Academy District 20 appoints Susan Payne to Board of Education after finalist interviews

The Academy District 20 Board of Education voted to appoint Susan Payne to fill a vacancy on the five-member board at a special meeting on May 20, 2025. The nomination passed by roll call with four recorded ayes; the board said the appointee must sign the oath of office and a confidentiality affidavit within 10 days.

Payne, who was one of four finalists interviewed publicly by the board, told the panel she has spent much of her career on school safety and threat assessment after a 28-year law enforcement career with the Colorado Springs Police Department and state roles including work for the Colorado Attorney General’s Office and founding the Safe2Tell program. “I have a passion for children and I know that schools, the safer our schools are and the higher achieving that our children are, it's the better our community will be,” Payne said during her interview.

Board members interviewed four finalists in turn before moving to nomination and appointment. The finalists were Susan Payne (former law enforcement and school-safety official), Dr. [First name not stated] Waldrop (licensed clinical psychologist at the VA), Missus Tucas (private-sector business strategist and long-time district volunteer), and Mr. Beckman (current District 20 teacher and department chair).Each candidate answered a standardized question set about the board-superintendent relationship, handling parent complaints, library materials policy, clubs, school security, student achievement, character education, charter schools and community partnerships.

Candidates’ remarks focused on several recurring themes. Payne emphasized a multidisciplinary approach to school safety, behavioral threat assessment and the need for staff training; she also said district library policy’s multi-step review was “important” and noted the potential for litigation at the state and national level if districts remove or retain contested materials. Dr. Waldrop and other finalists urged evidence-based instruction and professional development: “I tend to think in a very nerdy way about evidence-based outcomes,” Dr. Waldrop said when discussing reading and K–3 instruction. Mr. Beckman, a longtime classroom teacher, stressed prioritizing instructional minutes and attracting and retaining highly effective teachers, saying, “A highly effective teacher is a teacher that changes lives.”

Funding and local revenue options were raised repeatedly. Finalists noted uncertainty at the federal level and the limitations of state school finance for a non-rural district such as D20; several candidates urged clearer communication to residents about enrollment headcounts and local funding tools. Superintendent Adrienne Haber (introduced during interviews) told the finalists the district has onboarding time blocked the first week after the new director is sworn in to meet cabinet members, and that the Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB) offers additional training resources.

The board’s recorded roll-call during the appointment recorded ayes from Directors Kans, Wilburn, Yanez and Shandy; the board chair announced, “The ayes have it” and directed staff to prepare a certificate of appointment and file required paperwork with the Colorado Department of Education. The resolution requires the appointee to take the oath of office and sign the board’s executive-session confidentiality affidavit within 10 days.

The board and superintendent said the appointee will receive an onboarding schedule that includes cabinet briefings and district tours; CASB orientation sessions were also offered to the new director. The board did not take other formal action on the topics discussed during the finalist interviews at the May 20 meeting.

The appointment fills a vacancy declared in March 2025 and will continue until the board’s next election cycle, the district said.