Cherry Creek’s School Board comprises five seats who oversee major decisions for the district. Their responsibilities include hiring and evaluating the superintendent, allocating and approving the budget, and setting policy like discipline options and district priorities.
This election day, November 4th, 2025, two of these seats are up for election:
District D: Terry Bates is running against Amanda Thayer.
District E: Mike Hamrick is competing against Tatyana Sturm.
Grandview is located within District E.
Candidates Amanda Thayer and Tatyana Sturm are running a slate, meaning that they share a common platform and campaign strategy. Although they are running alongside each other, they are still elected individually into their respective districts. Candidates Terry Bates and Mike Hamrick are running separate campaigns.
PROFILES:
Terry Bates – Candidate for District D seat
As a father of five Cherry Creek graduates and the current Chief Financial Officer at RK Mission Critical, Bates is in the running for the District D seat in this upcoming election. It should be noted that District D is currently represented by Kelly Bates, Terry’s wife, who has reached her term limit. Candidate Terry Dates described his connection to Cherry Creek as both personal and practical, though, rooted in his experience as a parent and his background in finance.
“I have five kids who graduated from Cherry Creek,” Bates said. “There’s all types of learners in the district… the district tries to provide a pathway of purpose for each and every one of the 53,000 students.”
Bates is also focused on ensuring that the district is prepared for possible upcoming budget cuts.
“State budgets are gonna be reduced, federal budgets are being reduced, and it’s gonna have a trickle-down impact to every school district throughout the state of Colorado. And I am a senior executive and chief financial officer, so I think I have the experience to help navigate,” Bates said.
Additionally, Bates is eager to explore more public-private partnerships within CCSD.
“As we expand CCIC in some of the apprenticeship programs, you could be working with companies where they might help sponsor,” Bates said. “HVAC and welders and other technical skills, trade skills that we [Bate’s company] hire for, but there’s a possibility that we may want to have a partnership with the district, with CCIC, so … we know who the best students are.”
So far, Bates’ campaign has received $44,065 and spent $43,119.70 of those funds.
Amanda Thayer – Candidate for District D seat
Candidate Amanda Thayer is a Cherry Creek parent and current member of the District of Accountability Committee. Additionally, she has worked as a substitute teacher throughout the district and received the CCSD Exceptional Volunteer Award. Although Thayer declined a request to interview, her website describes her as a candidate focused on community outreach and clarity.
“Amanda will honor parents, teachers, and students’ perspectives to create a more collaborative and transparent approach to education. She will work to establish genuine partnerships between homes and schools,” her website says.
Thayer has raised $51,616 over the course of her campaign and used $43,171.38 of that money. Importantly, though, Thayer received $5,000 from Christopher Wright, the current secretary of energy of the Trump Administration, even though the race is supposed to be non-partisan. These donations can be found here.
Mike Hamrick – Candidate for District E seat
Candidate Mike Hamrick is a father of two Cherry Creek school graduates, and his wife is a retired teacher from the district. He currently serves on the Long Range Facility Planning Committee and Boundary Subcommittee, where he is involved daily with Cherry Creek schools. Hamrick’s platform has an extremely large emphasis on prioritizing and improving the Cherry Creek Innovation Campus (CCIC).
“I love that we’re not just focusing on college-bound students,” Hamrick said. “We have so many students that can learn those skills and trades, immediately go into usually a well-paying career field, and stay in our community, contribute to our community, so that’s why it’s important.”
Hamrick also underscored the importance of college readiness above standardized testing within Cherry Creek.
“I can tell you Cherry Creek prepared my kids for college, and they did an excellent job…[the district] offers a lot of AP… This could save families thousands of dollars on their students’ college entry,” Hamrick said. “To me, CMAS is a snapshot in time and doesn’t accurately reflect what our students are doing… The next year the child moves on, they don’t get feedback for improvement, so to me that’s not the most effective way.”
Additionally, Hamrick has received criticism because his wife, Eliza Hamrick, currently serves in the Colorado House of Representatives. Some critics argue that his candidacy, alongside her position, suggests an attempt to build a political dynasty within the community.
“I have no influence at the Capitol,” Hamrick said. “But the matters that are in Cherry Creek are entirely different than the matters that affect the state as a whole. She’s not ready for the school board. I am. We’re different people; we have different thoughts, different ideas. We don’t always agree.”
Hamrick has raised $30,165.48 over the course of his campaign and has spent $20,804.12 of that total.
Tatyana Sturm – Candidate for District E seat
Candidate Tatyana Sturm is a parent of two students of Cherry Creek schools, and she currently runs a real estate business within Colorado. She also declined a request for an interview, but her campaign materials describe her as an entrepreneur. Sturm’s platform centers on fiscal responsibility and ensuring that every dollar invested in Cherry Creek delivers a measurable payoff.
“Ensure every tax dollar is spent wisely by focusing on return on investment, working within proposed budgets, and finding ways to save money across the district. More funds must go directly into classrooms to support teachers and students,” her website says.
Unlike her opponent, Sturm’s campaign places a strong focus on improving standardized test performance. According to her website, one of her main goals is to raise scores above pre-COVID levels.
Over the course of her campaign, Sturm raised $51,424.50 and spent $41,591.11. Similar to her running mate, Sturm also received a $5,000 donation from the Trump Administration.
Questions
Q: Why are you running? What are the goals of your campaign if you reach office?
Bates: “I want to give back to the community … I am a senior executive and chief financial officer, so I think I have the experience to help navigate… some financial headwinds that are confronting us.”
Thayer: “Amanda is now eager to use her skills and experience as a business leader, mother, and child of a teacher to make our schools even better.” Taken from Thayer’s website.
Hamrick: “I’ve been involved in Cherry Creek schools for three decades. I want to see us work with community businesses [and] to educate our students to be prepared to enter the workforce.”
Sturm: “Tatyana will bring her business perspective to the school board, focusing on accountability, return on investment, and fiscal responsibility… every tax dollar must be properly invested in our students, teachers, staff, and schools.” Taken from Sturm’s website.
Q: With funding cuts and rising need, how will the district ensure SPED, English language learners, and gifted and talented students get the services they deserve?
The following answers are from the September 29th Board of Education Candidate Forum, which can be found here
Bates: “I believe these programs must be protected. To do that, I will push for targeted funding. For example, grants that could be directed at these programs. Coteaching, shared specialist models, and efficient staffing. Partnerships with non-profits that potentially could supplement the services that we had been previously providing our students. And I would be at the state capitol, advocating for more funding for these programs.”
Thayer: “Creating fiscal responsibility in the school district is one of my top priorities. We need to make sure that every dollar is directed toward improving student achievement and expanding those opportunities that are available to them, not just growing bureaucracy… It’s time to stop trying to fix education from the top down and instead fund the people who are actually doing the educating.”
Hamrick: “Cherry Creek schools have been here in the past during different times. Our schools across the state are still, even though they’ve eliminated the budget stabilization factor, we’re still only being funded at 1989 levels… costs keep going up, and up and somehow the district has managed to execute these programs in spite of all these increased costs. We need to protect these programs. These are our kids; they need to continue those pathways of growth in our classroom.”
Sturm: “One of my priorities is getting money into the classroom, and we need to take a hard look at the budgets, overhead costs, and administrative costs. With enrollment down, we need to get that enrollment up. By getting our enrollment, we can restore the trust in excellence and bring more state funding without asking taxpayers for more.”
As voters prepare for the November 4th election, it’s vital to consider how each candidate’s experience and priorities algin with the needs of Cherry Creek students and families. Bates emphasizes financial stewardship and public-private partnerships, while Thayer and Sturm focus on fiscal responsibility, parent partnerships, and strengthening classroom resources. Hamrick highlights preparing students for workforce readiness and expanding opportunities at CCIC. With two seats up the election in District D and E, this election has the potential to shape who the future superintendent may be, the budgets of the district, and the direction of Cherry Creek Schools for years to come.
