Dear Editor:
I will be voting to re-elect Marcia Neal to represent my family on the Colorado State Board of Education’s 3rd Congressional District.
Let’s face it, many of us do not pay much attention to who is representing our children on the Colorado State Board of Education. Normally this is a very low profile—almost “nonpolitical”—race. That is until recently.
This cycle, groups like Democrats for Education Reform, Raising Colorado and affiliated committees of the Colorado Education Association are putting large sums of money into races where they are hoping to elect candidates who are perceived as friendlier with Common Core and other positions of their agenda.
As vice chairman, incumbent Marcia Neal has served a largely rural district that covers most of Western Colorado and stretches to Pueblo proudly while continuing to look out for the best interests of our students in these areas.
Neal is retired teacher and a former school board member for District 51. She is the only member of the current SBE who voted against the adoption of Common Core in 2010 and has worked with state legislators and citizens in addressing concerns with the controversial PARCC testing program and has the endorsements of both the president of Colorado Mesa University, Tim Foster, and Paul Lundeen, current chairman of the State Board of Education.
We need to ensure that we have a representative voice who will fight to maintain high academic standards, someone who will ensure that we keep control of our schools on the local level and an individual who understands the needs of educators and students in rural Colorado.
Please join me in re-electing Marcia Neal.
Brad McCloud
Grand Junction
