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…