In Cortez, Colorado, school board elections are often overlooked, but local educator and union president Dan Tamminga believes these races are crucial for the community. Tamminga, who had not focused on school board elections until recent years, now sees them as essential to shaping the direction of local schools.
“Up until these past three or four years here in Cortez, I hadn’t really paid much attention to school board elections,” Tamminga said. “But it’s just become very apparent that the school board sets the direction, sets the tone of the district. That then impacts how the students learn, how the schools are run, and how the whole environment and community of the schools can help those kids.”
Tamminga emphasizes that when school boards do not consider input from teachers and families, students can be negatively affected. He describes a board that is sometimes closed off and aligned with a single viewpoint.
“We see a real importance this year in getting people in there who will be transparent, open to alternative viewpoints, and willing to make student-centered decisions,” he said. “Everybody’s working for the same thing, but sometimes the board appears ill-informed or unwilling to listen to other points of view.”
“Too often, the board isn’t open to hearing multiple sides of an issue before making their decisions.”
The effects of these decisions are evident in local classrooms, where Cortez has faced challenges retaining experienced teachers.
“The environment in the schools has become hard to work with,” Tamminga explained. “A lot of experienced and quality teachers who were doing their best for the kids saw the situation as not supportive of their professionalism or respectful of their expertise. We’ve lost a lot of teachers to other districts or even to other career fields.”
He added that this turnover impacts student learning. “One of the best things to help students learn is to have well-qualified, experienced teachers guide them. And one of the major things that has hindered our students’ progression these past few years is that a lot of those teachers are seeing better options other places.”
While school board elections in Colorado have sometimes been politically charged, Tamminga says the main issues in Cortez focus on whether the board is willing to listen to the whole community.
“It has become a political thing when it shouldn’t be,” he said. “Too often, the board isn’t open to hearing multiple sides of an issue before making their decisions.”
Tamminga also points out that unions can be misunderstood in small communities but insists that calls for change extend beyond teachers. “We try to phrase it as teacher-centered,” he explained. “The staff working with your kids are supporting these candidates. There’s also a big movement in the community—parents and other residents—who see the direction of the school board as unproductive and want change. It’s not just teachers.”
He encourages educators, parents, and residents to communicate openly about school issues.
“A lot of the issues I see are people only hearing one side of the discussion,” he said. “If teachers talk to parents, if community members talk to teachers, if we can have these discussions openly and honestly, we’re just going to get stronger. And if we elect board members who are willing to be a part of that discussion, our schools will be stronger too.”
Tamminga concludes that despite differences, most people share a common goal.
“We all have the same goal, to educate these kids as best we can,” he said. “If we can work together to come up with the best plan possible, that’s what we’re all trying to do.”
