GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) — Restore the Balance, a Grand Junction-based nonprofit dedicated to building an alternative to political extremism, sent out a survey to District 51’s school board candidates on September 11. On October 15, Restore the Balance released the responses – and their scoring of them – on their website.

Restore the Balance received responses from three out of the five candidates. Cyndee Skalla for District A and Barbara Evanson for District B didn’t submit any responses.

The questionnaire responses are scored on a 100-point scale. Some questions included in the survey were “Why do you want to serve on [the D51] Board of Education?” and “What qualifications and experience do you have that can give voters confidence that you should be a [D51] Board Member?”

For District A, Jose Luis Chavez scored 86.8, and Jessica Hearns scored 81.1. According to RTB, Despite scoring higher on support for public education, funding, and issues facing D51, Hearns scored lower than Chavez because they felt she “does not have the years of familiarity that long-term patrons of SD51 would have regarding the challenges facing SD51,” stating that “a BOE position calls for someone with a deep understanding of SD51 and the community at large.” For District B, Cindy Enos-Martinez scored 76.5.

Restore the Balance maintains that these scores are not an endorsement and that voters should read the individual responses and use them to make their own informed decisions.