Thompson School District 02 School Board Watch

  • 2014

    Jan. 2014

    • Caldwell: Two new school boards’ mysterious agendas | The Denver Post
      • So many people showed up for a school board meeting in Loveland last month they had to sit on the floor and stand along the walls. Many of the roughly 400 people in attendance were angry, upset and wanted answers.
      • For most local government meetings, 20 people showing up can be considered a crowd. Four hundred is all but unheard of. The driving force behind the big turnout was concern about the agenda of the new majority controlling the Thompson School District’s Board of Education.

    Feb. 2014

    • School board hires attorney | Reporter Herald
      • “Thompson School Board hires attorney and charter school expert Brad Miller for legal counsel separate from that already provided to the district’s administration.

  • 2015

    Aug. 2015

    Oct. 2015

    • Misdirection | How the Koch brothers and other billionaires are staging a take over of our public schools | Boulder Weekly
      • Four of seven board seats were open in 2013, and four reform candidates — Bryce Carlson, Carl Langner, Donna Rice and Rocci Bryan — were financially backed by two well-connected billionaires: Alex Cranberg and Ed McVaney. Cranberg owns a Denver-based oil and gas company and is founder of the Alliance for Choice in Education Scholarship Fund (ACE), which supports educational reform ideas like school vouchers. McVaney is the retired founder of software firm JD Edwards, and an ACE board member. ACE shares many board members with Colorado Concern, a group that pulls the proverbial strings of the conservative agenda in Colorado.
      • The four reform candidates, financed by Cranberg and McVaney, out-raised and outspent their opponents by tens of thousands of dollars. That doesn’t include the promotional support in the district from ACE, the Koch brothers’ Americans for Prosperity and other conservative groups.

    • Tracking the money funding conservative school boards’ anti-union lawsuits
      • The two school boards, Douglas County and the Loveland-based Thompson School District, both got their outside attorneys’ fees paid for, not by the taxpayers, but from the Daniels Fund. Two other well-known foundations, the El Pomar Foundation in Colorado Springs, and the Walton Family Foundation (think Wal-Mart), also have kicked in big bucks to the Douglas County school district to help cover legal expenses.

    • Ties bind conservative school boards’ anti-union attacks | Colorado Independent
      • The most recent battle in the conservative attack on teachers’ unions erupted in Loveland’s Thompson School District. The fight comes in the wake of similar — and perhaps politically connected — squabbles in Jefferson County and Douglas County where conservative board members have tried to bulldoze the unions — and in JeffCo may get recalled instead.
      • For seven months the Thompson Education Association tried to negotiate a contract with the board. The board voted twice during the spring, on a 4-3 vote, to reject the contract.
      • board member Donna Rice, also part of the conservative majority, stated to a teacher that she voted against the contract because “I hate the union,” that all unions are “bad” and that it was her intention to get rid of it.
      • That same evening, the board’s private attorney Brad Miller informed the board that he had sought and received a $150,000 grant from the Daniels Fund to cover the costs of outside attorneys hired to defend the board in court. Miller obtained the grant on his own, without seeking board authority. The grant was accepted, also on a 4-3 vote.

    Nov. 2015

  • 2021

    Oct. 2021

    • Yes, Colorado’s school board races are becoming more politicized. Here’s why
      • “Another group, Colorado’s MAD says parents must “fix the damage self-interested, corrupt politicians, who are owned by special interests, inflicted on our children.” It takes a more pointed stand against teacher’s unions, which are large campaign donors in many races. The group is backing candidates in the Aurora, Thompson, and Poudre districts.“

  • 2023

    Oct. 2023

  • 2025

    Feb. 2025

    March 2025

    • Thompson School Board member criticized for anti-transgender shirt | Loveland Reporter-Herald
      • Tensions flared at a study session of the Thompson School Board on Wednesday night over a shirt worn by board member Nancy Rumfelt at the last public school board meeting on Feb. 19 produced by XX-XY Athletics, a sportswear brand that has taken a public stance against transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.

    Sept. 2025

    Supporters, opponents of transgender athlete participation fill Loveland school board meeting

    Nov. 2025

    2025 School Board Election

    • Alexandra Lessem, Lori Goebel win contested races for Thompson school board | The Coloradoan
      • Voters in the Thompson School District have selected a split ticket of sorts for its Board of Education in the Nov. 4 election, retaining incumbent Alexandra Lessem in District E and electing Lori Goebel for the District F seat.
      • Goebel’s views aligned in many ways with Mary Buchanan, who was challenging Lessem for the District E seat. They were endorsed by multiple faith-based organizations, including iVoterGuide.com and TransformColorado.org..

  • 2026

    Jan. 2026

    March 2026

    April 2026

  • Right-Wing Organizations Attacking Public Education in Thompson

    Moms For Liberty

    NoCo Ladies for Liberty

    Patriot Grandmas

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