One State Board of Education race could have a big impact on the future of charter schools in Colorado

Of the four Colorado State Board of Election seats up for election Nov. 5, one race in particular holds high stakes for the future of charter schools and the ease with which they can open and expand.

The outcome of the election in the highly competitive 8th Congressional District, which was created as part of the state’s 2021 redistricting process and includes parts of Adams, Larimer and Weld counties, could change how much the state board embraces the growth of charter schools — or not. 

There’s currently a majority in the board that is willing to overturn local school districts when they deny charter school applications. The 8th District race could decide whether that majority flips.

Incumbent Rhonda Solis, a Democrat from Greeley, is running against Johnstown Republican Yazmin Navarro. Solis and Navarro bring different perspectives to charter schools. 

Solis, 55, told The Colorado Sun she has concerns about a lack of transparency and accountability in charter schools and wonders why they aren’t outperforming traditional district-run schools. Meanwhile, Navarro, 39, said she is a strong proponent of school choice, including charter schools.

Here is why the outcome of the State Board of Education race in the 8th District could be so consequential for charter schools across Colorado.

What is at stake for charter schools in the 8th District race?

Charter schools are public schools managed by nonprofits that establish a performance contract with a school district, which serves as the authorizer. The contract gives charter schools more flexibility than traditional public schools over how they educate children, but they are still subject to the same standards and assessments as traditional public schools.

The state board plays a key role in the appeals process. A charter school can appeal a school district’s rejection of its application to the state board in the hope of overturning the district decision. The state board has the authority to override the rejection and greenlight that charter school or side with the school district.

“The state board acts as a judge in disputes and as the final arbiter in disputes between school districts and charter schools,” said Van Schoales, a senior policy director at the Keystone Policy Center. Schoales does not live in the 8th District and says he is not supporting either candidate.

“State board members are elected often going into this position either being pro-charter or opposed to charter (schools),” he said. “They’re in this role acting as an independent arbiter that are supposed to make decisions based on the evidence. It’s often quite predictable what the outcome will be.”

Currently, there is a 5-4 majority on the state board willing to overturn local school districts when they deny charter school applications. But that’s likely to change if Solis is reelected. 

That’s because of the outcome of the Democratic primary in June for the 2nd Congressional District seat on the Colorado Board of Education. Former Boulder Valley School Board President Kathy Gebhardt ran against education consultant Marisol Lynda Rodriguez in the Boulder-centered district. Gebhardt has scrutinized charter schools for implementing admissions policies that discriminate against certain groups of students. Rodriguez was backed by nearly $1 million from charter school supporters. 

Despite the heavy spending to support Rodriguez, Gebhardt won the primary. She’s running unopposed in the general election, meaning she will win in November, replacing Democrat Angelika Schroeder, who is term-limited and is part of the majority willing to overturn local school districts when they deny charter school applications.

That’s dialing up the pressure in the 8th District, where neither Democrats nor Republicans have a true advantage. The district is a political toss-up, meaning either candidate could win. 

Solis beat her Republican opponent in 2022 by less than 2,000 votes, or just shy of 1 percentage point. The American Constitution Party candidate received 5,367 votes.

A win for Navarro this year would mean a win for charter schools, maintaining the board majority that is likely to side with charter schools when they are denied by school districts. A victory for Solis, meanwhile, would swing the board majority in the other direction. 

“This becomes a more important race,” Schoales said. “This particular position, depending on who it is, would be a deciding vote.”

Why Solis questions charter schools and why Navarro is a strong advocate

Solis, elected in 2022 as the first board member to represent the 8th District, acknowledges that some charter schools in Colorado are seeing success in educating students, but she has concerns about charter schools not enrolling a diverse body of students or being transparent, particularly with where all their funding comes from.

“If we’re going to have these conversations and really have valid conversations, then we need to really make sure we’re being transparent and accountable and there might have to be certain legislation to make sure we’re getting accurate information from charters,” said Solis, who previously served two terms on the Greeley-Evans District 6 school board.

In weighing how to address charter school appeals that make their way to the state board, Solis said she votes based on three factors.

“We have to ask ourselves, is it good for students? Is it good for the district? And is it good for the community?” she said.

She also considers whether a charter school is “fiscally viable” and if a community has enough students to justify a charter school.

“We have to really listen to these local boards on what is good for their community because that’s what they are elected to do,” Solis said.

Navarro is campaigning on a platform to expand school choice options for families.

“No one knows my child better than I do,” said Navarro, who has one elementary schooler enrolled in a charter school and would be the only state board member with a school-age child. “And if the school is not serving my child the way that they’re supposed to be in order to make my child successful academically and as a productive member of society, then I have the choice to move my child to where he or she will thrive.”

Navarro, a substitute teacher in Thompson School District R2-J in Loveland, said that if elected, she will vote in support of charter schools so long as they’re effectively educating students.

“If you are doing what you’re supposed to be doing by teaching our children to be productive members of society and to be globally competitive, there should never be an issue with approving a school of that nature,” she said.

Who is supporting which candidate and why?

Among those backing Solis for a board seat is the Colorado Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union.

“We appreciate that she is not a rubber stamp for charter schools, that she does ask questions, that she does work hard to understand the situation around any particular charter school application or any charter school situation that comes before the board,” CEA President Kevin Vick said. “And so I don’t think it’s necessarily a situation where she has a super big ideology or agenda in charter schools, but I think she does do a good job of holding them accountable.”

Vick added that there has been a growing call for that sense of accountability for charter schools. 

“We are realizing that there does need to be some greater transparency on how charter schools are operating,” he said.

Navarro has the support of CLCS Action, an affiliate nonprofit of the Colorado League of Charter Schools.

Dan Schaller, president of the Colorado League of Charter Schools, called Navarro “an incredibly compelling candidate” who advocates for all types of public education.

“The state board has long had a track record and history of being a very balanced and impartial decision-maker when it comes to charter schools, and we’re very committed to individuals who will uphold that tradition,” Schaller said. “And we feel that Yazmin represents the candidate who is most likely to do that.”

Who is donating to each candidate’s campaign?

Solis had raised nearly $76,000 and spent $44,000 as of Oct. 9, starting the final weeks of the campaign with $32,000 in cash. Blueflower Action, a state-level super PAC supporting Democratic women running for office, spent nearly $39,000 in recent days on a mailer and digital ads for Solis.

Blueflower Action’s donors include a list of prominent Colorado women.

Navarro had raised $30,000 and spent $18,000 through Oct. 9, heading into the final weeks before Election Day with $12,000 in the bank. Two state-level super PACs, Protecting Colorado’s Future and the Colorado League of Charter Schools Independent Expenditure Committee, have spent nearly $306,000 in support of Navarro. 

The Colorado League of Charter Schools Action, a nonprofit that doesn’t disclose its donors, is the main donor to the Colorado League of Charter Schools Independent Expenditure Committee. 

The Colorado League of Charter Schools Independent Expenditure Committee has donated to Protecting Colorado’s Future. The group Colorado Families for Great Schools, another state-level super PAC, has also contributed to Protecting Colorado’s Future. Colorado Families for Great Schools is funded by Education Reform Advocacy Now, a nonprofit that doesn’t disclose its donors.

The groups helping Navarro are the same ones that tried to help Rodriguez in the 2nd Congressional District Board of Education race.  

Colorado Sun staff writer Jesse Paul contributed to this report.