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Westminster Public Schools, Colorado, elections

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Westminster Public Schools
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District details
School board members: 5
Students: 7,631 (2023-2024)
Schools: 18 (2023-2024)
Website: Link

Westminster Public Schools is a school district in Colorado (Adams County). During the 2024 school year, 7,631 students attended one of the district's 18 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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Westminster Public Schools Board of Education At-large

General election

General election for Westminster Public Schools Board of Education At-large (3 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Westminster Public Schools Board of Education At-large on November 7, 2023.


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Westminster Public Schools Board of Education At-large

General election

General election for Westminster Public Schools Board of Education At-large

Incumbent Joe Davidek and incumbent Ryan McCoy won election in the general election for Westminster Public Schools Board of Education At-large on November 7, 2017.

Candidate
Image of Joe Davidek
Joe Davidek (Nonpartisan)
Image of Ryan McCoy
Ryan McCoy (Nonpartisan)

Candidate Connection = 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.

Westminster Public Schools Board of Education At-large

General election

General election for Westminster Public Schools Board of Education At-large

Incumbent Ken Ciancio and incumbent Larry Valente won election in the general election for Westminster Public Schools Board of Education At-large on November 3, 2015.

Candidate
Image of Ken Ciancio
Ken Ciancio (Nonpartisan)
Image of Larry Valente
Larry Valente (Nonpartisan)

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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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

Westminster Public Schools consists of five members serving four-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.

List of school board members
NameYear assumed officeYear term ends
Mary Beth Murphy20232027
Audrey Yanos20232027
Christine Martinez20192027
Aaron Martin20212025
Dan Orecchio20212025

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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, 2021-2022
SOURCE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Federal: $24,959,000 $3,000 15%
Local: $68,089,000 $8,184 42%
State: $69,567,000 $8,361 43%
Total: $162,615,000 $19,545
Expenditures, 2021-2022
TYPE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Total Expenditures: $146,324,000 $17,587
Total Current Expenditures: $133,635,000 $16,061
Instructional Expenditures: $62,098,000 $7,463 42%
Student and Staff Support: $20,017,000 $2,405 14%
Administration: $28,182,000 $3,387 19%
Operations, Food Service, Other: $23,338,000 $2,805 16%
Total Capital Outlay: $7,309,000 $878
Construction: $5,855,000 $703
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: $3,760,000 $451
Interest on Debt: $1,620,000 $194

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 11 25-29 <=20 8 <50 <=20 20-24
2018-2019 16 35-39 6-9 13 <=20 20-24 25
2017-2018 14 30-34 6-9 11 <=20 20-24 24
2016-2017 13 25-29 6-9 10 <=20 20-24 24
2015-2016 12 25-29 6-9 10 <=20 15-19 21
2014-2015 12 25-29 10-14 10 <=20 15-19 19
2013-2014 35 54 30-34 31 30-39 40-44 46
2012-2013 34 52 20-29 30 30-39 35-39 43
2011-2012 31 43 15-19 28 11-19 35-39 43
2010-2011 63 72 55-59 60 40-49 71

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 22 40-44 <=20 18 <50 20-29 30-34
2018-2019 27 40-44 25-29 23 21-39 35-39 39
2017-2018 23 40-44 20-24 20 21-39 30-34 33
2016-2017 21 40-44 25-29 18 <=20 30-34 32
2015-2016 19 35-39 15-19 15 <=20 25-29 29
2014-2015 18 30-34 15-19 15 21-39 20-24 28
2013-2014 47 60 50-54 42 50-59 50-54 62
2012-2013 44 55 30-39 40 30-39 45-49 57
2011-2012 43 51 30-34 37 20-29 50-54 61
2010-2011 76 85 65-69 73 60-69 84

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 72 >=80 PS 74 PS >=50 60-64
2018-2019 69 >=90 >=50 70 PS >=50 55-59
2017-2018 68 80-89 <50 69 PS >=50 60-64
2016-2017 58 >=80 >=50 58 PS >=50 45-49
2015-2016 56 70-79 >=50 56 PS <50 50-54
2014-2015 59 60-69 >=50 59 PS >=50 55-59
2013-2014 57 80-89 >=50 55 PS >=50 55-59
2012-2013 64 80-89 >=50 63 PS >=50 60-64
2011-2012 61 70-79 >=50 58 >=50 >=50 60-64
2010-2011 64 70-79 <50 61 PS 65-69

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 (%)
2023-2024 7,631 -4.9
2022-2023 8,004 -3.9
2021-2022 8,320 -0.6
2020-2021 8,373 -8.6
2019-2020 9,090 -2.1
2018-2019 9,277 -1.8
2017-2018 9,441 -2.1
2016-2017 9,638 1.4
2015-2016 9,504 -6.9
2014-2015 10,161 0.6
2013-2014 10,101 0.3
2012-2013 10,069 -0.5
2011-2012 10,124 0.7
2010-2011 10,049 1.9
2009-2010 9,862 1.4
2008-2009 9,724 -2.5
2007-2008 9,969 -7.2
2006-2007 10,683 -0.7
2005-2006 10,762 0.9
2004-2005 10,667 1.9
2003-2004 10,467 -5.2
2002-2003 11,012 -2.5
2001-2002 11,283 0.5
2000-2001 11,231 -1.9
1999-2000 11,439 0.0
Racial Demographics, 2023-2024
RACE Westminster Public Schools (%) Colorado K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.7 0.6
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 3.1 3.3
Black 1.8 4.6
Hispanic 77.3 35.9
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.6 0.3
Two or More Races 2.2 5.3
White 14.4 49.9

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 2023-2024 school year, Westminster Public Schools had 444.39 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 17.17.

Teachers, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten: 24.43
Kindergarten: 36.09
Elementary: 205.65
Secondary: 178.22
Total: 444.39

Westminster Public Schools employed 24.85 district administrators and 35.09 school administrators as of the 2023-2024 school year.

Administrators, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators: 24.85
District Administrative Support: 56.15
School Administrators: 35.09
School Administrative Support: 40.39
Other staff, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides: 161.87
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: 20.73
Total Guidance Counselors: 28.64
Elementary Guidance Counselors: 1.44
Secondary Guidance Counselors: 19.09
Librarians/Media Specialists: 1.00
Library/Media Support: 10.88
Student Support Services: 57.60
Other Support Services: 104.46

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]

Westminster Public Schools operates 18 schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
List of schools
SCHOOL NAMENUMBER OF STUDENTSGRADES
Colorado Sports Leadership Academy417PK-8
Colorado Stem Academy391PK-8
Early Learning Center At Francis M. Day57PK-PK
Early Learning Center At Gregory Hill165PK-PK
Fairview Pk-8364PK-7
Harris Park Elementary School216PK-5
Hidden Lake Secondary3636-12
John E. Flynn A Marzano Academy347PK-8
Josephine Hodgkins Leadership Academy560PK-8
Mesa Elementary School295PK-5
Metropolitan Arts Academy305PK-8
Orchard Park Academy524PK-8
Shaw Heights Middle School4256-8
Sherrelwood Elementary School199PK-5
Sunset Ridge Pk-8349PK-8
Tennyson Knolls Preparatory School355PK-8
Westminster Academy For International Studies288PK-8
Westminster High School2,0119-12

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

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  • Footnotes