The five Roaring Fork School District board candidates all agree — they want to prioritize services for students with disabilities and additional learning needs.
At a candidate forum on Oct. 17 at the Basalt Regional Library, hosted by the Basalt Education Foundation, the candidates addressed how the school board could better support students and teachers through the budgeting process.
Candidate Betsy After has spoken with parents of students with different learning needs during her campaign. She said those conversations have shined a light on the challenges staff and families face with the district’s Special Education program.
“What's become crystal clear is that the resources and the staffing we have for special needs kids are just insufficient,” After said.
After said students who need Special Education services in Basalt have been transferred to schools in Carbondale, due to a lack of resources. That, in turn, can put stress on bus services and other staff.
“I don't want to speak for the leadership there, but I have heard that there are additional constraints now for kids who are of severe special needs [and] kids busing from very far away to go to Crystal River.”
In an email to Aspen Public Radio, the district’s acting superintendent Anna Cole confirmed the district had to transfer a few students from Basalt Elementary School to Crystal River Elementary School for programming that was unavailable due to staffing shortages.
“In the Roaring Fork School District, we prioritize and value our small, community-based schools,” Cole said. “The trade-off is that sometimes we have to pull resources and condense programs based on enrollment and staffing challenges. This does create differences in terms of what schools are able to offer and what schools are responsible for managing. Decisions like this are re-evaluated each year as student populations and staffing shifts.”
Candidate Lindsay DeFrates said supporting staff in the Special Education program is an important aspect of building equity in the district.
“That means giving [students] the resources they need when they need it and to make sure that we're supporting the teachers who are reaching those students, so hiring the adequate support staff, channeling funding into those transportation issues that were identified is a big priority,” DeFrates said.
Candidates Jasmin Ramirez and Phillip Bogart both drew from their personal experiences parenting students with different learning needs.
Ramirez said an experience with her son’s school six years ago made her interested in getting more involved in the school district. It helped her better understand what families with less privilege face when they try to get support while also navigating challenges with citizenship status and language barriers.
“I've always been bilingual,” Ramirez said. “I grew up in a home with a mom who had citizenship and a father who had residency, and so the fear of deportation was never something that I had to deal with growing up, but I understand that feeling so well because of the amount of community conversations I’ve had.”
She added that despite her privileges, it was still difficult to advocate for her son.
“We really need to fix the system to really be intentional in how we provide education for children that are in our district that have different needs,” Ramirez said.
In an email to Aspen Public Radio on Oct. 23, Bogart said his time as a foster parent has exposed him to a variety of therapeutic programs in the Roaring Fork Valley, and the district should continue to partner with outside organizations that can support children with different classroom needs.
Candidate Alan Kokish said he would lean on experts, educate himself more on the topic, and address the issue at a budgetary level.
DeFrates and Bogart are running for one open seat in Director District C and After and Kokish are running for the open seat in Director District B.
Incumbent candidate Jasmin Ramirez is running unopposed.
Election Day is Nov. 7.
Find more information about the election in Aspen Public Radio’s voter guide.