union
and are their alternatives for them that they can get
the best benefit out.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Nobody seems to be asking for this. Our teachers are happy.
Speaker 4 (20:17):
We've got a close to eighty percent approval rate from
our teachers, and we don't have all the numbers, but
the union membership currently in Douglas County is pretty low.
We believe it to be in the mid twenties maybe,
so nobody's asking for this. And if they do need
the things that the union is promising, can we get
them to those teachers at a lower rate or at
a higher quality without having the other disruptions that the
(20:40):
union brings. Right, So keep those funds and those benefits
closer to the teachers.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
That's our goal.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Matt Smith is running in District B, Steve Vale is
running in District G. They're part of the Common Sense
slate and best of luck, guys, thanks for coming in
making time on the show.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Thank you, thanks for having us
The Mandy Connell Podcast News
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