|
Jan.
29, 2001
By Janelle Holden,
Journal staff writer
A Disappointment Valley rancher is one of three candidates vying to replace Pat Clouber on the Colorado State Board of Education.
Scott Tipton, a Cortez resident who chaired the 3rd Congressional District vacancy committee, announced on Monday that the committee had submitted the name of Pamela Jo Suckla, a former Dolores County school-board member, to the state board of education as one of three Republican candidates to choose from.
The 11-member vacancy committee met on Saturday to interview 10 of 13 candidates who submitted applications. Of those, they selected Suckla, Steamboat Springs resident Olive Morton, and Grand Junction resident Reford Theobold to refer to the board.
Former state Sen. Ben Alexander, who initially replaced Clouber, resigned on Jan. 11 after Democratic members of the state board objected to having Clouber vote on her replacement. The board must now appoint a Republican replacement from the third district.
“Whether I get it or not, you can bet that I won’t stop with helping the educational process,” said Suckla on Monday.
Suckla started her educational career as a Parent Teachers Association member and president. She eventually moved on to serve on several accountability boards, and as a Dolores County school-board member for 8 1/2 years, six as president. She represented Region 9 on the Colorado Association of School Boards, and served on the Southwest Center Pueblo Community College Board.
She also served on Gov. Bill Owens’ Transition Team for Education, the Columbine Review Commission, and is currently working with the Smart Schools Academy.
A Cortez native, Suckla said if appointed she would emphasize the governor’s education agenda and make it fit in rural Colorado.
“I definitely feel that the rural voice should be heard more in the state of Colorado than it is, especially on those boards. I’ve tried to carry that through in my career on education,” said Suckla.
Attracting educators to rural areas is a “huge problem,” said Suckla. “The problem that the rurals have is keeping the teachers in the subject area that they’ve been educated in, so many times we have to hire them and put them in other areas than what they are trained for.”
Training teachers is also a problem. “I think that education is full-fold, I think it’s not only a matter of educating our youth, but the education we’re giving our teachers in higher ed. I think that it’s got to start there, in helping them so that teachers are better prepared when they enter the classroom,” said Suckla.
Suckla said her father built boarding schools across the Navajo reservation as a child, and she often switched schools mid-year. Her experience as a transient student also motivated her to improve education for similar students.
“We want to educate all children and make sure that they are all getting the opportunities they have for full education,” she said.
Suckla’s competition is steep, however.
Morton has also served on the Hayden school board, and has been employed as an administrator at Colorado Mountain College for 27 years. Theobold has served on the Grand Junction City Council since 1985, two terms as mayor, and has served on numerous community boards and committees.
A board of education representative said on Monday that no timeline has been set to appoint a new member, but the board would meet at the beginning of February for a retreat.
|
