Andy Rose

Andy Rose, a Powell business owner and father of a recent Powell graduate, is running for the Park County School District 1 School Board.

“I respect what the school district board is all about and I think it would be a board that would have some positive influence and provide for continuous improvement within the district,” Rose said.

If elected this would not be Rose’s first time on a board. He has previously served on the Food Safety Council as a governor appointee, the Park County Historic Preservation Committee and he has been a member of his church’s vestry.

He added he also knows several members of the board and together they would be a good team.

The school board is important to both the community and the youth, especially because students will be entering “a future that is theirs; they’re going to have to find their way in the world,” Rose said.

The district has a wide range of academic offerings, athletics and extracurricular opportunities, he said.

“I think it's a very well designed and … broad curriculum, and I'm just totally impressed with what my son received in those years, K-12,” Rose said.

But, things are always changing, like technology, society and the environment.

“The education that they receive should hopefully give them the desire to keep learning,” Rose said. “As I mentioned at the forum … education and learning should be a lifelong endeavor.”

He added that he would also like to see more trust from parents and community members regarding the inner workings of the district.

The community, particularly parents, should participate in supporting students, Rose said at the Powell Education Association forum on Oct. 1. The community should help them develop a desire to learn that continues past school and helps students adapt to the changing world. 

“The youth, they're going to have to be smart … they're going to have to be educated, they're going to have to have the knowledge and the skills to figure out how to live comfortably in this world,” Rose said in regards to a changing technological and environmental landscape. “And as community members, we should encourage them and support them all the time.”

Decreasing a disparity between high achieving and low achieving students in a way where they can become more involved could also strengthen the district’s mission and delivery to students while also creating safer schools, he said.

The most important issue for Rose in the district is maintaining and improving its quality. He remembered a boss once telling him “comfort is your enemy.”

This applies to a variety of organizations, he said; if you get too comfortable you may stop finding ways to grow and improve.

“The district is looking really well right now, it’s got the Blue Ribbon Award, it’s highly regarded around the state, but they shouldn’t get too comfortable with that,” Rose said, adding, “Finding those ways to broaden and enrich what these kids are experiencing is, I would think, the highest priority.”