Pueblo D70 product appointed to board of education - Pueblo Chieftain

Frederick Quintana has been selected by the Pueblo County School District 70 board of education to fill the open District 2 seat.

Quintana replaces Ted Ortiviz, who was term-limited from seeking re-election. As no candidates stepped up to run for Ortiviz's seat in the November election, the responsibility of selecting a replacement fell with the board.

"I look forward to serving the people of Pueblo County on the board," Quintana told The Chieftain. "Being a product of District 70 schools, I am excited to work with and give back to the district that provided me the educational foundation I needed to continually achieve my goals.

"I am happy to have a voice in the process and will focus my attention on the success of District 70 and on shaping a vibrant future for our students and our community."

A Pueblo County native, Quintana graduated from Pueblo County High School in 2000.

After graduating from Colorado State University in 2004 with a degree in psychology, Quintana returned to Pueblo and became a social worker at St. Mary-Corwin Medical Center. As time allowed, he also served as a substitute teacher in D70.

In 2008, Quintana moved to Florida to attend the Florida Coastal School of Law, from which he earned a juris doctor. In Jacksonville, he worked for a large law firm, a position that allowed him to develop and hone negotiation, communication and analytical thinking skills.

Quintana has twice been reappointed to serve on the Pueblo City-County Library District board of trustees, and during his tenure was elected to serve as both president and vice president.

"Serving on this board has afforded me the ability to further develop my leadership, communication and board governance skills," he told the board in a nomination letter. "My experiences with the library district, positive and negative, have helped me grow as a person and leader."

In that letter, Quintana expressed his belief that "a strong education system is the foundation of a thriving community and strong economy. And, it has been my experience that District 70 has been that foundation here in Pueblo County.

"Though the world continues to change so quickly around us, the issues facing public school systems remain relatively constant: delivering the highest quality education to our students with continually limited funding; maintaining a productive and safe teacher-to-student classroom ratio; keeping pace with rapidly advancing technologies and student access; and continually building a positive environment in which both students and staff can thrive."

In related board matters, with no challengers in November, Tony Montoya (district 1) and Staphanie Cordova-Catalano (district 3) retained their seats by default.

Back in 2018, Cordova-Catalano was appointed by then-president Montoya to fill a vacancy that resulted from a resignation.

On the D70 board, Deb Houghton (district 5) has replaced Montoya as president, with Mark Emery (district 4) now serving as vice president.

In 2017, Houghton and Emery ran unopposed and retained their seats by default.

Montoya believes a lack of candidates willing to challenge incumbents is a positive sign.

"I think the board is doing a good job, the district and faculty are doing well, and students are performing," Montoya said. "Financially, we're in the black and functioning well, and people don't see a reason to change anything.

"I think you get more of a notion that you want to challenge when things just aren't sitting right, and there's a need to make a change."

"From what we've heard from people, they are satisfied with the status quo," added Ed Smith, D70's superintendent.

jpompia@chieftain.com

Twitter: @jpompia