Simecek: Will cast vote for Nimmo, Kuhlenberg

I am Nikole Simecek, and I am a graduate of BHS and a current educator in the Roaring Fork School District. I am writing to express my views on school safety and their relationship to our School Board Election.

On Oct. 7, the Basalt Education Foundation held a forum for the school board candidates. One of the questions was regarding school safety. Two candidates, Elizabeth Taylor and Jodi Barr, expressed concerns about school safety from both internal and external threats — citing internal threats as gender and sexuality education, and external threats as gun violence and general school safety, with solutions ranging from curricula transparency to arming teachers to closing campuses, decreasing focus on DEI, and focusing on wellness education.

My opinion, as someone who is inside of our schools every single day, is that these solutions are not realistic nor beneficial to students. Arming teachers may feel like a threat to some of our most vulnerable populations, including immigrants and low-income students, and increases the probability of gun-related violence simply by proximity. Removing gender and sexuality education may cause students to feel unwelcome and unseen in their classrooms, and decreasing DEI practices is directly correlated to decreasing equity.

The stated goal outcome of these solutions from Elizabeth and Jodi was to decrease student anxiety and increase educational outcomes. The research, however, says that educational outcomes increase when students feel safe, seen, respected, cared for, and are taught equitably.

Jodi said that we should treat all students as one individual and treat them the exact same way regardless of race, language, culture, etc. I can tell you from firsthand experience that if that’s how we treat our students, our students lose.

Our strength in the RFSD is that we see each student for who they are and what they can bring to the table, and that is a beautiful idea and a worthy goal. I believe that Tamara “Tammy” Nimmo and Kathryn Kuhlenberg see that in our schools and will continue advocating for our students in that way, which is why they will have my vote for school board this November.

Nikole Simecek

Carbondale