Teller County for School Choice is one of a couple known Independent Expenditure Committees set up to influence this year’s school board race (there are some other groups involved but already in existence before this election cycle). These committees are what I think most people would think of as ‘dark money’ – they’re structured as a 501c(4) non-profit, allowing them to take unlimited financial contributions without having to disclose who their donors are.
But this brings us to Teller County for School Choice. On the surface it seemed like just another of these dark money groups, but I realized there’s a big difference. It’s a 501c(3) nonprofit, which meant (as I understand it at least…I’m no lawyer) it could not shield its donors’ identities. This group was started by Heather Scholz, a member of the Woodland Park school district’s District Accountability Committee (DAC) both this year and last, and a small financial supporter of Mick Bates’ campaign (she donated $50). Her group seems to have held a fundraising event at the end of August where they brought in $3,700, but it hasn’t reported any activity since – no new contributions, and no expenses. In the whole scheme of things, a seemingly small player in this election.
I find the details interesting though. Check out their donors (this is public info on TRACER):
- Paul Lundeen, $100 – Brad Miller’s brother in-law. State Senator and minority leader (though he listed his employer as ‘self’ in the finance report, is it possible I have the wrong person here?).
- Lori Thompson, $250 – D49 secretary and school choice advocate
- Kimberly Gilmartin, $100 – Director, school development and outreach, Ascent Classical Academy
- Laura Carno, $250 – Executive director of FASTER Colorado, a group that trains armed school staffers. She’s also part of the Independence Institute.
- Mark Hyatt, $2000 – Co-founder of Falcon Aerolab, which Merit Academy uses for some students as a homeschool enrichment program. Mark’s name appears many times in Merit’s original application, he played some role in helping start that.
- The Open Gate LLC, $300 – the owner, Bethany Drosendahl, is the treasurer for ERBOCES (Ken Witt’s other full-time taxpayer-funded job)
- Terri Carver, $150 – a former colorado state representative, current teacher at the University of Colorado
- James Kretchman, $250 – a co-founder of The Classical Academy
- Steven Durham, $300 – on the board for the Colorado State Board of Education
Not super surprising when you consider the name of this independent expenditure committee, really. But seeing them all in one grouping like that is new to me, usually these are names you hear mentioned here or there but never with such a clear connection.
When I mentioned that Teller County for School Choice has not reported any expenses, that’s not entirely accurate. Heather Scholz failed to file the required paperwork on time, and so of the $3,700 in donor money she’s received to date, she currently owes $600 of that in late filing fees, which she has not yet paid.