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Boulder Valley School District, Colorado, elections

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Boulder Valley School District
School Board badge.png
District details
School board members: 7
Students: 28,485 (2022-2023)
Schools: 56 (2022-2023)
Website: Link

Boulder Valley School District is a school district in Colorado (Gilpin, Broomfield, and Boulder counties). During the 2023 school year, 28,485 students attended one of the district's 56 schools.

This page provides information regarding school board members, election rules, finances, academics, policies, and more details about the district.

Elections

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Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District A

General election

General election for Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District A

Jason Unger defeated Neil Fishman in the general election for Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District A on November 7, 2023.

Candidate
Neil Fishman (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
Jason Unger (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection

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Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District C

General election

General election for Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District C

Alex Medler defeated Cynthia Nevison and Andrew Steffl in the general election for Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District C on November 7, 2023.

Candidate
Alex Medler (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
Cynthia Nevison (Nonpartisan)
Andrew Steffl (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection

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Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District D

General election

General election for Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District D

Lalenia Quinlan Aweida defeated Andrew Brandt in the general election for Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District D on November 7, 2023.

Candidate
Lalenia Quinlan Aweida (Nonpartisan)
Andrew Brandt (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection

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Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District G

General election

General election for Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District G

Jorge Chávez defeated Stuart Lord and Anil Kiran Pesaramelli in the general election for Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District G on November 7, 2023.

Candidate
Jorge Chávez (Nonpartisan)
Stuart Lord (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
Anil Kiran Pesaramelli (Nonpartisan)

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Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District B

General election

General election for Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District B

Incumbent Tina Marquis won election in the general election for Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District B on November 7, 2017.

Candidate
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Tina Marquis (Nonpartisan)

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Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District E

General election

General election for Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District E

Incumbent Donna Miers won election in the general election for Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District E on November 7, 2017.

Candidate
Donna Miers (Nonpartisan)

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Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District F

General election

General election for Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District F

Incumbent Kitty Sargent won election in the general election for Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District F on November 7, 2017.

Candidate
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Kitty Sargent (Nonpartisan)

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Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District A

General election

General election for Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District A

Incumbent Shelly Benford won election in the general election for Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District A on November 3, 2015.

Candidate
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Shelly Benford (Nonpartisan)

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Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District C

General election

General election for Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District C

Incumbent Kathy Gebhardt won election in the general election for Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District C on November 3, 2015.

Candidate
Image of Kathy Gebhardt
Kathy Gebhardt (Nonpartisan)

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Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District D

General election

General election for Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District D

Incumbent Sam Fuqua won election in the general election for Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District D on November 3, 2015.

Candidate
Image of Sam Fuqua
Sam Fuqua (Nonpartisan)

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District G

General election

General election for Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District G

Incumbent Richard L. Garcia won election in the general election for Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District G on November 3, 2015.

Candidate
Image of Richard L. Garcia
Richard L. Garcia (Nonpartisan)

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Election rules

 

Election dates and frequency

See also: Rules governing school board election dates and timing

School board general elections in Colorado are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in odd-numbered years.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: C.R.S. 22-31-104

Recent or upcoming election dates for all public school districts in the state

Below are the recent/upcoming dates for all public school districts in the state. There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.

  • Filing deadline date: August 29, 2025
  • General election date: November 4, 2025

Election system

School board members in Colorado are elected through nonpartisan general elections without primaries.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: C.R.S 22-30-104

Party labels on the ballot

See also: Rules governing party labels in school board elections

School board elections in Colorado are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. Colorado Statute Section 1-4-803(4) states, "A candidate for the office of school director shall not run as a candidate of any political party for that school directorship."

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: C.R.S 22-30-104 and 1-4-803

Winning an election

The school board candidate that receives the largest number of votes in the general election is elected to office.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: C.R.S. 1-4-104

Term length and staggering

School board members have four-year terms unless a school board passes a resolution to extend the terms to six years.

Any school district coterminous with a city and county (Denver Public Schools) have four-year board member terms. As of 2022, Denver Public Schools was the only school district coterminous with a city and county.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: C.R.S. 22-31-105

Colorado school districts have staggered elections with as close to half of their board members as possible elected every two years to four-year terms. The board of education can extend or reduce for two years the terms of one or more board members as necessary to achieve staggered elections with as close to the same number of seats up for election as possible every two years.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: C.R.S. 22-31-105

Representation: at large vs. by sub-district

Except for districts coterminous with a city and county (Denver as of 2022), school board members are elected at large by default. They can be elected from residence area restriction sub-districts or through a combination of at-large and residence area restriction sub-districts if the school district passes a resolution to change district representation. Regardless of whether the district elects some or all board members from certain residence areas (sub-districts), all voters vote in each school board race up for election. As of 2022, 73% of the school districts in the state elected their school board members at large, while 21% elected their members from sub-districts, and the remaining 6% elected their members through a combination of both.

School districts coterminous with a city and county must have a seven-member board of education with one member elected from each of five director districts and two members elected from the district at large. As of 2022, Denver Public Schools was the only district coterminous with a city and county.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: C.R.S. 22-31-109 and C.R.S. 22-31-131

Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates

The school board candidate filing deadline is sixty-seven days before the election date.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: C.R.S. 22-31-107

School board candidates can circulate their nomination petitions starting when the filling window opens ninety days before the election, which is 23 days before the filing deadline.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: C.R.S. 22-31-107

Newly elected school board members are sworn into office no later than ten days after election results are certified.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: C.R.S. 22-31-125

 


About the district

School board

The Boulder Valley School District consists of seven members serving four-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.

List of school board members
NameYear assumed officeYear term ends
Lalenia Quinlan Aweida2027
Jorge Chávez2027
Alex Medler2027
Jason Unger2027
Beth Niznik2025
Nicole Rajpal2025
Kitty Sargent20172025

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District map

Overlapping state house districts

The table was limited to the lower chamber because it provides the most granularity. State house districts tend to be more numerous and therefore smaller than state senate or U.S. House districts. This provides an impression of the partisan affiliations in the area.

Budget

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[1]

Revenue, 2020-2021
SOURCE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Federal: $44,344,000 $1,517 9%
Local: $391,834,000 $13,401 78%
State: $69,089,000 $2,363 14%
Total: $505,267,000 $17,280
Expenditures, 2020-2021
TYPE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Total Expenditures: $528,352,000 $18,069
Total Current Expenditures: $410,136,000 $14,026
Instructional Expenditures: $237,863,000 $8,134 45%
Student and Staff Support: $45,330,000 $1,550 9%
Administration: $69,286,000 $2,369 13%
Operations, Food Service, Other: $57,657,000 $1,971 11%
Total Capital Outlay: $74,518,000 $2,548
Construction: $13,047,000 $446
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: $5,123,000 $175
Interest on Debt: $37,024,000 $1,266

Academic performance

Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements. To protect student privacy, percentages are reported as ranges for groups of 300 students or fewer. If five or fewer students were included in a data set, the data will display as "PS."[2]

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 49 65 <=10 18 21-39 59 55
2018-2019 52 69 20-24 21 20-29 59 59
2017-2018 52 67 20-24 20 20-29 59 59
2016-2017 50 65 20-24 19 <=20 59 57
2015-2016 52 66 25-29 20 20-29 65 58
2014-2015 47 64 15-19 17 11-19 59 54
2013-2014 70 79 35-39 39 45-49 77 77
2012-2013 72 81 40-44 43 50-54 79 78
2011-2012 72 80 45-49 43 45-49 79 78
2010-2011 91 93 70-74 74 80-84 94

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 67 75 40-44 34 >=50 75 74
2018-2019 63 73 35-39 32 40-49 70 71
2017-2018 60 70 35-39 29 30-39 66 68
2016-2017 58 68 40-44 26 <=20 68 66
2015-2016 58 68 35-39 26 30-39 66 65
2014-2015 59 68 30-34 27 30-39 70 66
2013-2014 81 85 55-59 52 65-69 87 88
2012-2013 82 85 65-69 53 60-64 87 89
2011-2012 82 84 65-69 50 55-59 87 89
2010-2011 94 95 85-89 80 85-89 97

The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2019-2020 91 >=95 >=80 83 >=50 85-89 93
2018-2019 91 >=95 >=80 82 >=50 85-89 93
2017-2018 92 >=95 >=80 86 >=50 90-94 93
2016-2017 91 >=95 60-79 84 >=50 90-94 93
2015-2016 92 >=95 >=80 82 >=50 90-94 95
2014-2015 92 >=95 >=80 81 >=50 90-94 94
2013-2014 92 >=95 60-79 79 >=50 90-94 94
2012-2013 91 >=95 60-79 78 >=50 90-94 93
2011-2012 90 90-94 60-79 78 21-39 85-89 93
2010-2011 88 >=95 60-79 68 >=50 93

Students

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[3]

Year Enrollment Year-to-year change (%)
2022-2023 28,485 -1.8
2021-2022 29,008 -0.8
2020-2021 29,240 -6.0
2019-2020 31,000 -0.5
2018-2019 31,169 -0.4
2017-2018 31,282 0.3
2016-2017 31,189 -0.2
2015-2016 31,247 1.1
2014-2015 30,908 1.2
2013-2014 30,546 1.7
2012-2013 30,041 0.9
2011-2012 29,780 0.9
2010-2011 29,526 1.7
2009-2010 29,011 0.5
2008-2009 28,875 1.1
2007-2008 28,543 1.3
2006-2007 28,171 0.8
2005-2006 27,933 0.0
2004-2005 27,926 0.4
2003-2004 27,804 0.1
2002-2003 27,764 -0.7
2001-2002 27,963 1.6
2000-2001 27,508 1.9
1999-2000 26,974 0.0
Racial Demographics, 2022-2023
RACE Boulder Valley School District (%) Colorado K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.3 0.6
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 5.6 3.3
Black 1.0 4.6
Hispanic 19.9 35.3
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.1 0.3
Two or More Races 6.6 5.1
White 66.5 50.8

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Staff

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[4]

As of the 2022-2023 school year, Boulder Valley School District had 1,683.41 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 16.92.

Teachers, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten: 34.60
Kindergarten: 115.14
Elementary: 740.22
Secondary: 793.45
Total: 1,683.41

Boulder Valley School District employed 58.02 district administrators and 115.76 school administrators as of the 2022-2023 school year.

Administrators, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators: 58.02
District Administrative Support: 199.03
School Administrators: 115.76
School Administrative Support: 168.39
Other staff, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides: 543.64
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: 89.05
Total Guidance Counselors: 154.30
Elementary Guidance Counselors: 45.48
Secondary Guidance Counselors: 95.20
Librarians/Media Specialists: 38.95
Library/Media Support: 9.32
Student Support Services: 326.85
Other Support Services: 406.91

Schools

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[5]

The Boulder Valley School District operates 56 schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
List of schools
SCHOOL NAMENUMBER OF STUDENTSGRADES
Alicia Sanchez International School343PK-5
Angevine Middle School6616-8
Arapahoe Ridge High School2069-12
Aspen Creek K-8 School748PK-8
Bear Creek Elementary School342KG-5
Birch Elementary School337PK-5
Boulder Community School/Integrated Studies284KG-5
Boulder High School2,0749-12
Boulder Prep Charter High School1199-12
Boulder Universal206KG-12
Broomfield Heights Middle School4896-8
Broomfield High School1,6459-12
Casey Middle School4526-8
Centaurus High School1,5259-12
Centennial Middle School5676-8
Coal Creek Elementary School330KG-5
Columbine Elementary School405PK-5
Community Montessori School274PK-6
Creekside Elementary School At Martin Park378PK-5
Crest View Elementary School435KG-5
Douglass Elementary School335PK-5
Eisenhower Elementary School304KG-5
Eldorado K-8 School612PK-8
Emerald Elementary School413PK-5
Fairview High School1,8809-12
Fireside Elementary School435PK-5
Flatirons Elementary School182KG-5
Foothill Elementary School437KG-5
Gold Hill Elementary School15KG-5
Heatherwood Elementary School261PK-5
High Peaks Elementary School266KG-5
Horizons K-8 School348KG-8
Jamestown Elementary School17KG-5
Justice High Charter School1026-12
Kohl Elementary School297PK-5
Lafayette Elementary School483PK-5
Louisville Elementary School451KG-5
Louisville Middle School5956-8
Manhattan Middle School Of The Arts And Academics4006-8
Mapleton Early Childhood Center88PK-PK
Meadowlark School725PK-8
Mesa Elementary School246KG-5
Monarch High School1,5239-12
Monarch K-8 School715PK-8
Nederland Elementary School193PK-5
Nederland Middle-Senior High School2606-12
Nevin Platt Middle School4666-8
New Vista High School3109-12
Peak To Peak Charter School1,450KG-12
Pioneer Bilingual Elementary School461PK-5
Ryan Elementary School418PK-5
Southern Hills Middle School4566-8
Summit Middle Charter School3596-8
Superior Elementary School420KG-5
University Hill Elementary School413PK-5
Whittier Elementary School329KG-5

School board meetings

The following articles were produced by Citizen Portal using artificial intelligence to analyze public meetings. Citizen Portal publishes articles based on the availability of meeting broadcasts, so the number of articles provided may vary by district. Although these articles are not produced or edited by Ballotpedia, they are included here as a supplemental resource for readers.

School board meeting articles (click to collapse)

About school boards

Education legislation in Colorado

Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history.

See also

School Boards Education Policy Local Politics Colorado
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External links

  • Office website
  • Search Google News for this topic
  • Footnotes