Aspen Board of Education: Meet the candidates - Aspen Daily News

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Editor’s Note: In this first installment of a two-part series with the Aspen School District Board of Education candidates, the slate of six vying for the three open seats discuss their motivations for running, COVID-19 safety protocols and the school board’s role in ensuring the mental health of staff and students.

Name: Lawrence Butler

Current occupation: Self-employed investor

Years living in the city of Aspen/the Roaring Fork Valley: 6 years in Aspen

Board experience and/or experience in the field of education (this can range from perspectives gained as a parent of a student in the school district, a former professional educator or as an engaged citizen): I have been a board member of many companies and organizations. I am currently a board member of Ascendigo Autism Services, a nonprofit organization located in Carbondale which provides autism services to kids and young adults on the autism spectrum. I have a daughter attending Aspen High School who is on the autism spectrum who is also an Ascendigo client.

Aspen Daily News: What is your main motivation for running for a seat on the Aspen School District Board of Education?

LB: I want to give back to the community I love. Share some of the civic responsibilities. I have three children attending Aspen public schools and want to be aware of and involved in policy decisions affecting my children and all the children in Aspen public schools.

ADN: How do you feel the district did in navigating the early days of the pandemic? What safety protocols, if any, do you think should continue to be implemented moving forward?

LB: I think under the circumstances they did as well as anyone could have done. The amount of continually changing information (and misinformation!) and circumstances made it an impossible task. I believe in science and have faith in our public health officials. If the medical community urges (demands) vaccinations and mask wearing, I support that. Community health comes first.

ADN: What role, if any, do you think the board of education has in ensuring the mental health of staff and students in the school district?

LB: The Board must have a role in this. Community health comes first and that includes mental health. The recent suicide of an Aspen Middle School student is a tragic illumination of why this is so important. The continuing pandemic has taken its toll on teachers and students alike and their mental health needs to be addressed. Proper resources must be funded to help with this.

Name: Christa Gieszl

Current occupation: Primary care physician, Veterans’ Administration, board-certified in internal medicine

Years living in the city of Aspen, years living in the valley: 4.5 years in Snowmass Village

Board experience and/or experience in the field of education: Co-chair, Aspen School District Accountability Committee, 2018 to present (previously served as member for one year); member, Parent-Teacher Organization, Aspen Elementary School, 2018 to 2020; member, Aspen Elementary School Accountability Committee, 2017 to 2020; member, Aspen Middle School Accountability Committee, 2017 to 2019; president, Parent-Teacher Organization, Cottonwood Elementary School, Montrose, Colorado, 2015 to 2016

Aspen Daily News: What is your main motivation for running for a seat on the Aspen School District Board of Education?

CG: The past 18 months have been as challenging as anything we’ve faced in the history of our schools. Our children are at varying levels of education, due to COVID disruptions. Teachers have been working under great stress. And divisions have opened between health-care workers and citizens, and between parents, administrators and teachers. I offer a unique skill set and perspective to help heal these divisions.

As a doctor and lifelong advocate for public health, a passionate believer in public education, and a mother of three children, I’m uniquely suited to operate in disparate worlds, to forge compromises, and to find solutions. As co-chair of the Aspen School District’s Accountability Committee since 2018, I pushed to expand the International Baccalaureate program into all grades. As a doctor, I worked to secure free weekly COVID testing for school staff and students, ensuring that in-person learning could happen safely, work that I continue as vice president of the Pitkin County Board of Health. As a mother, I understand the stakes — nothing less than our children’s future.

ADN: How do you feel the district did in navigating the early days of the pandemic? What safety protocols, if any, do you think should continue to be implemented moving forward?

CG: Returning to in-classroom school in the fall of 2020 was one of the most successful things our school district did. With no roadmap to follow and much fear and confusion in the community, the Aspen School District used the best science that was available to make the best decisions for our children, and I was an integral part of that. At the time, I worked with several like-minded advocates at the local, county and state levels to secure free weekly COVID testing for all staff members at the school — the first time such testing was available in our entire county, and the reason our children were able to return to school safely.

All the data show that children flourish and thrive, in terms of academic achievement, social development and mental health, when they can attend school in person. My No. 1 priority is to keep schools open while pursuing measures to keep its members healthy and safe. Our teachers and students alike deserve strong and consistent policies — such as masking in indoor settings, vaccination and rapid sharing of information — so that they can do their work safely and with confidence. Our mitigation measures have to continue to adapt to the virus levels that are present in our community. If there’s one thing that our encounter with COVID-19 has taught us, it’s that we must constantly follow the science and make adjustments as needed.

ADN: What role, if any, do you think the board of education has in ensuring the mental health of staff and students in the school district?

CG: As a physician with more than two decades’ experience working with everyone from young children to our country’s veterans, I understand keenly the crucial role of mental wellness in a person’s overall health. In both my professional work and on the Pitkin County Board of Health, where I have served as vice president since April 2020, I have been a strong advocate of providing resources to support the mental-health needs of all of our residents.

The lesson of the past several years, which have seen not just the advent of COVID but also multiple changes in the school leadership and resulting turmoil, is that confusing and inconsistent messages can quickly foster and spread a culture of distrust and bring pressures on the members of the school administration and teaching staff. As a school board member, I would be committed to pursuing smart policies, transparent decision-making, and a respect for diverse opinions, so that we can rebuild a strong community where all members — school staff and teachers, parents and students alike — feel that their views are taken into account and their voices heard.

Name: John Galambos

Current Position: Architect and owner of Galambos Architects Inc.

Years living in the city of Aspen/the Roaring Fork Valley: My wife Robin and I have lived in the Roaring Fork Valley for 28 years and in the Aspen School District for 20 years.

Board experience and/or experience in the field of education: Our three kids (classes of 2015, 2017 and 2019) went through K-12 in the Aspen School District. I am currently a member of the District Accountability Committee. In 2020 I served as co-chair of the “Funding our Future” campaign, in which we secured $94 million-plus in bonds and renewed taxes for Aspen School District. Last year I also served on the search committee for the Aspen Middle School principal as a community member. I organized and volunteered for Project Graduation in 2019, 2018 and 2017, and I organized the interfaith baccalaureate ceremony in 2019. And I enjoyed many hours volunteering for various Outdoor Education trips and in the classroom when our kids were students in the district.

Aspen Daily News: What is your main motivation for running for a seat on the Aspen School District Board of Education?

JG: I am running for the Board of Education (BOE) with gratitude for the exceptional quality of education our kids received. I want to see us continue on the path of excellence while remembering our uniqueness as a public school in the mountains. The BOE’s mission is to educate every child who enters our district, and I want to see all kids have the opportunity to thrive, not just academically but in all aspects of life. Our children should be educated to think critically and to become their own unique citizen of this world. As a BOE candidate, I want to achieve this mission by creating stability, building bridges and restoring community.

ADN: How do you feel the district did in navigating the early days of the pandemic? What safety protocols, if any, do you think should continue to be implemented moving forward?

JG: I don’t think anyone navigated the early days of the pandemic well. I think the process of opening the schools created a lot of raw emotions and did some damage to our district. We have to learn to communicate in a respectful manner where we remember that the student’s best interest is the most important. I think the current safety protocols are working for now. This applies to the virus or anything else that comes our way. I see my role on the board being to listen, ask questions, find a collective solution and then give direction and follow through.

ADN: What role, if any, do you think the board of education has in ensuring the mental health of staff and students in the school district?

JG: Mental and emotional health is critical for the BOE to address for both students and staff. The long-term success of our graduates depends on the tools we give them to navigate life. I see this not just as a school problem but an Aspen community problem. Many of the issues we need to address are familiar to Aspen: emotional/mental health; huge gaps in resources; self-medication and substance abuse. These need to be tackled in partnership and collaboration between the schools and our governments, nonprofits and faith communities to help our kids thrive. Our school does have good community partnerships with mental health providers. We need to do more. These challenges won’t be solved by any one individual, myself included. I do know we have the resources to work together to build the infrastructure where kids leave prepared for whatever awaits them in the future. As a BOE member, my role will be to listen to all community members to build this infrastructure of support and foster partnerships to restore community.

Name: Christa Gieszl

Current occupation: Primary care physician, Veterans’ Administration, board-certified in internal medicine

Years living in the city of Aspen, years living in the valley: 4.5 years in Snowmass Village

Aspen Daily News: What is your main motivation for running for a seat on the Aspen School District Board of Education?

ADN: How do you feel the district did in navigating the early days of the pandemic? What safety protocols, if any, do you think should continue to be implemented moving forward?

ADN: What role, if any, do you think the board of education has in ensuring the mental health of staff and students in the school district?

Name: Stacey Weiss

Current occupation: Retired public school teacher, independent piano instructor

Years living in the city of Aspen/the Roaring Fork Valley: 28 in Aspen

Board experience and/or experience in the field of education: I have 30-plus years experience as a public school music teacher, including 20 years at Aspen Elementary School. My education includes a Bachelor of Music degree in music education, a Master of Arts in music and theater education and a graduate certificate in educational leadership and administration.

Aspen Daily News: What is your main motivation for running for a seat on the Aspen School District Board of Education?

SW: I am a candidate for the ASD school board because I believe the board would benefit from a career teacher’s perspective — a viewpoint that has been lacking on the board for too long. I am a passionate advocate for public education and am deeply committed to both our school district and the Aspen community. I see service on the school board as an opportunity to put my experience to work on behalf of our students and their families.

ADN: How do you feel the district did in navigating the early days of the pandemic? What safety protocols, if any, do you think should continue to be implemented moving forward?

SW: The district responded effectively in March of 2020 when they promptly closed the schools and then pivoted to online learning for the remainder of the year. However, opening school safely the following fall was more complicated, as various stakeholders weighed in on the choices to open “in person,” online only or a hybrid schedule. I wish that phase had been less contentious, but rather than judging the district’s performance, I’d prefer to consider what we’ve learned since then to plan for the future.

We now know that improved ventilation, social distancing and the mask requirement, along with the vaccine mandate for staff, have been effective in minimizing the virus in our schools and I support their continued use for as long as the science supports it. Eventually, when COVID vaccines for ages 12-16 (and later, ages 5-12) get their full FDA approval, they should be added to the list of vaccines already required for school enrollment. As a school board member, my decisions regarding COVID will be based on science, the advice of health professionals, legal precedent and my best judgment to ensure the health of our school community and the continuity of our educational programs.

ADN: What role, if any, do you think the board of education has in ensuring the mental health of staff and students in the school district?

SW: Children learn best and teachers are most effective when they’re mentally healthy, and therefore school boards play a vital role in supporting the comprehensive health needs of students and staff. The ASD budget currently funds five counselors and two school psychologists, and is hiring an additional elementary school counselor. We also have two Mind Springs Health counselors who are available to students through our partnership with Aspen Family Connections. Given the many challenges that young people face today, including the pressures of social media, bullying and the stress brought on by the COVID pandemic, we should prioritize our students’ mental health and do all we can to help our students cope and thrive.

Because teachers also do their best work when they are mentally healthy, we must include them in the discussion. The pressures of teaching during COVID along with an ever-increasing workload and inadequate pay has led to burnout, resignations and staff shortages across the nation, and Aspen is not immune to this problem. I believe the remedy lies in a focus on improving climate and culture, realistic expectations for teacher workloads and salaries sufficient to enable our teachers to meet their material needs without a second or third job.

Name: Anna Zane

Current occupation: First and foremost, mother of four children, small business owner — Zane’s Tavern.

Years living in the city of Aspen/the Roaring Fork Valley: Born and raised in Aspen.

Board experience and/or experience in the field of education: As a college student, I worked with inner city school children as part of the America Reads Program.

Parent volunteer in my kids’ elementary school classrooms in support of their teachers including chaperoning field trips, organizing the 2017 fourth grade boys’ leadership lunch, volunteering for PTA’s book fair
District Accountability Committee (DAC): 10 years, including as co-chair from 2016-2018. Our work led to changes in district leadership
School Accountability Committees (SAC): 10 years elementary, middle and high Schools, and am current co-chair of the high school SAC
Served on recent superintendent and principal hiring committees
Served on the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Program Investigation Committee: worked toward the adoption of “IB for all” programs
Aspen Parent Action Committee: Founding member of parent group focused on improving climate and culture of the district

Aspen Daily News: What is your main motivation for running for a seat on the Aspen School District Board of Education?

AZ: Education is the foundation for a better future and it’s our responsibility to lift all students from all backgrounds to their greatest academic and personal potential. Serving on the ASD BOE is the logical next step for me, having already served in various capacities from the District and School Accountability Committees, to volunteering in the classroom, to the superintendent and principal search committees. I am the proud parent of four children ranging in age from pre-K to high school. Having been immersed in our educational system for years, I now want to lend my accumulated knowledge and expertise to the fulfillment of the BOE’s mission to provide an excellent education to all students. Because our students and community are healthier when parents, teachers and administrators work together, I will strive to ensure that our education system is transparent, accountable, and accessible to all stakeholders. I have skin in this game and for the sake of our children’s futures, I want to help our district flourish.

ADN: How do you feel the district did in navigating the early days of the pandemic? What safety protocols, if any, do you think should continue to be implemented moving forward?

AZ: Hindsight is 20/20 and COVID was and continues to be a fluid situation. Amid uncertainty and fear, it was prudent to prioritize safety, even though it’s now evident that remote learning came with unfortunate academic, social, and emotional consequences, particularly for our most vulnerable students. In a town centered around hospitality and tourism, many parents couldn’t work from home and their kids went unsupervised. Remote learning placed a burden on teachers and staff who struggled to juggle their own families’ needs while trying to do their job. Student attention spans were stretched far beyond their capacity (or their WiFi’s capacity), causing them to tune out and become isolated from peers. Thankfully, we suffered no severe health consequences within the school system, but our understanding of pandemic losses — both academic and emotional — are just beginning to surface. Going forward, we have learned that schools must continue to prioritize the safety of students and staff, promote in-person learning, and target interventions for our most vulnerable students.

ADN: What role, if any, do you think the board of education has in ensuring the mental health of staff and students in the school district?

AZ: Unfortunately, we live in a valley that suffers disproportionately from high rates of anxiety, addiction and mental illness. I know firsthand the seriousness of this issue, having lost my dad to addiction and mental illness when I was a junior in high school. After 18 months of COVID mitigation measures including off-and-on isolation, remote learning and social pressures that come from overuse of social media, we are witnessing a mental health crisis of epic proportions in our youth. They increasingly suffer from anxiety, depression, and even suicidal thoughts. This problem is widespread and the school board should be aware of emerging strategies to identify mental health concerns before they become acute and help families get appropriate mental health resources.

To promote student well-being, our classrooms should engage our students academically, providing them with safe and positive learning environments. We must also ensure students understand the importance of mutual respect and tolerance for differences, which are too often the target of adolescent bullying. Fortunately, ASD’s focus on Outdoor Education is a proven winner at fostering resiliency, comradery across differences, confidence and problem solving, and must remain so.

Name: Susan M. Zimet

Current occupation: Recently retired Aspen internal medicine physician

Years living in the city of Aspen/the Roaring Fork Valley: 30

Board experience and/or experience in the field of education: Current president of Aspen School Board; former chair, co-chair and treasurer of Aspen District Accountability Committee; former chair, Aspen Middle School Accountability Committee; parent of two graduates of Aspen High School, classes of 2010 and 2012.

Aspen Daily News: What is your main motivation for running for a seat on the Aspen School District Board of Education?

SZ: I am now the president of the Aspen School Board. During my first four-year term we achieved the following objectives:

Hired a new superintendent, who hired a new administrative team and spearheaded a Master Teacher Agreement
Conducted a curriculum audit and made curricular changes in response
Conducted facilities/plant audit and began deferred maintenance including safety and security measures
Closed on $114 million bond issue after positive vote by the community
Commenced buying additional teacher housing stock
Increased teacher pay
Provided responsible leadership during COVID

ADN: How do you feel the district did in navigating the early days of the pandemic? What safety protocols, if any, do you think should continue to be implemented moving forward?

SZ: The Aspen school board is not taking any chances with the health and safety of our staff and of our students. The board has consistently followed guidance received from the Pitkin County Board of Health and from the State of Colorado. This was true from the first days of the pandemic, and if re-elected it would be my position that the board continue to adhere to that policy.

So to the extent safety protocols are recommended in the future by the state of Colorado and/or the Pitkin County Board of Health, then the board would almost certainly adopt those protocols.

ADN: What role, if any, do you think the board of education has in ensuring the mental health of staff and students in the school district?

SZ: Sadly, for some time this valley has been afflicted with higher rates of anxiety, depression and suicide than other communities, and these mental health conditions have only been exacerbated by the COVID pandemic. This is a critical situation and I advocate additional resources including hiring mental health recovery counselors and other needed interventions. Mental health issues impact our staff, students and parents, and addressing them must be a top priority for the board and district.

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