Schools: Toothaker, Lemmer win in Steamboat; Lucas, Da Silva elected in Hayden; SOROCO funding passes

SOROCO voters approved repurposing funding to attract and retain teachers, fund maintenance and support educational programs.

Students at SOROCO High School show off their work to grow plants as part of SOROCO's agriculture education program. (Dylan Anderson/The Yampa Valley Bugle)

Jane Toothaker and Kim Lemmer were elected to seats on the Steamboat Springs Board of Education as the top two vote-getters on Tuesday, each getting more than 4,000 votes, according to the latest results from the Routt County Clerk and Recorder’s Office.

Toothaker had 4,424 votes as of the latest update and Lemmer had 4,071. Candidates AJ Summers came in third with 1,712 votes while Lauren Rennolds came in third with 1,147 votes.

Turning to the town of Hayden, Ericka Lucas and Tharles De Silva were elected to the Hayden Board of Education as the top two vote-getters. Lucas had 544 votes while De Silva had 366. Elisabeth Spinazzola came in third with 248 votes.

In South Routt, elections for the South Routh Board of Education were uneventful, as all five candidates ran unopposed and were elected. Those candidates are Nikki Knoebel in District one, James Hoff in District Three, Sunshine Harmon in District Four; Jeffery Clynke in District Six and Jason Strahl in District Seven.

Also in South Routt, voters supported Ballot Issue 5A, which continued a tax from 2014 and repurposed it to attract and retain teachers, fund ongoing maintenance around the district and support other education programs. Voters approved repurposing this funding by a wide 80-20 margin.