3 newcomers, 1 incumbent elected to Greeley-Evans School District 6 School Board
By Kelly Ragan
Greeley Evans School District 6 School Board will see three new faces following Tuesday’s election. While incumbent Michael Mathews was re-elected, newcomers Taylor Sullivan, Rob Norwood, and Kyle Bentley will join the board of directors.
In total, four school board seats were up for grabs. Board members Rhonda Solis and John Haefeli were term limited. Mathews and Ray Talley sought re-election.
Voters had the option to choose four candidates.
As of Nov. 7, here’s how the vote broke down:
Taylor Sullivan: 13.72%
Michael Mathews: 13.10%
Rob Norwood: 13.22%
Kyle Bentley: 11.24%
Araceli Calderon: 10.82%
Juanita Martinez-Rocha: 10.40%
Ray Talley: 8.88%
William Gillard: 6.83%
Daniel Reyez: 5.96%
John Schuttler: 5.81%
In an interview, Kyle Bentley said he was inspired to run for school board when he saw what his kids, home during the COVID-19 pandemic, were learning in school. He said he wasn’t happy with it and believed the school could do better.
“It takes a village to raise a child. My children’s friends who come over – they feel like my own children,” Bentley said. “In general, I want everyone to do better, to be the best they can be. If me running helps make that happen, that’s what I want.”
Taylor Sullivan said she too was unhappy with what she saw her kids learning in school. Frustrated, she was motivated to run for the school board seat to make a change.
“We’re going to get back to teaching our core subjects,” she said.
The social and emotional stuff should be taught at home, she said, not in the classroom.
Sullivan said while it wasn’t intentional and they didn’t necessarily know each other before entering the race, she aligned well with Bentley and Norwood.
“We basically had the same values, morals and ethics,” she said. “It feels good to be with like-minded people who want the best for our kids and the best for our community.”
Norwood said he was excited to continue the work of Superintendent Deirdre Pilch and the previous school board. He also mentioned that, having taught at Northridge High School for 20 years, he knows teachers are stressed.
“We have to put the fun back in teaching,” he said. “We need to find a way to support teachers, admin, and families.”
Norwood said he wanted folks in the community to know that he wants to hear from them.
Mathews did not return request for comment before publication time.
With the departure of school board members Rhonda Solis and Ray Talley, there will be no people of color on the District 6 school board — a district where about 62% of the 23,000 students identify as Hispanic.
Statewide, school board races drew a lot of attention this year, especially as mask mandates and teaching about race and racism took center stage.