Former D20 School Board President Aaron Salt is now Executive Vice President for School Boards for Academic Excellence & Details about the SBAE Charleston Conference

June 2026

Heads up, Colorado Public Education Defenders: Former Academy District 20 School Board President Aaron Salt now serves as the Executive Vice President for School Boards for Academic Excellence, a role that has amplified his influence in conservative education circles. Known for championing a platform centered on “parental rights,” Salt often found himself at the center of heated debates with community members, advocacy groups, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation. According to the KRDO article, in 2022, he cited a Benjamin Franklin quote at a board meeting to advocate for the presence of Bibles in every household. Two months later, he spoke at a “Hold the Line” event at a local Christian church, characterizing his board service as a “spiritual battle” against “principalities and spirits.” This rhetoric, which framed political disputes in spiritual terms, drew criticism for being divisive and inappropriate for a public official.

Salt’s tenure was marked by controversial policy initiatives. In early 2022, he proposed an amendment to the “Treatment of Students” policy that would prohibit the superintendent from permitting students to receive any form of medical advice, opinion, or treatment without explicit parental consent. Proponents claimed the policy reinforced parental authority, while opponents warned it could severely limit students’ access to crucial mental health support and emergency care. Salt also played a pivotal role in a lawsuit aiming to ban transgender girls from participating in female sports. (Recently, the Academy District 20 school board banned a book featuring a transgender character ) Toward the end of his term, Salt faced a campaign finance complaint related to D20’s bond election. Watchdog groups raised concerns that allocating 13% of taxpayer bond funds ($11 million) to two district charter schools misled voters about the intended use of those resources. Secretary of state’s office looking into allegations Colorado Springs’ Academy 20 school district violated campaign finance laws | CPR

What is School Boards for Academic Excellence?

Founded in 2023, School Boards for Academic Excellence (SBAE) is a nonprofit organization with the stated mission of “restoring academic excellence and parental rights in the American education system.” SBAE aims to build a national network of state-based organizations and school board members dedicated to conservative educational reform. The group provides resources like model policies, curriculum analyses, training, and networking opportunities to support its agenda. Critics have described SBAE as a new “anti-woke” school board association, highlighting its focus on resisting progressive educational trends.

School Boards for Academic Excellence is set to host its Summer Conference (Links will not be provided here; Google it) from June 24-26 in Charleston, South Carolina, with Aaron Salt and his wife Cortney among the featured presenters. While the conference agenda includes a range of seemingly informative sessions and even a Charleston Harbor Dinner Cruise, scrutiny of the presenters and sponsors has raised significant concerns about the event’s ideological leanings and objectives.

Who are some of the Speakers?

Jordan Adams, Advisor, School Boards for Academic Excellence 

  • According to the good folks in Sarasota, Florida, “Jordan Adams is a polarizing figure in public education reform. A Hillsdale College graduate, Adams was handpicked by college president Dr. Larry Arnn while still an undergraduate to help advance a vision of privatized, classical education. Adams contributed to the development of the “Patriotic Curriculum” for both Hillsdale College and the Trump administration. He later played a significant role in rewriting Florida’s civics standards and curriculum, emphasizing Hillsdale’s Christian-nationalist perspective. Adams also served on a six-person panel that launched the national 1776 Commission, which sought to promote a particular brand of patriotic education.“

  • In 2022, Adams founded Vermilion Education, a consulting firm soon involved in local school board controversies. In 2023, Moms for Liberty Sarasota School Board member Bridget Ziegler proposed hiring Vermilion Education as a consultant during a board work session, placing the proposal under “Member Comments” rather than as a formal agenda item. The contracts—one for a district study (cost TBD) and another for board services ($4,820 per month for four months)—prompted heated debate. Critics, including board member Tom Edwards, argued that the process lacked transparency and possibly violated legal notice requirements. This episode exemplified the growing influence of Adams and his connections at Hillsdale College in shaping local education policy.

  • Jordan Adams was also hired by the Pennridge School District and successfully influenced the school board to require teachers to use the Hillsdale College “1776 Curriculum”; however, the curriculum was short-lived. Following a November 2023 school board election where a slate of candidates won control of the board, the district officially terminated its contract with Adams and his firm. PA: Hilldale Comes To Pennridge

  • In 2025, Jordan Adams, along with David Barton, a Truth & Liberty Coalition Board Member, & David Randall of Civics Alliance/National Association of Scholars, was appointed as a content advisor for the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) social studies curriculum overhaul. The good folks of Texas have been fighting a Social Studies revision process that is a mess.

Dana Hunter, Training Specialist with the Leadership Institute

  • Became a Leadership Institute Training Specialist in early 2025. In this role, she is part of the Institute’s School Board Leaders Program, which trains and equips conservative leaders for service on local school boards. Her responsibilities include curriculum & training: Developing and delivering training programs for conservative and libertarian-minded leaders.
  • Ms. Hunter is also a former Central Bucks School District Board President and a central figure in several high-profile, controversial decisions. She approved a $700,000 severance package for the superintendent before leaving office in 2023, a decision that was criticized and legally challenged. Her leadership saw the board enact policies banning Pride flags in classrooms, restricting transgender athletes, and implementing a strict library policy that led to book removals labeled as book bans. Additionally, the district paid about $1.75 million in legal fees to defend against anti-LGBTQ discrimination allegations during her tenure. Leadership Institute Offers Colorado School Board Coalition Building Event

Nathan Gwinn, Senior Advisor, Curriculum and Instruction For Freedom in Education & Principal of St. Mary’s Catholic School in Jackson, TN

  • Gwinn is a key contributor and an expert committee member for the National Association of Scholars’ Archimedes Math Standards and Franklin Science Standards. The National Association of Scholars/Civics Alliance created the American Birthright Social Studies Standards, which the Woodland Park School Board has decided to discontinue using for several reasons. The National Association of Scholars collaborated with Freedom in Education to create the Archimedes Standards in Math and the Franklin Science Standards. Gwinn also collaborated with organizations like the National Association of Scholars to introduce English and literature frameworks, The Cather Standards. All information about these standards can be found on the Civics Alliance/National Association of Scholars websites. (Links will not be provided here; Google it)

Dave Trabert, Chief Executive Officer, Kansas Policy Institute

  • Kansas Policy Institute is a State Policy Network member and a free-market, conservative-leaning public policy think tank headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Founded in 1996, the nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit focuses primarily on promoting tax and fiscal policy, educational choice, and limited government at the state and local levels. Advocates for expanding private school choice, education savings accounts (ESAs), and charter schools. They also run the Kansas School Board Resource Center to assist local school boards.

Conference Sponsors

Freedom in Education

  • A conservative 501(c)(3) nonprofit grassroots organization dedicated to expanding parental rights, school choice, and academic transparency in K-12 schooling. Founded in 2023, the organization opposes what it describes as progressive ideological agendas in public schools, pushing instead for a return to core academic knowledge, traditional virtues, and American founding principles. Freedom in Education supports Civics Alliance’s American Birthright Social Studies Standards, and it has partnered with the National Association of Scholars to create the Archimedes Math Standards, Franklin Science Standards and English and literature frameworks called The Cather Standards. The Steamboat Institute, a State Policy Network partner based in Colorado, awarded the Franklin Science Standards project director, Randy Wayne, with the Courage in Education Award.

Tuttle Twins

  • A popular series of educational children’s books and an animated television show created by author Connor Boyack. Aimed primarily at kids aged 5 to 11, the franchise teaches foundational principles of economics, history, and a free society from a libertarian and free-market perspective. Critics argue the books indoctrinate children with a one-sided ideology, gloss over systemic historical injustices, and overly simplify complex socio-economic issues. The Tuttle Twins and the Case of the Really Bad Libertarian Propaganda

Success Sequence

  • Success Sequence is a character-based curriculum and set of digital courses that teach the “Success Sequence”. The curriculum supports the Success Sequence: graduate from high school and, if possible, pursue further education, obtain a full-time job, and get married before having children. Several states have passed legislation requiring public schools to teach the Success Sequence.
  • According to an EdWeek article, “Critics, including school boards in states weighing success sequence bills, question the research to support the success sequence. They say teaching it in schools would serve to blame individuals for systemic challenges they face, and that reinforcing narrow family norms could stigmatize students from single-parent homes or those who don’t desire marriage or parenthood. The sequence “oversimplifies poverty, which isn’t tied to a few life choices,” former Louisiana Teacher of the Year Chris Dier said in a video criticizing Louisiana’s bill. “It’s tied to access to education, housing, healthcare, wages … Reducing all of that to ‘just follow these three steps’ is misinformed and harmful.” ‘Success Sequence’ Urges Marriage, Then Parenthood. These States Want Schools to Teach It | EdWeek

Final Thoughts

As always, it is important to attend or watch school board meetings, either in person or online. Several Colorado School Board directors belong to Colorado Leaders for Academic Success, which is the Colorado partner to School Boards for Academic Excellence. Should any Colorado school board directors attend this conference, it will be interesting to see which of SBAE’s policies, resolutions, and curricula they may try to bring to Colorado Public Schools.

Stay Vigilant

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