As school board races in Colorado and across the country become more politicized, clear partisan divides have emerged among the four candidates vying for two seats on the Roaring Fork School District board in the Nov. 4 election.
Despite being a nonpartisan race where candidates’ party labels are not displayed on the ballot, the candidates have expressed opposing views on politicized issues such as a rise in school shootings, declining enrollment, and the merits of DEI and anti-racism policies and gender-inclusive sex education.
Two of the candidates, District E incumbent Kathryn Kuhlenberg and District A newcomer Tamara “Tammy” Nimmo, have been endorsed by the Garfield County Democrats, along with groups such as the school district’s teachers union and local Latino-advocacy nonprofit Voces Unidas Action Fund.
Meanwhile, Nimmo’s opponent Jodi Barr and Kuhlenberg’s opponent, Elizabeth Cockrill Taylor, have both been endorsed by the Garfield County Republicans, along with Jim Tarr, a pastor at the Cornerstone Christian Center in Basalt. The IRS changed its rules in the wake of a lawsuit last year and now allows churches to endorse political candidates without losing their tax-exempt status.
Several major out-of-state contributions ranging between $1,000 and $2,500 from donors in Texas, Florida and Arkansas to Barr’s and Taylor’s campaigns have drawn additional attention to the race.
Barr declined to be interviewed and Taylor did not respond by deadline to multiple interview requests from Aspen Public Radio and Aspen Journalism, or to questions sent via email seeking comment on their relationship to the district and their connection to out-of-state donors.
‘Skin in the game’
Kuhlenberg, who was first elected to the board in 2021 and served as president for several years, has three children in the district and serves as a substitute teacher. In addition to earning a law degree with a specialization in education policy, Kuhlenberg has spent decades working as a local preschool teacher and director, formerly operating the Aspen Playgroup in the Yellow Brick building and now helping lead NJS Kinder Cottage in Basalt.
“Kids and education have been the focus of my entire life,” Kuhlenberg said in an interview Oct. 22. “I'm looking forward to continuing that work in a second term on the board.”
Nimmo, who also has a child in the district, spent nine years as a substitute teacher for Roaring Fork Schools and formerly served as president of the parent teacher organization at Crystal River Elementary in Carbondale.
“I have spent the last 10 years in the public schools, in almost every single one of them in the district,” Nimmo said during an Oct. 16 candidate forum. “I am in it for the long haul, and so that's why I'm running for the board.”
Barr does not currently have any children in the district, although her son graduated from Basalt High School after primarily attending private schools, she said at an Oct. 7 candidate forum. Her grandchildren do not attend school in the district, but during the forum, Barr shared they would “probably end up in public school at some point.”
“You know, whether we have kids in school or not, we care about what happens to the school in our community,” Barr said.
During the recent forums, Barr said she has spent decades working with children, including running a preschool, summer camps and a youth ministry. Barr started making granola for her students, and that venture grew into a natural food company she now runs.
“I'm a taxpayer and I'm a grandparent and I have a lot of friends in the community, and so I have a lot of skin in this game,” Barr said during an Oct. 16 election forum in Glenwood Springs. “I won't be going anywhere.”
Taylor, who has an X account she recently changed from “DOGE the Schools” to “DOGE the Ideology,” does not have a student in the district. DOGE, which stands for the Department of Government Efficiency, is an initiative by the current Trump administration with a stated objective to identify and eliminate “waste, fraud, and abuse” in the U.S. government.
Taylor told the Glenwood Springs Post Independent that she raised four children in the valley, the youngest of whom attended Roaring Fork High School. During her son’s time there, Taylor shared at recent forums that she began attending district meetings and was involved in a parent advisory council. She serves on the District Accountability Committee, a group of community members who help provide additional oversight of the district’s budget and policies.
“I am an engaged parent and a community member,” Taylor said during an Oct. 16 forum. “I would like to represent parents and be a voice for them and their concerns on the board.”
All of the current school board members either have kids who attend school in the district, have worked in the schools, or both.
Kuhlenberg told Aspen Public Radio and Aspen Journalism that she’s concerned about candidates running who don’t currently have children in the Roaring Fork Schools and who are receiving campaign donations from out of state.
“Why do outside influences want to have an impact on the education that my kids are getting?” Kuhlenberg said. “Why do funders who have no connection to our schools want to have an influence on what goes on in the classrooms that my kids are in, that I'm subbing in?”
Outside funding
As of the latest campaign finance disclosures filed Monday, covering contributions through Oct. 22, Barr and Taylor have each outraised their opponents in the race, with significant funds coming from out-of-state donors.
“The amount of money being spent in this election is outrageous; I spent a fraction of this the first time I ran for the school board,” Kuhlenberg said in an interview Oct. 22. “I felt extreme pressure to fundraise more because of the outside contributions that the other candidates, Barr and Taylor, have received.”
As of Oct. 22, Barr had raised the most funds at $12,375 with a total of just 18 contributions since she filed her candidacy Aug. 26.
Over 70% of Barr’s contributions have come from out of state, including three major donors in Texas and one in Florida. Her only major donation from a source residing in Pitkin, Eagle or Garfield counties was $2,000 from Aspen resident Susie Krabacher, who founded a relief organization serving children in Haiti.
Barr’s three largest out-of-state contributors each gave the maximum $2,500. They are Jim Tramuto, a consultant for a Houston-based lobbying firm, and Emily Radler and Michael Evan Radler, a married couple from Fort Worth. Emily Radler is listed on the campaign finance disclosure as a homemaker, and Michael Evan Radler is listed as self employed. Barr’s fourth largest out-of-state contributor, John Calcott, gave $1,000 to her campaign. He is a registered Republican and is listed on the campaign finance disclosure as a retired resident of Florida. As of Oct. 22, Barr had spent a total of $5,708.20.
Aspen Public Radio and Aspen Journalism attempted to reach all of the major out-of-state donors who contributed to candidates in the race using contact information available online, but was only able to reach Michael Evan Radler, who responded stating, “Jodi is a leader of strong character.” Radler confirmed he lives in Texas but vacations in Colorado and met Barr through a mutual friend. He also shared that he and his wife “support faith-based organizations that fight to eliminate human trafficking, support the homeless — building strong families, and sharing the Gospel of Jesus.”
Emily Radler was also one of two major out-of-state financial contributors to Taylor’s campaign, which she supported with a donation of $1,000.
Taylor’s other major out-of-state donation was $1,500 from Howard Cockrill, a resident of Little Rock, Arkansas, who shares the same maiden name as the candidate, although Taylor did not confirm whether he was a relative.
As of Oct. 22, Taylor had raised the second-highest amount — $11,647.18 — with nearly 40% of that coming from out of state, and about 19% coming from Colorado donors outside the tri-county area served by the school district. In total, Taylor received 68 individual contributions since she filed her candidacy May 19. Taylor also contributed $6,000 in loans to her own campaign.
Taylor’s only major donor from the tri-county area was a $1,000 donation from Pamela Elliott, who is listed as a Carbondale resident. As of Oct. 22, Taylor’s campaign had spent a total of $14,550.14.
Taylor’s opponent, Kuhlenberg, has raised the least amount — $8,141.92 — with all 35 of her contributions coming from within the tri-county area since she filed to run for reelection Aug. 10. As of Oct. 22, her campaign had spent $6,981.84.
Kuhlenberg’s only major contributions came from Aspen philanthropists Melony and Adam Lewis, who each gave the maximum $2,500.
“There's a push to campaign harder and do more this time and to keep up with the dollars that Taylor and Barr are bringing in the door,” Kuhlenberg said. “And that is the only reason that I have had to seek additional funding.”
Barr’s opponent, Nimmo, who had raised the least amount — about $4,786 — just two weeks ago, has now received $11,148.55 with no major out-of-state donors and a total of 76 individual contributions since she entered the race Aug. 21. Nimmo only received two out-of-state contributions of about $100 each, including from her father, Gary Teske, a retired preacher in Kansas. As of Oct. 22, Nimmo’s campaign had spent $7,354.80.
Nimmo’s only major contribution — the maximum $2,500 donation allowed — came from the Rebekah Lodge in Carbondale, a women’s organization that operates a thrift store and supports local initiatives.
“To me, if you're looking local, if you're looking at who is part of our school district, you shouldn’t need that much money to reach people,” Nimmo said in an interview Oct. 23.
Guns in school
As Democrats push for stricter gun laws and Republicans turn to arming more people in self-defense to combat a rise in mass shootings, Barr and Taylor have suggested during recent debate forums that training teachers and staff to carry concealed guns on campus could improve school safety.
“Sometimes school resource officers have to travel a little bit of distance in order to get to the school if there's an emergency,” Taylor said in a candidate forum in Carbondale on Oct. 2. “Our schools would not be as much of a soft target and it would be a deterrent for any possible dangers that might come to our schools.”
“I would agree that safety is really at the forefront of what we need to focus on right now,” Barr said at the forum. “And I agree with Elizabeth that, honestly, the cheapest way to do it is to train teachers to have concealed carry.”
Although a Colorado law passed last year prohibits guns on public and private K-12 school grounds, there are some exceptions, including for on-duty law enforcement and school security personnel that are formally authorized to carry a concealed firearm by their school board. Under the law, school boards can choose to formally designate a staff member with a concealed carry permit, including teachers, as a “school security officer.”
Organizations such as FASTER Colorado, which has trained school staff in firearm response at about 50 school districts in the past nine years, say turning to volunteer staff adds an extra layer of protection against a potential shooting. But reports from gun violence prevention organizations such as Everytown Research and Policy have shown that arming teachers can introduce new risks to schools.
Barr has also suggested that instead of allocating funds to hire additional school resource officers, districts could work with volunteers who have previous military and policing experience to patrol campus. Although current state law does not clearly specify whether “volunteers” can be designated “school security officers,” it does clarify that they must either be an employee of the district or “retained by contract.”
Barr’s opponent Nimmo expressed concern over these proposals, saying that the district is already making headway on other effective ways to increase student safety, including current partnerships with local law enforcement and school resource officers.
“It's scary to not have guns in school for some people, but for most people, it's really scary to think that there would be guns in school,” Nimmo said at an Oct. 7 forum. “I'm going to do everything I can to support the efforts that are already in place, … and make sure that our kids are not being scared by the fact that everybody's talking about having guns in school or that their teachers are armed.”
Kuhlenberg agreed with Nimmo, and said if reelected, she would continue the work the district is already doing.
“We're ensuring that all of our staff are trained, we're consistently going through drills with our kids … to make sure that everybody is prepared in the event that we are in this absolutely awful situation,” Kuhlenberg said in an interview Oct. 22. “What we need to do is to continue to support measures that actually impact school safety like figuring out how we can get our local law enforcement to contribute more time, energy and resources to protecting our schools.”
‘DOGE the schools’
Nationally politicized topics such as gender and race have also made their way into the nonpartisan Roaring Fork School District board race this election with Barr and Taylor criticizing things like the district’s gender-inclusive sex education and health curriculum and its policies on diversity, equity and inclusion.
Taylor’s X account that she recently changed to “DOGE the Ideology” has the tagline “Removing waste, fraud and abuse, no gender ideology.”
When Taylor was asked at the Oct. 16 forum by her opponent Kuhlenberg about what specifically she would “DOGE” or cut from the district’s budget, Taylor said she was not planning to “slash and burn” the budget, but reiterated that she would get rid of any “waste, fraud and abuse” that she might find in the schools.
“Anything that is unnecessary in our curricula and any of the learning materials that are in there that I think are not helpful to our kids, that might be confusing, … and just need to be removed,” Taylor said at the forum.
“I also want to address the DEI and anti-racism policies,” Taylor added. “I think we need to take a look at that and make sure that that is actually to the best interest of our students and the way that our students are learning and their proficiency scores.”
Although Taylor and Barr said they would support the district’s goal to address the wide achievement gap between its Latino and white students through things like increased professional development for teachers and more collaboration with parents, Taylor has posted multiple times on her X account this year questioning the district’s five-year goal on its data dashboard to have its staff reflect the demographics of its students. More than 50% of the student population is Latino.
“Is this legal? Roaring Fork School District is using racial and ethnic quotas in their hiring practices — and are proud of it,” Taylor wrote in a Sept. 7 post linking to the district’s demographic goal.
Taylor’s X account also links to the Roaring Fork Parents Alliance, which lists her as the website’s editor. The site, which appears to have been dormant since 2023, identifies itself as a “resource for both parents and teachers,” and says it “seeks to restore a love of our country, our history, our Creator, and common sense in our children’s educational experience.”
It describes critical race theory — an academic framework that looks at how racism is embedded in U.S. legal systems and policies — as “a scourge in our children’s schools, whether or not it is overtly or covertly embraced.”
The site also links to information about how to run for the school board as well as a 2023 petition that Taylor supported against the district’s recently adopted health and sex-education curriculum, which includes language affirming the needs and inclusivity of LGBTQ+ students.
“We need to protect [our children] from gender-related materials and sexualization,” Taylor said at the Oct. 7 forum. “And I believe that this does not belong in our classrooms.”
Though the curriculum meets the state’s requirements, including age appropriateness and cultural sensitivity, and the district allows parents to review it and opt their kids out, both Taylor and Barr have called for increased “transparency” with details on daily lesson plans and more communication with parents about the opt-out option.
“I'm not saying that the school board's not communicating, … but you better make sure that parents know they can opt out,” Barr said at the Oct. 2 forum. “The health curriculum is a very concerning issue to people in this community and if people really knew what was in there, then I think you would have a lot more kickback, but a lot of it has been under the radar.”
‘Pushing forward’
Although declining enrollment both locally and across the country is primarily due to lower birth rates, Taylor and Barr have cited things like gender-inclusive curriculum, DEI policies and school safety as reasons why some parents are taking their kids out of public school.
“I talked to numerous families that do not feel safe bringing their kids to school,” Barr said at the Oct. 7 forum. “Not just safe, but they're not trusting the academics, they're not trusting what's being taught in the curriculum.”
For Kuhlenberg and Nimmo, however, the politicization of DEI efforts and gender-inclusive curriculum, and a proposed concealed-carry program are a distraction from what they see as the real work of addressing complex issues such as a decline in funding facing the district.
“I wanted to believe that Jodi and Elizabeth’s intentions really were good and real,” Nimmo said. “At the forums, they keep talking about transparency, but they are not transparent about who they are and what their agenda is.”
Nimmo, whose father was a Lutheran minister and a missionary, said she used to attend the same church as her opponent Barr.
“As soon as I saw that Jodi was who I was running against, I actually got kind of excited, because I knew her probably 20 years ago, and I really loved her energy,” Nimmo said.
But after Barr declined her offer to get together and they began participating in recent debate forums, Nimmo said it became clear they were on divergent paths.
“I come from a very strong Christian background, but we never, ever acted like we thought we knew what was the best for someone else,” Nimmo said. “Past board candidates have also run against very conservative candidates, but they didn't campaign the way that Elizabeth and Jodi are. … This is the conservative Christian movement making sure that we don't forget about them, and you know, we all get to throw our hat in the ring and say what we think and what we want.”
If elected, Nimmo and Kuhlenberg say they’ll focus on advocating for more local, state and federal funds, including through increased taxes, as declining birthrates and the cost of living impact school budgets.
In contrast, Barr and Taylor said they would prioritize improving the district’s budgeting and fiscal responsibility as well as seeking out opportunities like private donations over increased taxes to support district funding.
“I do want to make sure that we avoid asking taxpayers to pay more money for our district,” Taylor said at the Oct. 16 forum. “I think we owe it to our stakeholders to be responsible fiscally, so I think that we need to tighten our belt.”
In an interview with Aspen Public Radio and Aspen Journalism, Kuhlenberg, acknowledged Taylor and Barr’s concerns that the district’s budget also suffered an $18 million deficit after it underestimated new health insurance costs and declining enrollment. She said the board has since taken on a greater role in overseeing the budget, including getting regular financial updates and helping the district hire a demographer to support more accurate enrollment predictions. The district also made changes last year like not re-hiring for some open positions and freezing “cost of living” salary increases for executive district leadership.
“The board wasn't receiving quarterly financials and the board wasn't receiving the audit in a timely way,” Kuhlenberg said in the Oct. 16 forum. “The finance policies were 20 to 30 years outdated and didn't include accountability provisions, so that is the work that the board has done.”
Kuhlenberg and Nimmo also said they’re committed to using a data-informed and community-driven approach to closing equity and achievement gaps among Latino and white students, as well as working with local law enforcement to strengthen school security amid a rise in campus shootings.
“We need to be pushing forward,” Kuhlenberg said, “and having this distraction is going to slow that progress and slow the urgent work that needs to get done in order to serve all the kids in our district.”
