Before taking their seats on Woodland Park Board of Education this month, Kassidi Gilgenast, Laura Gordon and Carol Greenstreet offered sneak peeks into the future.

The three were elected by wide margins in the election on Nov. 4 and recently sworn into office.

In discussing their plans a few days after the election, each expressed gratitude along with acceptance of the responsibility.

“I want to do right by our students, our families, teachers and the community,” Gordon said.

Communication is high on her to-do list.

“The biggest thing will be hearing from our interim superintendent and chief financial officer and be brought up to speed,” she said, referring to Ginger Slocum and David Kuritar, respectively.

The three take office after problems with the district’s audits surfaced publicly.

“We have the audit from 2023-2024. The discrepancy needed fixing,” she said.  “And we have last year’s audit, 2024-2025, coming due. It will take a deep dive to get all the way under and then we can come back up.”

Gordon acknowledges feeling relief after learning of her election.

“This gives us hope to move forward for our schools,” she said.

Carol Greenstreet

“I’m just grateful for the people who listened and supported me across the political aisle,” Greenstreet said. “My hope is that we all work together.”

Holding workshops, a board retreat and setting goals are among Greenstreet’s initial plans.

“I think we need to know what will help retain teachers, through surveys and workshops with teachers in each school,” she said. “I think that’s important, so the community knows what our goals are.”

With two high schools in the district, Greenstreet is intent on collaborating with the directors of Merit Academy.

“We can discuss challenges and put some of our differences aside and to provide the opportunities we want for our students,” she said. “My first goal, however, is hiring a superintendent.”

Kassidi Gilgenast

For Gilgenast, the results reflect voters’ support along with a nudge to get going.

“The biggest thing we need to do is an assessment with district leaders about the health of our district, to figure out what we know and don’t know,” she said.

Gilgenast intends to focus on keeping the community informed about what’s going on and to develop a vision for the future. High on the to-do list is reviewing the citizen survey about qualifications for a new superintendent while continuing conversations with Ginger Slocum, the interim superintendent.

Following up on the gaps in financial reporting last year by the former chief financial officer, Gilgenast will advocate for tracking the progress of this year’s audits.

In the meantime, Gilgenast’s goals include improving the overall security of the schools in addition to assessing the district’s facilities.  However, for Gilgenast, communication is the key to moving forward.

“I want to re-establish relationships with the community and city officials,” she said.