Elizabeth School District School Board Watch

Colorado school district to replace Scholastic book fair with conservative-backed alternative

2021

2021 School Board Election

  • Election Results 2021: Blackham, Booth, Karcher win in Elizabeth school board race | Colorado Community Media
    • Blackham, Booth and Karcher, who ran as a slate, were backed by the Elbert County Republican Party. In a candidacy announcement over the summer, Thomas Peterson, the county GOP chair, called the three candidates “all proven conservatives” and community leaders well-suited for a “student orientated” school board that has “a strong tradition of fiscal responsibility, transparency, and academic achievement.”

2023

March 2023


Oct. 2023

  • Political and religious influences amplify in some Colorado school board races, as focus shifts away from students | CPR
    • At a February board meeting, the district’s high school principal said continual false allegations about LGBTQ agendas and critical race theory, or CRT, in schools were hampering schools’ missions.“Please stop chasing ghosts,” he said, addressing Olsen and Booth. Booth said that she’s proud of the conservative stand she’s taken “to safeguard our kids and our parents and even if it’s (CRT) not here as some say, we need to put safeguards in place to make sure it doesn’t come here.”

Dec. 2023

  • Is the Elizabeth School District the next Woodland Park?
    • However, the Elizabeth School District, which shares many similarities to Woodland Park, where the school board’s policy changes earned national news coverage and sparked multiple lawsuits, is primed to become the state’s latest example of far-right ideology taking over public education.

2024

March 2024

  • Elizabeth School District Asks Permission to Hire Non-Licensed Substitutes
    • “Elizabeth School District Superintendent Dan Snowberger submitted a request last November asking Colorado’s Board of Education to waive the state’s licensure requirement for substitute teachers serving in the district’s public school classrooms. The small district, which serves fewer than 2,500 students, is only the second to make ask for a waiver from the state board, which will vote on the matter when it meets this month. Falcon School District 49 (D49) in El Paso County was granted a substitute license waiver in 2018. “

April 2024

Aug. 2024

Nov. 2024

Dec. 2024

2025

Jan. 2025

Feb. 2025

  • David Fletcher named to Elizabeth School Board
  • SkyTree Book Fair Board Discussion & Discussion about Right-wing Organization Grandparents 4 Kids
    • Transcript: And then the last thing is Dan and I met with a lady named Linda White, who is the founder of Grandparents for Kids. And this is an amazing organization. I have a friend who is part of this and she runs the Douglas County chapter of this and they Kids education join great-grandparents for kids. And so this is an important group Supporting things and who are looking for You know the things that we as a board tend to stand for you know, the protection of our kids the education Making it, you know be appropriate and traditional education and those are the things that they stand for as well and they are looking to and they are looking to start a chapter here, I’m trying to have a meeting here. Some people who are interested in being part of an Elizabeth chapter of Grandparents for Kids, yes Grandparents for Kids, G for K is how they got originated a lot……

March 2025

  • ACLU Takes Action Against School District’s Book Ban
    • Elizabeth School District is the proud up-and-coming conservative venue in Colorado’s public education scene, rising to the far-right agenda with their recent book banning. 19 books, all of which contain content about racism, homophobia, mental health, or social injustice against minorities, were banned by the district’s curriculum committee.

May 2025

Sept. 2025

2025 School Board Election

From Thompson School District Reform Watch’s Post

“CHECKING IN ON THE ELIZABETH SCHOOL DISTRICT BOE ELECTION, where Michelle Guzinski is challenging Far-Right Conservative, Nicole Hunt, for a seat on the board. Hunt was recently appointed to the board to replace Heather Paige Booth who resigned. Hunt is a controversial Far-Right activist, Focus on the Family attorney and an LPR graduate. As many readers know, the folks in Woodland Park predicted that the Elizabeth School District, (as well as Montrose) was the next stop for the Brad Miller Locomotive to park. It has been no secret that Miller intends to ‘Privatize Public Education,” as a social media post from his brother-in-law Paul Lundeen proved. The school board in the Elizabeth School District in Elbert County is on overload from the likes of Attorney Brad Miller, Superintendent Dan Snowberger, and members of the Leadership Program of the Rockies and the Far-Right Fringe of the Colorado and Elbert County GOPs. Leadership Program of the Rockies graduate lists show that several key players from both the Independence Institute and the Leadership Program of the Rockies live in Elbert County. Jeff Hunt’s history as the former Director of the Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University and its anti-public-school agenda speaks for itself. Jeff Hunt is using his far-right conservative TALK radio show to claim folks in Elizabeth are harassing his wife, Nicole Hunt, who is running for the school board. See screens. What is not mentioned is that the Hunt children are NOT attending schools in the Elizabeth School District as they attend a NETWORK charter school in Lone Tree, also associated with not only Attorney Brad Miller, but with Ready Colorado’s Kim Gilmartin. Her husband is on the charter board. A charter advertised as a “PRIVATE SCHOOL EXPERIENCE AT A PUBLIC SCHOOL PRICE” As the screens show, Jeff Hunt and Heather Paige Booth (a Rumfelt pal) are blaming the “LEFT” for the damage to campaign signs and more, Hunt is using talk radio to harass people who have the audacity to simply disagree with him and run against his wife.The conspiracies are rampant in Elizabeth just as we are seeing in Thompson, Weld Re-4, Cortez, and Montrose, to name just a few.”

RESOURCES that tell the HUNTS STORY.

Jeff Hunt & the Centennial Institute and the Independence Institute agenda.

Jeff Hunt Departs Colorado Christian University’s Centennial Institute

“Nicole Hunt Spokesperson and Writer at Focus on the Family”

HUNT, BRAD MILLER & THE II

Hunts’ history with the Centennial & Independence Institutes reveals the far-right political that THE HUNTS STAND FOR!

“At the Western Conservative Summit, A Call to Keep Fighting the Culture Wars”

Dec. 2025

2026

Jan. 2026

April 2026

May 2026

  • Elizabeth superintendent retiring now, school board member who opposed charter deal quits | Parker Chronicle
    • At the beginning of the same meeting, ESD Board Member and Treasurer Mike Calahan, citing personal reasons, announced his immediate resignation from the board. Calahan was the sole no vote during the May 12 meeting to allow charter school ICA, Independence Classical Academy, to move forward within ESD. Calahan explained his concerns about the financial interests of ESD, low enrollment numbers and low teacher salaries.
  • Dan Snowberger Is Not a Rumor. He Is a Records Problem. | The D20 Accountability Project
    • Dan Snowberger record does not need a conspiracy theory. It already has enough public documents: Elizabeth Schools, CLAS, ERBOCES, Brad Miller reporting, TAGG, book-removal litigation, and records gaps parents and taxpayers should not have to reconstruct by hand.

June 2026

  • Elizabeth School District cuts ties with Monument education agency that backed a “public Christian school” | The Colorado Sun
    • “After thoughtful review, we’ve concluded that our membership in the ERBOCES was not providing sufficient benefits to justify continued participation,” board President Rhonda Olsen said before the board voted. “And as a result, we determined that it is time for a fresh start and new approach. This decision was based solely on what we believe is in the best interest of the district and not on social media commentary, political pressure or outside influence.”
  • New fiscal exigency declared by Elizabeth School District : Upheaval and uncertainty continue as board replaces superintendent | Parker Chronicle
    • At the June 9 school board meeting, Ted Knight was formally appointed superintendent and almost immediately began discussing the dire situation with the ESD budget. By the end of the meeting, ESD had declared a fiscal exigency and decided to part ways with legal counsel Miller Farmer Carlson Law as well as Education reEnvisioned BOCES.
    • After reviewing the budget at the meeting, School Board President Rhonda Olsen said, “So basically when we’re looking at the capital reserve, we’re looking at the end of this year with no projected fund balance.”Knight confirmed, saying “Correct, the capital reserve fund is at $0.”

July 2026

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