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Marisol Rodriguez
From Ballotpedia
This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
Marisol Rodriguez (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Colorado State Board of Education to represent Colorado's 2nd Congressional District. She lost in the Democratic primary on June 25, 2024.
Rodriguez completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Marisol Rodriguez was born in Florida. She earned a bachelor's degree from American University in 2003 and a graduate degree from American University in 2005. Her career experience includes working in consulting, nonprofits, and state and local governments. She has been affiliated with the Civic Consulting Collaborative and Delta Gamma Fraternity.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Colorado State Board of Education election, 2024
General election
General election for Colorado State Board of Education District 2
Kathy Gebhardt defeated Ethan Augreen in the general election for Colorado State Board of Education District 2 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Kathy Gebhardt (D)  | 99.3 | 299,267 |
 | Ethan Augreen (L) (Write-in) | 0.7 | 2,004 | |
| Total votes: 301,271 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Colorado State Board of Education District 2
Kathy Gebhardt defeated Marisol Rodriguez in the Democratic primary for Colorado State Board of Education District 2 on June 25, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kathy Gebhardt | 56.7 | 52,263 |
 | Marisol Rodriguez | 43.3 | 39,885 | |
| Total votes: 92,148 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign finance
Endorsements
To view Rodriguez's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Rodriguez in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Marisol Rodriguez completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Rodriguez's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I am a Boulder-based business owner, education veteran and most importantly, mom of two Boulder Valley School District children.
From helping with homework to navigating the alphabet soup of special education programs to supporting my children through the challenges and changes of adolescence, having kids in the PreK-12 system gives me first-hand experience of the many issues that families and educators face in our schools every day.
- Support efforts to increase funding — Our schools are underfunded and I will use my position on the state board to advocate for more funding to pay teachers more and better support our students.
- Make sure all students see themselves in our schools — I will fight the removal of the histories and experiences of marginalized communities from being taught in our schools and stop the banning of books that tackle difficult but important subjects.
- Oppose Privatization — I oppose vouchers, ESAs, and other efforts to transfer public tax dollars to unaccountable private or religious education programs.
Education, the environment, civil rights, gun violence prevention.
I most look up to my mom. She did not have an easy childhood and struggled with her relationship with her parents. Instead of continuing the cycle with me, she went to school to learn about child development and eventually became an elementary school teacher. She understood me before I even understood myself.
I think the most important character for an elected official is that they be able to change their mind when presented with new information, and that they work to understand people with different lived experiences than their own.
In my work as a facilitator this is something I do every time I am with a group or in front of a room. I have facilitated groups of people to a consensus consisting of youth environmentalists, oil and gas company representatives, and everything in between.
In my work as a facilitator this is something I do every time I am with a group or in front of a room. I have facilitated groups of people to a consensus consisting of youth environmentalists, oil and gas company representatives, and everything in between.
Someone who listens - and not just to those that agree with them. Our politics have become polarizing. I don't believe the average person sees things as black and white as our political environment makes it out to be. Its important to hear from real people about how our systems work, or don't work, for them and then a good officeholder would do whatever is in their power to make things better for everyone - not just a few.
I was a senior in high school when the shootings at Columbine happened. This is likely not the first historical event I remember as I witnessed the Challenger disaster and OJ's infamous police chase. However, it is the one that still sticks with me most to this day as it shattered a place I had always felt safe in (sans bullies). Columbine sticks with me when I think about safety in schools and is my first thought when either of my kid's schools go on lock down. It forever changed me - and sadly these things continue to happen with Sandy Hook, Parkland, and Uvalde following in this horrible path. Its one of reasons I am honored to be a Mom's Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate.
My very first job was working at a movie theater one summer - I got all the free popcorn I could eat! But my first grown up job was traveling throughout the US and Canada as a consultant for my sorority, Delta Gamma. I conducted interviews and focus groups with the members and brought them new ideas and policies. Its basically what I do now for nonprofits and governmental entities.
Taylor Swift's new one - Who's Afraid of Little Old Me.
In my view, the primary job of a State Board Member is to help improve educational outcomes for all kids. There are many tasks that State Board Member's must accomplish, but improving outcomes for kids is the north star.
My constituents will be the students, families, teachers, and community of Colorado's second congressional district, but I will also do my best to support better education outcomes for kids no matter where they live in the state.
Across the Congressional District, school districts face similar challenges with the achievement gap, a lack of financial resources, and challenges filling staff positions. In our more rural areas, the difficulties in hiring are more pronounced, and due to lower property values generally, financial resources are more constrained, leading to older buildings and infrastructure.
As a State Board of Education member, I will travel the district and see firsthand the inadequacies school systems face and the unique strategies they are implementing to address them. I will work to ensure that the resources overseen by the State Board are managed and deployed to maximize positive student outcomes so that every child can have a bright future.
As a State Board of Education member, I will travel the district and see firsthand the inadequacies school systems face and the unique strategies they are implementing to address them. I will work to ensure that the resources overseen by the State Board are managed and deployed to maximize positive student outcomes so that every child can have a bright future.
From my endorsements you can see my commitment to engaging with those who are not currently at the decision-making table. I value equity and diversity - and live those values every day. I will lift up the voices of those who have traditionally been marginalized and who the current system was not only not designed for, but often fails. Our mountain communities have unique needs - as do our rural communities. Too often the front range dominates political conversations. I will make sure to engage these communities - in addition to my own - to ensure decisions are made that will positively impact ALL students.
Our education system has occasionally failed to adequately or correctly prepare educators for the challenges our students face and how the brain acquires new skills. A notable example has been in the way we teach reading which has only recently started to be addressed. The State Board has final approval over changes to teacher licensure and teacher preparation programs. I will ensure that our educators get the training and education they need, based on the science of learning, to improve student outcomes.
Too many students are struggling to meet the academic goals we set for them. This is for subjects across the board, including reading and writing, math, science, history, social studies, and more. I believe this is partially a result of the feelings of disconnection students have from school. I will also promote changes to the education system that better connect students to what comes after school by finding ways to incentivize schools and districts to promote work-based learning and advanced coursework.
Due to the constraints of TABOR, increasing funding for our schools is incredibly difficult. Despite multiple attempts over the years, the voters have not approved a statewide ballot measure to increase funding. With this in mind, I think our first focus should be on providing more funds with a greater focus on equity on a statewide basis. This is something that the State Board is well positioned to do through grantmaking and school improvement dollars. Additionally, I was supportive of efforts at the State Legislature in 2024 to rewrite the school finance formula to be more fair to kids who need the most help.
Unfortunately, State Board members have very little ability to increase funding in Colorado. However, I will always actively oppose legislation that would be take dollars away from our public schools and direct them to private programs and institutions. I will always actively support any and all efforts to increase the adequacy of educational funding in the state, be that at the legislature or the ballot box.
Unfortunately, State Board members have very little ability to increase funding in Colorado. However, I will always actively oppose legislation that would be take dollars away from our public schools and direct them to private programs and institutions. I will always actively support any and all efforts to increase the adequacy of educational funding in the state, be that at the legislature or the ballot box.
As a mom of a nonbinary child, I see our schools striving to create inclusive and safe environments for all students but I also recognize the threats our LGBTQIA+ students continue to struggle against. I am concerned about the way that Trump’s style and substance is trickling into our education system and making students, teachers, families, and communities feel unsafe and unsupported. I will support state standards that encourage curiosity and critical thinking and protect the ability to teach without fear of being punished for not censoring or distorting history. I will support policies that make public dollars more available for anti-bullying efforts, that increase access to mental health providers, and common sense gun safety legislation.
I believe it will take more funding to support these professionals. I think there may also be creative approaches to change billing practices for mental health professionals in schools that would allow them to access Medicaid dollars to support students from low-income backgrounds. In any case, it is likely that we will have to depend on the legislature to increase resources to address these issues. In too many districts, we are asking for mental and physical health support to do too much by being responsible for supporting too many kids. We have a moral obligation to help students, not just for the sake of safety but also simply because it is the right thing to do.
My top three endorsers are:
Governor Jared Polis
State Board Member Angelika Schroeder (the current office holder)
While the learning environments may look different depending on where a student lives or goes to school, the important thing to remember is that we need our education infrastructure and curriculum to reflect the communities in which our schools are located. While the State Board can set the base expectations for student learning through the standards revision process, we should look at more ways we can get feedback from students and teachers in these schools and help make Colorado a national model for inclusive learning environments and include that feedback in grantmaking decisions.
I think that the school districts that make up District Two did the best they could do with information we had. The pandemic shutdowns were a trying time and direction seemed to change nearly every week. I think the biggest lesson we learned from the pandemic is that students need to get quality instruction, whether that is remote or in person. For potential future pandemics we should implement any and all best practices that we learned from the last pandemic, especially when it comes to defining quality remote instruction.
That said, post-pandemic there is an emerging crisis of chronic absenteeism that is negatively impacting student achievement RIGHT NOW. I believe we need to be doing more to make sure that kids go to school. It is vital that students miss as few lessons as possible as these skills build on each other. Beyond resource allocation, I will continue to advocate for inclusive standards and pathways to graduation to help students build meaningful educational engagement.
That said, post-pandemic there is an emerging crisis of chronic absenteeism that is negatively impacting student achievement RIGHT NOW. I believe we need to be doing more to make sure that kids go to school. It is vital that students miss as few lessons as possible as these skills build on each other. Beyond resource allocation, I will continue to advocate for inclusive standards and pathways to graduation to help students build meaningful educational engagement.
If elected, I will be the only State Board member with kids still in our K-12 education system. Because I am a parent of elementary and middle school students, I know what parents are going through today. I can relate to parents unlike anyone else on the State Board of Ed. I know parents across the district who have shared their stories and experiences with me and I look forward to broadening that reach. I believe it is important to hear from parents with different backgrounds and lived experiences. Parent and student experiences in the same district, city, and even school vary greatly - its critical that the State Board of Ed understand this and have that voice and perspective amongst them.
When it comes to recruitment, there are clearly challenges, but the state has taken some important steps. I am glad that Colorado joined the Interstate Teaching Compact to ensure that educators who move to Colorado from another state have their license recognized in CO. I am encouraged by efforts to increase recruitment and think we can do more as a state to financially incentivize students to go through traditional education prep programs and ensure that student teachers are paid for their work (not just a stipend!) while working to decrease the costs of licensing tests.
I believe it is vitally important that our education system be transparent in how dollars are spent and that schools, districts, and the state take accountability and responsibility for outcomes. Families and taxpayers should know how well school are or are not doing, and be sure, through financial transparency, that resources are going to the students who need the most help. I believe that when we are transparent in the outcomes, when we highlight strategies that are working, will help us make the case for more resources to replicate these promising practices.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign website
Marisol Rodriguez’s campaign website stated the following:
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| —Marisol Rodriguez’s campaign website (2024)[3] | ||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Colorado State Board of Education District 2 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on May 29, 2024
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Marisol Rodriguez for State Board, “Home,” accessed June 18, 2024
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