With the departure of our former Board of Education President Chris Taylor, Lewis-Palmer School District 38 is seeking a new appointee for the Director of District 1.

We want to take this opportunity, especially as our board prepares for four seats being up for election this fall, to express the importance of a strong board of education to the strength of our district as a whole. Boards of education are pillars of our American democracy and a strong school board ultimately shapes and influences the quality of education for the children in our community. Having five dedicated, adroit and pragmatic Board of Education Directors who work as a governance team is a foundation for system success.

While board members are elected into office, it is important to note that board members are to be nonpartisan in dealing with school matters. The board does not wish to subordinate the education of children and youth to any partisan principle, group interest or personal ambition, and that is preserved in Policy BBBA. It’s also essential that board candidates are sincerely and honestly interested in serving the whole school district for the best interests of all children.

Our board is made up of five Directors who are publicly elected to serve a region of the district, and they each reside in their district. These community volunteers typically serve four-year terms and employ one employee, the District Superintendent.

The D-38 Board of Education and the superintendent, working together, comprise the lead governance team for the district. This team sets the overall vision, policies, and goals for the district, creates the systems and plans needed to achieve those goals, and evaluates the performance of the district relative to the vision and goals, and relative to the willingness of the community to provide resources. The highest priority for this team is the responsibility to all students, modeling an informed and collaborative culture that prioritizes every student, every day.

Our board members spend several unpaid hours each week on important district business, and at times it can even feel like a full-time job. Our staff members, family members and community members each look to these elected officials as leaders and advocates for a strong school district that supports each and every student.

We can’t overstate the importance of these positions, and how they keep our district moving forward, and one great example is Mr. Taylor’s legacy as he departs, which he received many thanks for in his final meeting on Feb. 21. Mr. Taylor was a staunch supporter and advocate of the district publishing and following a strategic plan, on which we have made great progress and it continues to be woven into our fabric as an organization.

If you feel a passion for our school system, and you desire to be involved moving into the future, we encourage you to reach out to our team, or one of our Board of Education members, to learn a bit more about serving on the Board of Education. If you are ready to serve now, and you live in District 1, please visit lewispalmer.org to learn more about the application process for the current opening.

Applications close on March 31.

Mark Belcher

Courtesy photo