Rick Van Wieren

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

Rick Van Wieren

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Nonpartisan

Prior offices

School District 49 school board, District 2

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School District 49 school board, District 1

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Report an officeholder change

Education

Bachelor's

Hope College, 1977

Graduate

Grand Valley State University

Personal

Birthplace

Grand Rapids, Mich.

Religion

Christian: Protestant

Profession

Real Estate Broker

Contact

Campaign Facebook

Rick Van Wieren was a member of the Falcon School District 49 school board in Colorado, representing District 1. He assumed office on February 22, 2023. He left office in 2023.

Van Wieren ran for election to the Falcon School District 49 school board to represent District 2 in Colorado. He won in the general election on November 5, 2019.

Van Wieren completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. Click here to read the survey answers.

Van Wieren is affiliated with the Republican Party.

Biography

Van Wieren was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He obtained an undergraduate degree from Hope College in Holland, Michigan, in 1977. He obtained a graduate degree from Grand Valley State University. Van Wieren's professional experience includes working as a real estate broker.

Elections

2019

See also: Falcon School District 49, Colorado, elections (2019)

General election

General election for School District 49 school board, District 2

Rick Van Wieren won election in the general election for School District 49 school board, District 2 on November 5, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Rick Van Wieren (Nonpartisan)	100.0	3,576

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,576
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Campaign themes

2019

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Rick Van Wieren completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Van Wieren's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I've been involved in charter schools for over 20+ years, and served on the boards and organizing committees of several. We have raised 5 kids and have 8 grandkids, and encountered the great challenges of finding the right school for each of them. As a Realtor in the Colorado Springs community for 27 years, I have also helped my clients with the challenges of picking the right balance of commute, schools, neighborhoods and home, and believe that D49 represents one of the best choices for many of our new residents. As the fastest growing large district in the state, and the 3rd largest of the Pikes Peak Region, D49 has huge challenges to accommodate growth as well as continue to improve academically, and I want to help in that process.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• School choice is key, and I want to see D49 continue it's 'Portfolio of Schools' strategy to make that work for parents.
• We need to be good stewards of the taxpayers money, and do as much as we can with what we have to work with.
• We need a civil, respectful atmosphere at the board level, and I intend to do as much as possible to maintain that.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am very passionate about school choice, whether charter or district run. Parents need good choices, because the needs of kids are different, and a 'cookie cutter', one size fits all approach does not work. Our kids need to be prepared for the real world when they graduate, so that they can become intelligent voters, and contributing members of society. Preparing them for this should include options for the both those that are college bound, as well as others, who may choose trades, a military career, or even an entrepreneurial path that does not require a 4 year degree.
I am also very passionate about local control and parent control of schools. Recent legislation in Denver confirms this need, as the state legislature has begun attempts to require curriculum, which runs counter to the state constitution, that is is antithetical to the values our local district.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

My heroes include Ronald Reagan, Winston Churchill and Theodore Roosevelt, among many others. I look up to these 3 in particular, because they epitomize some character traits that I really admire, including courage of their convictions, perseverance, and the wisdom to see things as they really are as well as what it was going to take to change them.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

I believe that it is important for elected officials to exercise some of the same characteristics we expect of business people, which include honesty and integrity, listening, and a good understanding of why they are there in the first place.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I would like to leave a legacy that includes having made a difference in the lives of the kids of our area. I believe that this generation of children include some of the future leaders of our country, inventors of amazing new things, and citizens who will bring about the changes in our culture that are needed for America to survive as a great nation.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

The Great I Am - Jared Anderson

What is the primary job of a school board member in your view?

School members work only as a unit, never as individuals. Ultimately their job is evaluate, hire, and fire if necessary, the superintendent, who actually runs the district (or in the case of D49, 3 of them). But they also play a role in setting strategic direction, and asking the hard questions that help the administration stay on course.

Who are your constituents?

Our constituents or stakeholders, include the voters of the district, the taxpayers of the district, as well as the parents, employees of the district, and children who attend the schools.

How will you build relationships with members of the broader community? Which groups, organizations, stakeholders will you specifically target?

I intend to make myself available to anyone in the community who has concerns about the direction or the performance of our schools.

Do you believe it is important to intentionally recruit with the aim of diversifying the district’s faculty, staff, and administration? If so, what would be your policy to achieve this?

We have a fairly diverse staff and administration, and I believe strongly in equal opportunity and merit based hiring and promotion.

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.

See also

2019 Elections

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Candidate

School District 49 school board, District 2

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