Ali Lasell

• District 1
  • Incumbent, Julie Williams
  • Brad Rupert
• District 2
  • Incumbent, John Newkirk
  • Matt Dhieux
  • Susan Harmon
• District 3
  • Kim Johnson
  • Ali Lasell
• District 4
  • Tori Merritts
  • Amanda Stevens
• District 5
  • Incumbent, Ken Witt
  • Regan Benson
  • Ron Mitchell
  • Paula Noonan

This page was current at the end of the official's last term in office covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Ali Lasell

Prior offices

Jeffco Board of Education District 3

---

Report an officeholder change

Education

Bachelor's

Iowa State University

Graduate

University of Colorado, Boulder

Personal

Profession

Teacher

Contact

Personal website

Ali Lasell was the District 3 representative on the Jeffco Board of Education in Colorado. She was first elected to the board in the general election on November 3, 2015.

This election provided the district with an entirely new board, something that had never happened before. Neither incumbent filed to run in the general election to retain their seats. In addition to those two seats, a recall election was held on November 3, 2015, for the other three incumbents on the board.

See also: What was at stake in the Jeffco Public Schools general election?

Lasell ran as part of "The Clean Slate" with District 4 candidate Amanda Stevens and three candidates—Brad Rupert, Susan Harmon and Ron Mitchell—who sought to oust the targeted board members in the recall election. All five candidates were elected to the board.

Lasell participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. To read her responses, check out her 2015 campaign themes.

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Lasell works as a math and science teacher in Adams County 12 Five Star Schools. She has taught in the district since 1990. Lasell earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Iowa State University and a master's degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She also earned a Type D Principal's License. Lasell and her husband have two sons who attend Jeffco Public Schools. She is involved in her sons' PTA and School Accountability Committee in the Jeffco school district. She also volunteers as a baseball and basketball coach.

Elections

2015

See also: Jeffco Public Schools elections (2015)

Two of the five seats on the Jeffco Public Schools Board of Education were up for general election on November 3, 2015. The election was held by district.

The seats of District 3 incumbent Jill Fellman and District 4 incumbent Lesley Dahlkemper were up for regular election. Neither incumbent filed to run for re-election, which guaranteed two newcomers would join the board. Candidates Kim Johnson and Ali Lasell ran for the District 3 seat. The District 4 race included candidates Tori Merritts and Amanda Stevens. Lasell and Stevens, both members of the "Clean Slate," won the election.

A recall election was also on the ballot on November 3, 2015. The other three members on the board—Julie Williams, Ken Witt, and John Newkirk—were accused of wasting taxpayer money, violating open meeting laws, limiting public comments at board meetings, bullying parents and students, and trying to censor U.S. history classes. Lasell and Stevens came out in support of the recall. They ran with a slate of candidates seeking to oust the targeted board members in the recall election. Johnson and Merritts said they did not support the recall.

Results

Jeffco Public Schools, District 3, General Election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Ali Lasell	57.7%	89,726
Kim Johnson	42.3%	65,753
Total Votes		155,479
Source: Jefferson County, "Official County Results," November 20, 2015

Funding

See also: Campaign finance in the Jeffco Public Schools election

Lasell reported $74,968.28 in contributions and $74,968.28 in expenditures to the Colorado Secretary of State, which left her campaign with $0.00 on hand as of the election.

Jeffco school board candidates had to file a total of three campaign finance reports. The first was due October 13, 2015. The second was due October 30, 2015, and the final report had to be filed by December 3, 2015.

Endorsements

Lasell received endorsements from the following elected officials and organizations:

• Jeffco Students For Change
• Support Jeffco Kids
• U.S. Rep. Jared Polis (D)
• U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D)
• State Sen. Andy Kerr (D)
• Former Superintendent of Jeffco Public Schools Dr. Cindy Stevenson

She also received endorsements from a number of former officials, local officials and community leaders. A full list of her supporters can be found here.

Campaign themes

2015

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey

Lasell participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display her responses to the survey questions. When asked what her top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:

“	If elected, my top priority will always be student success. 1. For students to be successful we need a great teacher in every classroom. We need to stop the exodus of great teachers and leaders in Jefferson County. We can do this by earning the trust and respect of our teachers and leaders again. We earn this by collaborating with them; listening to their voice- engaging them in the process once again. 2. We need to be diligent and thoughtful with our tax dollars to ensure accountability and transparency to all stakeholders. Strong fiscal management requires thoughtful ling range planning and collaboration. 3. We must make a fiscally responsible plan to accommodate the growth in NW Arvada and West Lakewood. 4. We must earn the respect and trust of ALL stakeholders in Jeffco. There has been a great division among communities the past two years and we need to work together, work hard to mend those divisions and move forward.	”
—Ali Lasell, (2015)

Ranking the issues

Lasell was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays this candidate's rankings from most to least important:

Education policy
Click here to learn more about education policy in Colorado.
Education on the ballot

Issue importance ranking
Candidate's ranking	Issue
1	Balancing or maintaining the district's budget
2	Closing the achievement gap
3	Improving college readiness
4	Expanding career-technical education
5	Improving education for special needs students
6	Expanding arts education
7	Expanding school choice options

Positions on the issues

Lasell was asked to answer 10 questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are in the left column, and the candidate's responses are in the right column of the following table:

Question	Response
What is your stance on implementing Common Core standards?	"Common Core Standards are national standards. I think having consistent standards per grade level nationally is OK, as long as they are developmentally and cognitively appropriate. The testing that goes along with Common Core is what I have a problem with. There is too much testing and the data is being used punitively rather than to guide instruction."
Should your district approve the creation of new charter schools?	"Our district should approve the creation of a charter school if the application shows that the Charter aSchool was driven by a community need/want for that type of Charter School. I fully support grassroots charter schools and believe that Jefferson County has done a great job offering School Choice through its strong neighborhood, option and charter school system."
Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system?	"No"
Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement?	"Standardized tests are a snapshot of how students perform on any particular day. They should never be used alone to measure student achievement."
How can the district ensure equal opportunities for high and low achieving students?	"A strong start in school is proven to help students, especially students in poverty. Offering opportunities for free preschool and kindergarten to our students in poverty would be a start. We should explore a tiered system. Opportunities need to be ongoing for low performing students; immediate remediation, mentorships, clubs, sports, after school activities, etc…. We need to make sure we have a high quality teacher in every classroom and manage the talent once we acquire them. Experienced teachers know how to differentiate lessons for the low and high achieving students, but ongoing training needs to occur. The high achieving student needs to be challenged as a learner in the classroom and provided with opportunities as well. Our school district needs to expand opportunities to offer advanced coursework (AP, IB, college level, concurrent enrollment), apprenticeship coursework, and career and technical training for students."
How should expulsion be used in the district?	"All of the above except that expulsion shouldn't be an option."
If a school is failing in your district, what steps should the school board take to help the students in that school?	Candidate did not answer this question.
Do you support merit pay for teachers?	"I support merit pay for teachers ONLY if the system is a tried and proven system, ONLY if the system doesn't pit teachers against each other, ONLY if the system is build with a collaboratively between those being evaluated and those doing the evaluating."
How should the district handle underperforming teachers?	"I need "underperforming" to be defined and know that that definition is consistent to whichever evaluator steps in that teacher's classroom. If the teacher is in her firs year, offer a mentorship program preferably from a master teacher in the building. Aoofer additional training options. IIf/when it becomes obvious that this teacher isn't going to make it in the classroom, the teacher needs to be removed from the classroom. It is the principal's job to make sure this happens, this should occur collaboratively; following the district's process."
How would you work to improve community-school board relations?	"I would work to improve community -school board relations by listening to all stakeholders and showing them I am listening by engaging in dignified respectful conversations…. and compromising when we do not see eye to eye. I think it is important to have representation from the business community, faith community, PTA, students, and community members on district committees. It is important to partner with and build relationships with businesses, realtors, non profits. If we all work together, it will benefit our students."

Candidate website

Lasell highlighted the following platform on her campaign website:

“	01 QUALITY EDUCATION FOR ALL STUDENTS All students can be successful, and all students deserve a great education. This includes the option for full-day kindergarten. A strong start in school gives students the advantage they need to achieve success in the classroom and thereafter. 02 STRONG FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY A healthy school district needs healthy finances, and that means responsible, long-range planning and collaboration with parents, community leaders, and teachers. Tough decisions will require open and transparent communication between all stakeholders. 03 EVERYONE DESERVES TO BE HEARD Respecting diverse ideas and beliefs strengthens our system. We all must come together and put the interests of students first. If we do this, Jeffco will continue to be an excellent district that fosters a love of learning and prepares our students for life after graduation. 04 THE POWER OF COMMUNITIES Strong communities, strong leaders, and strong teachers are the bedrock of a successful education. That's why transparency is so important--all stakeholders must have a place in the discussion as we decide what is best for our students. 05 LESS TIME TESTING, MORE TIME TEACHING Far too much time is spent preparing for or taking tests, rather than actively engaging our students in learning. If we are assessing our students it should be for the sole purpose of student growth. The data we collect should provide timely feedback to students, families and educators. 06 CHOICE IN ENROLLMENT Colorado is a choice state, and Jeffco was one of the first districts to embrace choice. But our choices are not always available to all of our students. Economics, learning issues and other circumstances often prevent our most at-risk students from taking advantage of school choice. That's why our neighborhood schools must stay strong.	”
—Ali Lasell's campaign website (2015)

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Ali Lasell' 'Jeffco Public Schools'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Ali Lasell - Google News

See also

• Jeffco Public Schools, Colorado
• Jeffco Public Schools elections (2015)
• Incumbency no guarantee of success in Nov. 3 school board elections (November 6, 2015)
• What happened in Nov.'s top board elections? (November 4, 2015)

External links

Suggest a link

• Jeffco Public Schools

• Office website
• Campaign website
• The Clean Slate campaign website