Kenny Teitler, Kathryn Kuhlenberg win seats on RFSD Board of Education
We are excited to see two of our endorsed candidates win their elections. Kenneth “Kenny” Teitler and Kathryn Kuhlenberg were elected to serve on the Roaring Fork Schools Board of Education tonight.
These two local education champions are aligned to our progressive values as an organization. Each has expressed their commitment to the hard work that still needs to be done to ensure that Latino students get the quality education that they deserve in the Roaring Fork Schools District.
Voces Unidas Actions Fund supported efforts to reach more than 5,300 Latino and non-Latino voters from Basalt to Glenwood Springs during this election cycle. Some of our messages of support were seen more than 200,000 times.
We all win when Latinos vote. We are happy to see Latinos and non-Latinos turning out in support of education justice candidates in a Latino-majority school district.
All statewide ballot issues failed
We are pleased that all three statewide ballot issues that we opposed were also turned down by voters. Amendment 78, Proposition 119 and Proposition 120 were rejected by voters tonight.
Our affiliated organization, Voces Unidas de las Montañas, sent out a ballot guide with our positions to these ballot issues to more than 10,000 Latino voters.
It is clear to us that ballot issues at the state level cannot win without Latino support. As an organization, we want to make sure that Latinos are at the table helping to design our own solutions so we can see ourselves and our families reflected in the very questions that we pose to voters.
RFSD's 5B approved by voters
Thanks to voters, the district can now make good on their promise to increase teacher and staff salaries in order to help with the district’s staffing crisis. This is a big win for our schools and the communities that they serve.
We look forward to holding the district accountable for using these additional resources to recruit more teachers and administrators of color who reflect the demographics of the students they serve.
Much work to do in Garfield RE-2 School District
We are obviously disappointed that the election did not favor our endorsed candidate in Garfield RE-2 School District. Caitlin Carey would have been a great ally to the Latino community on a school board and in a school district that continues to struggle to effectively represent and meet the needs of Latino students and their families.
As an advocacy organization, we know that a disenfranchised electorate serves to keep the status quo alive, without real change. Voces Unidas Action Fund is committed to ensuring that Latinas and Latinos turn out to vote and continue to advocate and demand better outcomes for students, especially Latino students and English-language learners.
Voces Unidas Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) advocacy nonprofit organization, based in Glenwood Springs, whose mission is to build and grow the Latino community’s political power in the central mountain region, including Summit, Lake, Eagle, Pitkin and Garfield counties.