Meghann Silverthorn
Age: 35
Occupation: Analyst for the U.S. Department of Defense
Family: Husband
Residency: Has lived in Douglas County for seven years
Political experience: Has served on the board of education for four years and served as vice president of student government at the University of Colorado for two years
Education: Bachelor’s degrees engineering and aerospace, and political science
Website: meghannsilverthorn.com
Why she’s running: Silverthorn said the current board of education has tried to modernize education for today’s kids and has an eye for maintaining and expanding facilities every year. She said the new pay-for-performance plan is important in making sure teachers are paid like professionals. She said she wants to make sure the district is helping kids be where they need to be to attain all their post-secondary goals, all the while shoring up the district’s financial position and building everything back up again. She said making the new evaluation system mandatory in its first year was difficult, but important. She said she understands the concerns of teachers about the new plan.
“That’s not something teachers are used to and never have seen,” Silverthorn said.
She said at the root of the problem is communication and that the district doesn’t always reach everyone with their communications. She said she also wants to make sure the teachers have the proper professional development. She said there have been more closed-door sessions in the past few years because they’re about real estate transactions or lawsuits.
She said she’s proud of the great things the district has been doing, including decreasing the fund balance borrowing, and while they are the lowest-funded district in the metro area, that students and teachers have been great about doing more with less.