D-38 board candidates disagree on district's 'crisis of confidence'

Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of profiles of the 10 contested school board races in the Pikes Peak region. The stories will be published intermittently in the days leading up to the distribution of mail-in ballots in mid-October. 

Is there a “crisis of confidence” in the leadership of Lewis-Palmer School District 38?

School board candidate David Cloud says there is, but his opponent, incumbent Gail Wilson, is baffled by the assertion.

In response to a Gazette voter guide questionnaire, Cloud said his top priority in running for the D-38 school board is “restoring community confidence in district leadership.”

But Cloud did not return phone messages seeking further comment on that statement and clarification on whether another statement —  that the district be run “in a fiscally responsible manner” with “a disciplined long-term financial plan” — implied a lack of fiscal responsibility or discipline by Wilson or the D-38 board in general.

Wilson, who has been on the board since 2005, said that as far is she knows, public confidence is not a problem for her or the rest of the board. She said her focus is improving student achievement, especially by increasing parental involvement. “Parents are students’ first and best teachers,” she said.

Parental involvement doesn’t carry a big price tag. But Wilson said teachers are partners in the process, and paying for the highest standards in that partnership, especially in a recession, was an issue.

“The school district has a declining enrollment and the state is cutting back on its per-pupil funding,” she said. “Making the financial resources balance with the human resources is never easy.”

D-38 serves 5,800 students in Monument, Palmer Lake, Woodmoor and Black Forest.

Jeff Ferguson and incumbents Mark Pfoff and Robb Pike are running unopposed. A fifth board member, John Mann, is in midterm.

Candidates for D-38’s contested board seat

• David Cloud, 54: A former Air Force Academy teacher and now a consultant on space-related technical training
• Gail Wilson, 66: A former teacher who has been on the D-38 board since 2005

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Contact the writer at 476-1654