Karissa Gagnon and David Hickam are the newest members of the East Grand School Board. Hickam ran unopposed for the district six seat, and Gagnon defeated Christian Hornbaker for the district three seat.

In conversations with Sky-Hi News, both candidates emphasized their commitment to ensuring transparency between the public and school administration, and creating a learning environment that supports students of all ages and abilities in the East Grand School District.

Meet Karissa Gagnon

Gagnon, whose children attended and graduated from East Grand schools, first got involved in classrooms as a board member of Grand Kids Childcare, where her kids went to preschool. Two years later, she joined the Fraser Valley Elementary Parent Advisory Committee and became its president after one year.

Now that her son and daughter are off at college, she hopes to bring to the table what she has observed from her children’s experiences and students and her prior involvement in local schools, she said.

“What I think could make me an asset for the board is that I don’t have an agenda based on my kids’ current experiences in school,” Gagnon said. “I think what I can do is take what I’ve learned from their experiences in school and lend that experience to the board … but I’m not trying to change something that will benefit my children and just my children.”

Winning a contested race

The district three school board seat was the only contested race in this year’s East Grand School Board election. The vote was divided with about 61 percent for Gagnon and 39 percent for her opponent, Christian Hornbaker. Gagnon won the seat by 22 percentage points, and the final unofficial count was 2,377 to 1,520.

Hornbaker was appointed to fill the district three seat, previously held by Ed Reagner, in May after Reagner was elected as a Grand County commissioner in November of 2024.

While he did not win a spot on the school board, Hornbaker said he will continue to be involved in schools and stay involved in the local community. He said he also plans to use his experience on the school board to help those interested better understand how the school district works.

He and Gagnon have known each other for about a decade and once played on a recreational volleyball league together, he said.

The biggest frustration he had was a low number of votes cast in this election, he said.

“She’s a good person and is gonna get stuff done,” he said. ” … Even if I lost, I was surprised and sad to see the low voter turnout. I felt I ran a strong campaign and stayed true to what I was running for.”

At 51.3 percent, Grand County’s voter turnout was nearly 10 percent above the state average of 41.3 percent. Turnout was significantly lower than the 2024 general election, when 80 percent of the county’s active voters cast their votes, according to the Grand County Elections Lead Joanne Morse.

However, coordinated elections almost always compel less turnout than a general election, Morse said, and the 2023 coordinated election had a turnout of 46 percent — 5.3 percent less than in 2025.

Meet David Hickam

David Hickam is joining the school board to represent the sixth district, filling the seat formerly held by Ted Reade.

He has lived in Grand County for 26 years, residing between Granby and Grand Lake, and currently works as an electrician. Though he does not have prior experience working with the school district, he is the parent of two children in second and fifth grades in the East Grand School District.

He plans to focus on curriculum, staff retention and transparency between the district and the community, he said. Parent involvement is important to him, and he said he believes parents should know what is being taught in schools. Student safety is also a top priority, he said.

To achieve these goals, he emphasized listening to community members and asking them to come forward with their concerns at school board meetings in person or online.

“I want to listen to community teachers and staff to find out what they need and how we can help,” he said.

Unlike Hornbaker and Gagnon, Hickam will be forming relationships with other school board members for the first time as he officially starts in his position. He said he looks forward to getting to know the rest of the board and working as a team.

“We have to work has a team to get things done, and like any profession we have to work together to accomplish a common goal,” he said.

Before joining the board, he attended previous meetings to stay informed and voice his opinions. He encourages other community members to do the same, he said.

“You can be as involved as you want to, really.” He said. “If you have questions or concerns, bring them forward.”

Both new members will start as soon as the final election count is complete and the results are finalized by the county clerk in the coming weeks, according to East Grand’s designated election official Amanda Cross. They will both serve a four-year term on the school board until their seats are up for re-election in November 2029.