Not This Time: Community Response Halts D20 School Board Power Grab
By Admin BravoJuly 31, 2025
What the D20 School Board Tried to Slip Through
On July 29, 2025, the D20 school board was scheduled to vote on Resolution 248-25, a sweeping governance change quietly embedded in the consent agenda, without public discussion, debate, or warning.
That resolution would have dismantled the Carver model of policy governance, a model designed to preserve professional integrity and shield classroom decisions from political interference. In its place? A framework that would grant the D20 school board unprecedented influence over administrative policies, which are traditionally shaped by educators, reviewed by legal experts, and implemented by staff.
This wasn’t a procedural tweak. It was an attempted power shift.
How the Community Responded
Parents, students, educators, and former board members saw exactly what was happening, and they showed up. The message was clear: public education is not a political playground.
Faced with the outcry, D20 school board President Amy Shandy pulled Resolution 248-25 from the agenda just before the meeting began, stating it needed “further discussion”, not in public, but at a closed-door board retreat.
Heather Cloninger, former D20 Board Treasurer, put it bluntly:
“A district once known for strong leadership and integrity is now being driven by individuals disregarding the well-being of staff and students. Abandoning the Carver model marks a troubling shift.”
This wasn’t isolated dissent. It was a cross-section of the district speaking with one voice.
What Resolution 248-25 Would Do
The resolution outlines a process that appears transparent on the surface: draft policies, committee reviews, board input, and optional study sessions. However, buried in the structure is a fundamental shift: the board can now intervene, revise, and delay administrative policies, even if those policies have already undergone legal review and stakeholder consensus.
Supporters of the change, D20 school board President Amy Shandy and Vice President Nicole Konz, claimed it would increase transparency. But transparency isn’t the same as control.
“It’s outrageous that people without classroom experience are being given control over education policy. This change sidelines educators and students in favor of political agendas. We deserve better.”
Former D20 Student Saffran Stevens
Whose Voice Counts?
D20 has long been a district where professionalism was protected by governance, not undermined by it. The Carver model isn’t flashy, but it works. It draws a line between school board oversight and overreach. And that line matters.
What Comes Next
This isn’t over. The resolution wasn’t defeated. It was delayed.
Thursday, August 14, 2025 9:00 a.m. Penrose House | 1661 Mesa Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80906
President Shandy says the real discussion will happen at the retreat. That means the public needs to pay close attention. Under Colorado law, any gathering of a quorum of public officials discussing official business constitutes a public meeting and must be treated as such.
Ask that Resolution 248-25 be abandoned, not reworked behind closed doors
Because if they try to move the line again, the community will still be here.
The D20 school board will reconvene, in yet another session that allows for zero public input, on August 14. If transparency is truly the goal, the public must hold them to it.
Academy District 20 board member and former candidateBoard Member, Candidate, Person
Amy Shandy is tracked as an Academy District 20 board member and former candidate in reporting on litigation, board power, leadership decisions, and accountability.
