The D20 Accountability Project

09/26/2025

This tracks.

09/25/2025

In case anyone’s still wondering who’s pulling the strings in this year’s school board race…

, a group the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated as an anti-government extremist organization, has now officially endorsed two Academy District 20 candidates: Cynthia Halverson and Eddie Waldrep.

And let’s not forget: Susan Payne already has her own well-documented ties to this same network. That makes three candidates effectively backed by a group with a national agenda and deep funding ties to the Heritage Foundation.

Even more telling: we’ve heard their endorsement comes with strings attached; a pledge to never support a mill levy override or any tax increase of any kind. In a district facing hundreds of millions in deferred maintenance and aging facilities, that’s not “fiscal responsibility.” That’s sabotage of our schools.

This isn’t about kids or classrooms. It’s about importing an extremist playbook into D20.

09/25/2025

So the current board members helped pick questions for the forum… and one of their own, Susan Payne, just happened to be a candidate on stage? 🤔

That’s not neutrality. That’s stacking the deck.

Think about it:

- The board appointed Payne in the first place.

- Then the board gets to submit questions for Payne to answer as a candidate.

How is the public supposed to believe this wasn’t biased? How is it fair to the other candidates, or to the community, to let an incumbent’s colleagues shape the very questions she’d be asked?

This isn’t transparency. It’s insider advantage, plain and simple. Watch the video and decide for yourself.

09/25/2025

Just in case some of you were a little ... jarred ... by Cynthia Halverson at the Academy District 20 candidate forum tonight, she is 100% a Seven Mountains Mandate , trained by Andrew Wommack's acolytes at Charis Bible College. Incidentally, that's the same "college" where D20 board member Derrick Wilburn also teaches.

Ms. Halverson also picked up a Moms for Liberty endorsement last night. So now two of the D20 candidates have been officially endorsed by , the other being Eddie Waldrep. Susan Payne continues to attempt to disassociate from the group.

At least we got through the evening without "p**n" being read from the stage or lawsuits, so we're taking that as a win.

More in the comments.

09/25/2025

At tonight’s candidate forum, Susan Payne claimed there were “multiple incidents” where transgender students posed a safety risk.

But just weeks earlier, the district’s athletic director made it clear *directly to her* that only two transgender students have ever asked to play sports. No safety issues. No pattern. Just two kids.

So why the exaggeration? Fearmongering doesn’t make schools safer. Honest leadership does.

09/23/2025

📣 Community Notice: Academy District 20 Candidate Forum 📣

It appears that the only communication about tomorrow’s Academy District 20 Board of Education Candidate Forum has been sent to parents, yet this forum is for our entire community.

Date: Wednesday, Sept. 24
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Location: Liberty High School, 8720 Scarborough Dr., Colorado Springs, CO 80920

This is, unfortunately, a rare opportunity for the public to hear directly from the candidates running for the ASD20 Board of Education. As far as we are aware, there are no other candidate forums scheduled

For those unable to attend in person, the district has said they will share a livestream link closer to the event.

Whether you are a parent, a student, a taxpayer, or simply a neighbor who cares about the future of our schools, this forum matters to you. Please help spread the word.

09/23/2025

We still can’t get over the things the extremist, Moms for Liberty backed slate consider “courageous decisions.”

Susan Payne’s “courageous decisions”?

🎓 Picking a graduation venue
🚫 Blocking NatGeo curriculum
🤷 Discriminating against hypothetical, future athletes
💸 Writing a blank check for a lawsuit

We're not kidding. This was put in writing.

If that’s “courage,” what does failure look like?

09/22/2025

Rep. Jeff Crank has stepped into the Academy District 20 school board race, endorsing Susan Payne, Eddie Waldrep, and Holly Tripp.

He talks about “respecting parents” and “proven leadership.” But let’s be honest: these are national buzzwords, not solutions for our classrooms.

Payne’s record includes attacks on parents who raised health and environmental concerns. Waldrep leans on his “Doctor” title without offering clear ideas. Tripp misrepresents herself as a teacher while pushing culture-war talking points.

This isn’t about funding, teacher retention, or student mental health. It’s about importing national politics into our schools.

Read our full analysis in the comments.

09/20/2025

The Academy District 20 candidate forum should be a chance for parents and community members to hear directly from those running for the . But credible concerns have surfaced that questions may have been filtered by insiders, raising doubts about transparency and fairness.

When forums feel controlled, trust erodes. Families deserve a process that reflects real community concerns, not curated talking points.

Read more on what’s at stake and how D20 can restore trust in the comments.

09/17/2025

D20 is adding a new admin to handle Title IX & discrimination complaints. Translation: the problems are big enough that they need a full-time firefighter.

09/10/2025

Academy District 20’s new “social contract” isn’t about civility. It’s a blueprint for dodging .

📱 No reply-all emails.
📞 Only phone calls and one-on-ones.
📝 All new ideas filtered through leadership.

This is not transparency. It’s the opposite. And the kicker? Susan Payne and the rest of the board are trying to bury it in the consent agenda at the Sept. 11 meeting under Resolution 289-25.

If the board is proud of its work, why hide the debate? Why force everything off the record? The community deserves deliberation, not a managed script.

Transparency isn’t optional. It’s the law.

See the comments.

09/09/2025

Who is Academy District 20 school board member, Susan Payne, really? , Derrick Wilburn’s , the Andrew Wommack-connected Church for All Nations, and now CPAN?

Susan Payne’s journey into just keeps digging deeper.

First, it was in March. Then, the Advocates for D20 Kids straw poll in May with Church for All Nations. And now, in August, she’s teaming up with the Colorado Parents Advocacy Network (CPAN), a group tied to book bans, disinformation stunts against crisis hotlines, and alliances with militia-linked outfits.

Safe2Tell was about protecting kids. CPAN is about culture war. Payne can’t have it both ways.

The question isn’t whether Susan Payne has shifted. It’s how far she’s willing to go. And who gets hurt along the way.