Chris Schor

---

Ballotpedia provides comprehensive election coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population as well as mayoral, city council, and district attorney election coverage in state capitals outside of the 100 largest cities. This board member is outside of that coverage scope and does not receive scheduled updates.

---

This page was current at the end of the official's last term in office covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Chris Schor

Nonpartisan

Prior offices

Douglas County School District Board of Directors District D

Successor: Becky Myers

---

Report an officeholder change

Personal

Profession

Educator

Contact

Personal website

Chris Schor was a member of the Douglas County School District Board of Directors in Colorado, representing District D. Schor assumed office on December 12, 2017. Schor left office on November 29, 2021.

Schor ran for re-election to the Douglas County School District Board of Directors to represent District D in Colorado. Schor won in the general election on November 7, 2017.

She ran as a member of the Community Matters slate along with Anthony Graziano, Kevin Leung, and Krista Holtzmann.

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

As of 2017, Schor had lived in Castle Rock for nearly 20 years. Her work experience includes serving as a mentor and coach for teachers and administrators for Mapleton Public Schools and as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal for the Douglas County School District. She and her husband have four children, all of whom graduated from the school district. Six of their seven grandchildren also attended school in the district in the 2017-2018 school year.

Elections

2017

See also: Douglas County School District elections (2017)

Four of the seven seats on the Douglas County School District Board of Education in Colorado were up for nonpartisan general election on November 7, 2017. No incumbents filed to run for re-election, which guaranteed four new members were elected to the board. The race featured two candidate slates. The Community Matters slate—Anthony Graziano, Chris Schor, Kevin Leung, and Krista Holtzmann—won the election after campaigning against the policies of the board's 4-3 governing majority. They defeated the Elevate Douglas County slate—Ryan Abresch, Randy Mills, Grant Nelson, and Debora Scheffel—which campaigned in support of continuing programs started by the governing majority.

Results

Douglas County School District, District D General Election, 4-year term, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Chris Schor	58.23%	52,545
Randy Mills	41.77%	37,697
Total Votes		90,242
Source: Colorado Secretary of State, "Official Results," accessed August 28, 2023

Funding

See also: Campaign finance in the Douglas County School District elections

Schor reported $20,388.12 in contributions and $20,388.12 in expenditures to the Colorado Secretary of State, which left her campaign with a $0.00 balance in the election.

Endorsements

Schor and the other members of the Community Matters slate were endorsed by the organization Douglas County Parents. They were also endorsed by 12 former Douglas County Board of Education members. Click here to read their letter of support that was published in The Denver Post. They were also endorsed by former officials and members of the community. Click here for a list of their supporters.

Campaign themes

2017

Candidate website

Schor highlighted the following frequently asked questions and her answers to them on her campaign website:

“	What would you consider a non-negotiable in education? Providing equity in educational K-12 opportunity for ALL kids. Our DCSD students have rich experiences, and a wealth of opportunity. Yet our achievement data and the efforts in our schools do not match. With 14 schools on priority improvement and a loss of the districts accreditation with distinction rating we no longer have the standard we once were comfortable assuming. What has been your involvement in public education that would make you an asset to the BOE? I have been an educator since 1977 both as a teacher and principal. I had the privilege to work the majority of my career in Douglas County School District, which means, I understand the transitions that have occurred in recent years. Currently DCSD has many schools with low ratings which means with careful planning and consideration. I know schools can be moved from low achievement to higher achievement from professional experience. I have worked for and will continue to serve children and parents and teachers in order to support the best learning experience for the student. What are your thoughts regarding Pay for Performance? The current Pay for Performance system in DCSD has been a great strain on our professional educators and resources. High teacher and principal turnover in an organization is expensive and costly to tax payers. DCSD needs to pay competitive wages. Currently teachers in DCSD earn $17,000 less than teachers in Cherry Creek School District and $13,000 less than teachers in Littleton Public School. In order to attract and retain quality teachers, we need to be competitive in our pay structure. Do you support a Mill Levy? A district appointed committee of volunteers reported to the current school board their recommendations and concerns around the current budget shortfalls. Keeping fiscal responsibility at the forefront, it is important to review and research the needs and the data that enforces decisions the committee presented to the BOE. In reviewing the data I say yes, I support a Mill Levy for all public schools to better fund the district budget shortfall. For example, to provide a $10,000 pay increase, which would still be below Cherry Creek and Littleton, DCSD would have to increase teacher pay by 19%. According to DCSD, it would cost approximately $3 million for every 1% increase to pay. By their calculations, they would need an additional $60 million dollars to provide teachers with a $10,000 pay increase. While questionable spending practices by the BOE have led many to believe that teachers can be paid competitive wages if cuts are made to central administration, there is simply not enough in the central department’s budgets. Therefore, the only way to pay competitive wages is to ask the community to support a mill levy override. Do you support a Bond? Again, due to the data presented by the district’s appointed volunteer commit, yes, I support a bond. DCSD currently has $120.5 million in current urgent Tier 1 capital needs and no plans to address them. These are the highest needs of the district and could potentially shut down a school building. Total capital needs according to the last Master Capital Plan are $366 million including $84 million for new construction over the next 5 years (Appendix 6, pg 266 Master Capital Plan). There are not enough ways to cut the current central department budgets to cover the ever growing replacement and building needs. With these needs I would ask the community to support a bond. Do you support choice? Yes, I support public school choice. DCSD has done an excellent job of offering well-rounded options for students through neighborhood, charter, magnet, alternative, online, and open enrollment school choices for our students. Public dollars paying for private schools creates inequity therefore I do not support public tax dollars going to vouchers or educational savings programs. As a board member I would work to ensure that all public choices going forward are of quality and would encourage other board members to be thoughtful in decision making in this area.	”
—Chris Schor (2017)

Chalkbeat Colorado survey

Schor participated in the following survey conducted by Chalkbeat Colorado. The questions provided in the survey appear bolded, and Schor's responses appear below.

Tell us a bit about yourself. How long have you lived in the school district? What do you do for a living?

“	I am a life-long educator. My husband and I and our four children moved to Douglas County 23 years ago. I am currently retired and am contracted through Mapleton Public Schools as a mentor/coach for administrators. I am also the acting administrator in a new initiative that is deigned to engage middle school children while cultivating a positive school culture enhancing their leadership skills. I have experience working with successful programs and curriculums in a variety of schools of choice in my current position.	”
—Chris Schor (2017)

Tell us about your connection to the school district.

“	I have a long history in Douglas County. I was fortunate to be hired as a first-grade teacher in 1977. I later became an assistant principal and then a principal. I served as the principal of Castle Rock Elementary for 12 years. My four children graduated from Douglas County High School and I have 6 grandchildren currently attending schools in Douglas County.	”
—Chris Schor (2017)

If elected, would you continue the district's legal fight to enact a private school voucher system? Why or why not?

“	I believe in public funds supporting public schools. Therefore, I would not continue to pursue the current voucher program. As a member of a public school board I would do my best to oppose any program that takes dollars away from public schools and puts them towards private schools. I adamantly support public school choice using public tax dollars. This would include public charter schools, online schools, magnet schools, neighborhood schools and alternative public schools. Public dollars supporting private schools creates inequity and lack of oversight and accountability. I do not support public tax dollars going to vouchers or educational savings programs.	”
—Chris Schor (2017)

One of your most important tasks will be to select a new superintendent for the district. What characteristics will you seek in a new leader?

“	Thank you for asking this important question. I believe that hiring a permanent superintendent will be one of the most crucial first steps the board of education will need to take. I would first ask for input from our community of parents and educators regarding the qualities and characteristics they define as important. I would seek a leader with the skills to: Bridge the divide that currently exists in our community. Build strong relationships and prioritize student needs while making difficult and critical decisions. Create a strategic plan to improve academic needs using a process for improvement that is research-based and proven effective. Understand and provide structures for ongoing teacher professional development including recruitment and retention practices. Develop a communication plan to provide our communities with a transparent understanding of budget needs and solutions. Most importantly, I would want a leader who is authentic in practice and can inspire excellence. With 40 years of experience in education, I have had the honor of working with extraordinary leaders who have these abilities and qualities. Douglas County children, teachers and parents deserve this kind of leader to serve tirelessly for our children.	”
—Chris Schor (2017)

If elected, would you seek to make changes to the way the district pays its teachers? How?

“	I would first request feedback from our teachers regarding their pay structure. I would research what the community envisions as the best way to compensate our teachers and seek to balance the financial and cultural needs. Teachers deserve to be valued and respected. They are our greatest asset in education and their compensation should reflect that. The current pay-for-performance system in the Douglas County School District appears to have been a great strain on our professional educators and our resources. High principal and teacher turnover is expensive to an organization. Providing our teachers with the respect they deserve by bringing teacher voice into the conversation is a necessary first step in solving the pay structure concerns.	”
—Chris Schor (2017)

If elected, would you support the district asking voters for a tax increase for capital construction and to pay for additional educational programs? Why or why not?

“	Douglas County School District currently has $120.5 million in urgent capital needs and there is no plan to address them. These are the highest needs of the district and could potentially shut down a school building. Total capital needs according to the latest Master Capital Plan are $366 million including $84 million for new construction over the next five years (Appendix 6, pg 266 Master Capital Plan). There are not enough ways to cut the current central department budgets to cover the ever-growing replacement and building needs. Our schools are in desperate need of maintenance. We need to ensure the proper maintenance of our $3 billion in assets - it would be irresponsible to do otherwise. A district appointed committee of volunteers reported to the current school board their recommendations and concerns around the current budget shortfalls. In reviewing their data, I would support a mill levy override for all public schools to better fund the district budget shortfall and to provide competitive wages for our teachers, as well as additional educational programs.	”
—Chris Schor (2017)

The Douglas County education community for years has been divided by actions taken by the school board. How would you bridge the gaps and ensure all residents are listened to?

“	As a former principal I have experience in effectively listening to and engaging teachers, students, and parents. I have found that when communication breaks down, divisions grow. I believe that these divisions can be bridged when the board of education is willing to listen. I will work with and encourage my fellow board members to help restore and bridge the division in our community.	”
—Chris Schor (2017)

The effectiveness of the Douglas County School District's special education services was recently challenged in a U.S. Supreme Court case. While the court did not rule on the merit of the program, it did find the historic standard of "minimum" improvement is no longer acceptable. What sort of reforms do you believe the district's special education program should consider?

“	In the Douglas County School District, we should provide more than the minimum for all our children. I would ask for a full review of how we are serving our special education population. I would verify our data and survey our parents asking our special education department for a solution-based process to serve our children in an equitable fashion. Looking for examples of how other districts are seeing successful results and providing structures to duplicate their success is a first step in this process. We have the solution in our parents and our teachers. Collaborating with experts, parents, and teachers to seek what is best for our children will help us to move forward to better meet the needs of our special education students.	”
—Chris Schor (2017)

How should Douglas County approach its relationships with existing and future charter schools, and should they be funded equally?

“	There is an amazing offering of charter schools in the Douglas County School District -- more offerings than any other district around us. I would encourage our district to continue to strive to support quality public schools, whether public charter or public neighborhood schools. In order to do so I would support the funding they currently receive, which is full per-pupil revenue and mill levy override dollars. I would also work to enhance the relationship with charter schools to make sure their needs are being met and that the services they purchase back from the district are fair and equitable.	”
—Chris Schor (2017)

Parker Chronicle Q&A

Schor participated in the following Q&A conducted by the Parker Chronicle. The questions provided in the Q&A appear bolded, and Schor's responses appear below.

Why did you decide to run?

“	I have six grandchildren at Castle Rock schools and my four children went to school in Douglas County. I love Douglas County and I love the educational community. I decided that it was a good time in my life to run for school board. With my six grandchildren going to school here, I think its kind of important that I’m invested.	”
—Chris Schor (2017)

What are the most important issues facing the school district?

“	We need to prioritize our student needs. So, academic achievement, career education, vocational education, our special education and health services in our school district, as well as classroom resources. The other key issue I see is that we need to retain and recruit quality teachers and principals. Restoring trust. We need to provide support and training for teachers. We need to build strong relationships between the school district, schools and parents. Also in the top three would be restructuring school district budget expenditures to provide new buildings and capital improvement needs.	”
—Chris Schor (2017)

The board has been divided in recent years. How would you help bridge that divide?

“	I’ve worked specifically in working with people and collaborating on many issues, but especially educational issues. I have a lot of experience doing that. Once we all focus on what students need in our district, and we have that end result, I think we’ll be able to collaborate and have respectful discussions. I think we can do that.	”
—Chris Schor (2017)

Would you be supportive of a bond or mill levy to bring more funding to the district?

“	I would need to continue to listen to our parents and our teachers for additional guidance. At this time, I would support a bond and mill levy to support our school buildings and capital improvement needs. It also supports the retention and recruitment of high-quality teachers. It also helps support the academic achievement of kids. I’d like to gather some more information and data, but it looks likely.	”
—Chris Schor (2017)

What else do you want people to know about you?

“	I’m a life-long educator and I was born in Colorado. I have deep commitment to this community and to education. I grew up in a rural community. I have a background that I think will benefit our school district. I’m committed to listening to our parents, our kids and our employees. I’m committed to serving them and to meeting the needs of our kids.	”
—Chris Schor (2017)

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Chris Schor Douglas County School District school board. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Chris Schor - Google News

See also

• Douglas County School District, Colorado
• Douglas County School District elections (2017)

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Personal

Website