November 21, 2016 10:24 AM UTC

Dems Take Ed Board: End of the Reign of the "Prince of Darkness"

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• by: Colorado Pols

As Chalkbeat Colorado’s Nic Garcia reported this weekend, and it’s an important endnote on the recent elections: Democrats will take control of the Colorado Board of Education for the first time in nearly 50 years after a squeaker of a win for Democratic CD-6 board candidate Rebecca McClellan.

Democratic challenger Rebecca McClellan has outlasted incumbent Republican Debora Scheffel in a hard-fought State Board of Education race that extended beyond Election Day, handing Democrats control of the governing board for the first time in nearly 50 years.

McClellan, a former Centennial City Council member, has an insurmountable lead of 1,296 votes over Debora Scheffel, a career educator and dean of the School of Education at Colorado Christian University, according to the latest unofficial results released Friday…

“It’s exciting, very exciting” McClellan told Chalkbeat. “I think that people in the district really believe in public education, particularly in the Cherry Creek School District. … It’s not a trivial matter. I think people want to see their public schools preserved.”

McClellan’s narrow victory is nonetheless expected to have a large impact on the future course of the Board of Education, which has been dominated in recent years by less-than-serious right-wing ideologues who have rendered the body almost a malevolent influence on public education in the state. Dogmatic crusades against important public health surveys and programs, and bizarre spates of conspiracy theorizing from board member and longtime Capitol lobbyist Steve “Prince of Darkness” Durham have overshadowed the board’s less controversial work–which led in part to the decision by Republican Board Chair Marcia Neal to resign last year.

Well folks, in a photo finish, it’s a new day for the Colorado Board of Ed.