Ballots are due Tuesday, Nov. 2, and our kids need you to vote. The past 20 months have not just been challenging due to the pandemic but also because of a sustained attack on teachers, books, student surveys and even history curriculum. My 12-year-old daughter has come home thoroughly gutted because a book of poetry and even the Healthy Kids Colorado survey were suddenly controversial and being attacked by a few parents, even when the option to opt out was given. Clearly, these attacks are not about more choice but about imposing the values of a few on everyone.

So why vote? Because four candidates (Kim Langley, Manuela Michaels, Pat Moser and Danielle Surette) are running as a block with the hope that voters won’t understand or notice that they want to keep information, books, surveys and curriculum that they don’t like out of classrooms. This is happening all over the country, and Summit County is sadly not immune to adults running for school boards in order to apply their personal political and moral beliefs on kids and school districts.

I’ll be voting for Chris Guarino, Kate Hudnut, Lisa Webster and Johanna Kugler because they are not running as a block, will subsequently have dissenting viewpoints that will encourage critical conversations and better decisions for our kids, and I’m 100% sure that they share one goal that qualifies them unequivocally: They are running for these often thankless positions because they care about and want the best for our children.

My kiddo and every kiddo in this community need you to vote because their education and schools should never be turned into a political and moral battleground by adults.