I am a School District 51 parent, and I’m genuinely concerned that the Mesa Valley Education Association is once again playing politics to regain control of the school board.

In past election cycles, the union has claimed it “doesn’t endorse candidates,” yet it has consistently been the largest financial supporter of certain school board campaigns. MVEA recommends candidates to its members, assists in campaigning and works to influence election outcomes. Despite these efforts, the majority of their candidates were unsuccessful in the previous two election cycles.

This year, the union chose to politicize the negotiations between MVEA and the district.

First, they refused to bring up their concerns during committee meetings – meetings specifically designed to allow open discussion between union members, the board and staff.

Then, at the beginning of negotiations, they brought forward a laundry list of demands, many of which were unreasonable. They blamed the current board for not being responsive, even though they had not discussed anything with the board in prior meetings when they were available.

When the district didn’t concede to these last-minute demands, MVEA turned the situation into political ammunition for the upcoming school board election.

A flyer distributed by the MVEA to union members urged them to help flip the board. It read:

“LET’S WIN THIS SCHOOL BOARD RACE TOGETHER.

“We stopped by because we’re organizing MVEA members to take action and we need you with us!

“The best way to ensure we have a contract after 2026 is to flip the school board. We need YOU to make this happen!”

The flyer then named the board members they’re targeting – Andrea Haitz, Angela Lema and Will Jones – who are all up for re-election this fall. These are the same board members who beat MVEA-backed candidates four years ago.

Since losing their influence, the union has politicized everything from school closures to contract negotiations in an ongoing attempt to regain control. It’s obvious to anyone with common sense that they are getting desperate at this point.

 – Sara Fletcher, Mesa County resident