Reporting by Nate Trela, Fort Collins Coloradoan
The Colorado State Board of Education serves an important role overseeing education in the state, providing high-level supervision of K-12 education. Its duties include approving academic standards, setting policy, ruling on charter school appeals and overseeing school accountability. while the other is elected at large.
The board is composed of nine elected members, one representing each of Colorado’s eight congressional districts while the other is elected at large. Elected board members are not paid and serve staggered six-year terms. The commissioner of education is appointed by the board and acts as its non-voting secretary.
Three seats will be on the November ballot, with each race including an incumbent member.
Colorado State Board of Education districts on the ballot
1st Congressional District
This district, consisting of most of Denver and a sliver of Arapahoe County, is currently represented by Democrat Lisa Escárcega. She has spent more than 30 years working in education, including stints as the chief accountability and research officer for Aurora Public Schools and was the executive director of the Colorado Association of School Executives.
Republican Frederick Espinoza is a businessman who proudly touts how he found his path at an alternative high school that provided the work and vocational training needed to launch his career in construction. He is a Colorado native.
Libertarian Clayton Casciato does not appear to have an active campaign website and did not respond to a request for more information. He ran unsuccessfully for state House District 3 in 2022 and is the former party technology chair.
3rd Congressional District
This district stretches from the Western Slope to southeastern Colorado and is represented by Republican Sherri Wright. Wright has been involved in education as a teacher or director for more than 30 years, including time as the president of a technical college. She has also run multiple businesses, including decades as a farmer.
Democrat Barb Clementi has more than 40 years of experience in public education, much of it as a teacher and school board member in Pueblo. She has also been in union leadership.
7th Congressional District
This district, which is centered on Denver’s western suburbs but sprawls along the Front Range, is currently represented by Democrat Karla Esser. Esser had more than 20 years of classroom experience, both in the U.S. and Germany. She also served a stint as director of graduate programs for licensed teachers at Regis University.
Republican Steve Barton is a patent attorney who previously worked as an engineer and scientist. He holds multiple degrees, including an MBA, a law degree and a medical doctorate.
Libertarian Ross Klopf is a civil engineer with decades of experience working in transportation and water resources engineering. He has run for multiple offices prior, including an unsuccessful bid for the 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2022.
Nate Trela covers trending news in Colorado and Utah for the USA TODAY Network, with an emphasis on consumer finance, legal issues and state laws.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan.
Related: What to know about University of Colorado Board of Regents candidates
