Littleton Public School Board reelections are held every two years. And we have reached another one which will be on the ballot for the election on November 7th.
The School Board focuses on providing “extraordinary learning, exceptional learning, expanded opportunity, and community for all students” (LPS Strategic Plan). Because of this, the candidates and future board members must have ideals that will continue to center around these goals that structure our school district.
There are two school board member positions that are up for election. Board member Robert Reichardt is finishing up his last term and Lindley McCrary’s first term has come to an end, however she is running to keep her position. Lindley McCrary, Brian Macaulay, Cherie Garcia-Kuper and Michelle Redfearn are running for the two positions.
Lindley McCrary has been on the school board for four years and is running to keep her position. She is a Littleton High School alum and has two daughters who go to Heritage High School. LPS schools have been a part of her life since she was a child. She focuses on the idea of “All Means All” and wants to hear the voices of all students no matter their backgrounds. She strives to be a vocal advocate for all students. McCrary is committed to all LPS teachers and staff and wants to continue PLCs, pay increases where resources are available, and listen to teachers’ issues in the classroom. During her time on the board she has continually brought conversations back to the students and made sure the conversations are always on them.
Chérie Garcia – Kuper is running for her first time, though she is not short on experience. She has worked on several district Accountability Committees and has been in leadership roles for LPS PTOs. She has also created a petition for the betterment of LPS. Her children and her family members have all been LPS students for many years. Garcia – Kuper wants to focus on academics and life skills of students in our district. She wants to make sure that every student feels safe and supported in their school. She fully supports EPIC and the differences in students who want to go into college and those who want to go into a trade industry. She believes that it’s important for students to understand all of the pathways they can go down. Garcia – Kuper acknowledges teachers’ expertise and believes that they should be compensated for their work and should remain retainable. Finally, she believes in equitable learning experiences for all. This includes making sure that all students feel like they are heard and valued.
Brian Macaulay is running for LPS school board for the first time. Two of his children have attended and currently attend Heritage High School while two others are in private school outside of our district. Macaulay has worked in Emergency Medicine. He also has experience in mental health practices and even created his own treatment to help those in need. He took his teaching passion to Taiwan and taught English to young children there. Macaulay has big goals for the future of LPS. He wants to raise student test scores and prioritize academic excellence. Macaulay focuses a lot on teachers and says that they need to be listened to more. He also believes that our classes have too many students and there needs to be resources to shrink them. He also wants to find alternative learning environments for disruptive students so they can thrive in a situation that is better for them. He also wants to promote trust and transparency between staff and teachers and students’ parents. Given the climate of our world, Macaulay believes in enforcing more School Resource Officers. He wants to place one SRO per each elementary school so there aren’t just two bouncing between eleven schools.
Michelle Redfearn has been an LPS parent for the past eighteen years and as her last child graduates this year, she wants to continue her support in our district. Her four children have all gone to school in LPS. She has been teaching for the past twenty five years. Redfearn believes in the mental health of students. She wants to form creative spaces with inspiring people for people to work with. She wants to do this without compromising the academic rigor. She wants to focus on teachers in the classroom and making sure they are retainable. This will be accomplished by getting competitive pay, and continuing PLCs for teachers. Redfearn also wants to allocate more funds to schools. She promises to advocate with our legislators to get appropriate funding for our district. Community outreach and collaboration with schools is very important to Readfearn. She wants to work on the relationship with community members and involve EPIC to do so.
These are the four candidates who are running for LPS Board of Education. If you, or someone you know is voting next week, do your research and cast your vote. Who becomes the next board members will affect the lives of students for many years. To see the websites of the candidates, click on this link.
