South Routt School District, District 5

Kelsi Edwards

Occupation: Owner of a hair salon in Yampa

Family: Husband, Adam Edwards; 4-year-old son enrolled in South Routt preschool; and 7-year-old daughter who is second-grader at South Routt Elementary School

Civic involvement: I volunteered to help upgrade the South Routt preschool from a half-day to a full-day preschool.

Q. Why are you qualified to serve in the school board?

A. When we moved from Hayden to Toponas last year, I immediately started working to help improve our schools. As a highly motivated parent, I began volunteering at the school, assisting on field trips and working to increase the length of the school day at the preschool. I want what is best for our children and for their education, and I’m willing fight to get them the opportunities that they deserve.

Q. What do you feel the most important issue facing the South Routt School District and what can be done to address it?

A. The most important issue facing our school district is the declining enrollment. We need to improve and shine a light on our current successful programs. As a result of our strong agricultural program, children from other areas have utilized the open enrollment system to attend Soroco schools.

Q. What strategies would you suggest for the South Routt School District to address declining enrollment?

A. I feel we need to continue to encourage and improve programs like the agriculture program to increase our enrollment. Show the community members who choose to take their kids to Steamboat School that we are on the right track to make our school the best it can be.

Q. Would you support the South Routt School District pursuing district consolidation with Steamboat Springs?why or why not?

A. By consolidating the school districts, South Routt could ensure that teachers receive comparable salaries throughout the county and, therefore, encourage the best possible teachers to come into our schools. As a school board member, this is something that I would work very hard to make happen. Having a combined Routt County School District would be a benefit to all the schools within Routt County. Resources could be combined, and we would be able to work on programs that would be streamlined for each student. Consolidation would help with South Routt’s declining enrollment and, at the same time, help the Steamboat schools with their overflowing enrollment.

Q What role do you think the South Routt School District and its board plays or should play in the overall South Routt economy?

A. The South Routt School District has an obligation to the community to communicate on all levels. By having open communication between the school district and the community, we can become a much better resource to our students.