Sign up for Chalkbeat Colorado’s free daily newsletter to get the latest reporting from us, plus curated news from other Colorado outlets, delivered to your inbox.Where do Colorado’s gubernatorial candidates stand on education issues?Chalkbeat Colorado analyzed the education records of the candidates ahead of the primaries on June 30. The field includes two Democrats and three Republicans. Read about each of the three Republican Party candidates below:State Rep. Scott BottomsWhat is Bottoms’ record on education?Bottoms, 55, has served as a Colorado state representative since 2023. The Colorado Springs resident is pastor of the Colorado Springs Church at Briargate and a U.S. Navy veteran.Bottoms called the state’s education system “broken” in an interview with KUNC. Bottoms called the state’s education system “broken” in an interview with KUNC. During his three years as a state representative, Bottoms has sponsored three bills related to transgender youth, including one that would have banned the participation of transgender students in gendered sports unless they were co-ed. All three bills failed.In a Colorado Sun questionnaire, Bottoms has said he supports Initiatives 108, 109 and 110. Initiative 108 would require a person convicted of trafficking a child for sexual servitude to serve life in prison. Initiative 109 would require student athletes to participate on teams that match their sex assigned at birth. And Initiative 110 would prohibit surgeries for children under age 18 that alter their biological sex characteristics.The Bottoms campaign did not respond to requests for an interview before deadline, or say whether he would enroll Colorado in the new federal education education tax--credit program.What is Bottoms’ platform for education?Supporting parents’ right to direct their child’s education.Offering tax incentives for stay-at-home parents and caregivers.Pushing for curriculum transparency and allowing for school boards to reject “state-imposed ideologies.”Protecting kids from politicized content, boosting online safety, and ensuring students can only compete in gendered sports based on their sex assigned at birth.Reforming family courts, education, and healthcare, as well as addressing grandparents’ rights, after--school programs, and parental issues.State Sen. Barbara KirkmeyerWhat is Kirkmeyer’s record on education?Kirkmeyer, 67, is a Weld County resident who has a bachelor of science in education from the University of Colorado Boulder. She’s spent most of her career working as a dairy farmer and small business owner. Kirkmeyer’s first year in the Colorado Senate was in 2021, and she has served on the Senate Education Committee. She also spent four years on the powerful Joint Budget Committee, which helps craft the state budget.Kirkmeyer has been an active member of the state legislature, filing over 300 bills. Many have involved education.Kirkemeyer sponsored bipartisan laws to create a task force to study the statewide K-12 education accountability system, establish a grant program to help schools affected by the mineral and gas industry create park-like environments at schools, and allow high school students to take four-year university courses off campus. She’s often talked about the need to protect state education funding through difficult budget cuts, although she’s against tax increases.This year, she was part of a group of lawmakers that filed the state’s School Finance Act ahead of the state budget. The school funding bill didn’t get considered until after the state budget, but district leaders said the early filing allowed them to provide more feedback on their needs before its passage.Kirkmeyer has said she will vote yes on Initiatives 108, 109 and 110.In a Colorado Public Radio interview, Kirkmeyer highlighted that she helped end the budget stabilization factor, which allowed lawmakers to divert money away from education for other priorities. Lawmakers ended the practice in 2024, though Kirkmeyer said the state still underfunds education.Kirkmeyer’s campaign didn’t respond to requests for an interview before deadline, and didn’t answer a question about her position on the new federal education tax credits. What is Kirkmeyer’s platform for education?Requiring at least 65% of state funding to be spent in the classroom.Ensuring programs are backed by evidence before funding can continue.Supporting district efforts to ban cellphones in classrooms.Ensuring every high school has a police officer on site.Equipping schools with camera systems that have artificial intelligence weapons-detection systems to speed up threat detection and public safety officials’ reaction times.Victor MarxWhat is Marx’s record on education?Marx, 60, is the founder and CEO of All Things Possible, a nonprofit humanitarian ministry. The Colorado Springs resident is also an author who has written two books about his life. In interviews, Marx has focused on his leadership experience as a political outsider. He has little documented experience with education issues and hasn’t said much about them in interviews. In an interview with Colorado Public Radio, Marx said he wants to make it easier for families to pay for childcare. And in campaign videos, Marx has said he wants to help young people stay in Colorado after they’ve gone to college.Marx said in a Colorado Sun candidate questionnaire that he supports Initiatives 108, 109 and 110.Marx’s campaign didn’t respond to requests for an interview, and didn’t say what his position is about the new federal tax credits for education.What is Marx’s education platform?The one major mention of an education policy on his campaign website calls to direct the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment to expand apprenticeship programs, as well as create workforce pipelines in construction, technology, energy, and other fields.His website says Marx wants to provide incentives to employers that sponsor apprenticeships through tax benefits and recruitment support. He also wants to guarantee that apprentices have pathways to enter various fields.Jason Gonzales is a reporter covering higher education and the Colorado legislature. Chalkbeat Colorado partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage. Contact Jason at jgonzales@chalkbeat.org.
