Two apply for Gilpin County School Board

Lynn Volkens

04/17/2008 - When Gilpin County Commissioner Ron Slinger took his seat on that board, he vacated his seat on Gilpin County School’s Board of Education. On Monday, April 21^st at 7:00 p.m. the remaining School Board members will interview the two applicants who responded to the school district’s call for members. One will be appointed to the Board by an open vote immediately following the interview process. The appointee will be sworn in and will begin participating in Board business at the regular meeting as soon as the business of filling the vacancy is completed.  Mary Flowers and Jerry Yocom are the two applicants. Both have children attending Gilpin School and both have been Gilpin County residents for well over ten years.  

  Flowers has a background in teaching and has substitute taught at Gilpin School and for JeffCo schools. She knows the staff, students and school procedures. Flowers has also operated a small business and has taught classes at the Recreation Center. Her experience there and with census work has additionally familiarized her with the County and residents in a broader sense. “I feel that it is time for the school to become what a small, rural school can be. We need to address the concerns of our parents, and reflect the needs of students who live in a small mountain community,” she wrote in her application. “I know that as a school board member, I can help make Gilpin County School a better place to learn and prepare our students for life after graduation.”

  Jerry Yocom has a background in communications, personnel management and law enforcement. He worked as a deputy for the Gilpin County Sheriff’s Department in 1990-91 and was Chief of Police in Black Hawk from 1991-1995. He currently coordinates Saint Anthony Flight for Life’s emergency medical transports. He writes of his time in Gilpin County, “Perhaps the single most important change having taken place, has been the ongoing advancement of the quality and professionalism of our local education system.” He states, “My desire to participate in school affairs stems from a deep and abiding belief, that I will be able to assist, in proceeding along the path of educational excellence thus far established.”

  Current Board members, Scott Groginsky, Rusty Hardy, Craig Holmes and Bob Masslich have prepared approximately a dozen questions they will ask each applicant next Monday. The questions vary from philosophical to operational and include topics such as the role of the school board, extracurricular activities, budget, monitoring student growth and personal decision-making style. The Board has allotted ten minutes per interview but may take longer if Board members have more questions. The regular meeting is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. The interview process and the regular meeting are open to the public.