The Real “Trick or Treat” in D38

By Amy Stephens | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

In Lewis-Palmer District 38, voters are being asked to choose between transparency and trickery — between a school board candidate who respects parents and one who shuts them out if they dare disagree. That’s not hyperbole. It’s the documented history of union-backed activist Jackie Burhans.

Burhans markets herself as a champion of “parental rights.” But look closer and a pattern emerges: she defends rights only when parents share her ideology. When they don’t, she dehumanizes them — mocking, marginalizing, and labeling them, often accusing them of the very tactics she uses to silence dissent.

We saw this in the now-infamous images from La Burla Bee, a downtown nightclub in Colorado Springs. There stands Burhans — holding rainbow Pride umbrellas to usher children into an “all ages” drag show complete with demonic makeup and sexualized performances.

Jackie Burhans with Parasol Patrol – shielding minors to get into the event below:

La Burla Bee – All Ages Drag Brunch

Video from the event shows the MC joking repeatedly about “grooming,” followed by raucous laughter, as adults threw dollar bills. One photo shows a young girl sitting beneath display cases full of pasties.

When concerned parents questioned why a school board hopeful was promoting a hyper-sexualized atmosphere for children, she didn’t answer — she attacked. She accused protesters of “yelling at families and children,” yet has never provided a single clip of this supposed harassment. Burhans’ response wasn’t accountability. It was gaslighting — the favorite tool of activists who claim moral high ground while dismissing legitimate concern.

Her track record on community engagement tells the same story. While Burhans insists she is a selfless volunteer who wants to “give back,” in reality she has spent more than a decade using community involvement as an organizing platform. The Facebook page she has run for years — D38 Education Community — reveals her true alignment: activism in support of boys in girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms, explicit books in school libraries, DEI bureaucracy, CRT-style rhetoric, resentment toward charter schools, and the full teachers-union agenda — all repackaged as “standing up for ALL kids.” But “ALL” has limits. Oppose her agenda, and you become the villain — a “bully,” a “book-banner,” an “extremist.” Families who simply want objective academics, sports based on biological reality, and age-appropriate boundaries are not welcome.

This behavior isn’t new. In 2019, Burhans and her husband campaigned aggressively for a tax increase — and when community voices were allowed to provide a statement “Against” the measure in the voter guide, they tried to subvert the process – by submitting weak, nonsensical opposition language to block dissenters. Their goal? Fill the space so that those who genuinely opposed the tax couldn’t properly communicate their concerns. That wasn’t participation; it was manipulation — a stunt designed to shut out differing viewpoints.

As with every election, the left is obsessed with censoring opponents. Jackie’s team is busily running around Monument stealing campaign signs and kicking people off community pages that support her opponent. No free speech — unless it’s “free” for Jackie.

It’s the same stunt she’s running today — claiming openness while controlling the conversation. Inviting feedback while censoring it. Calling disagreement “hate.” The trick is pretending she cares about community voices… while ensuring only voices she likes are heard.

And that trick would come at the expense of D38’s children — their safety, their innocence, and the right of parents to remain the primary decision-makers in their children’s lives.

But here’s the treat.

Tri-Lakes has a better choice. Ginger Schaaf believes in real parental rights — not conditional approval based on ideology. She trusts families. She respects transparency. She brings a commitment to safe schools, academic excellence, and honoring the innocence of childhood. Ginger is the neighbor who listens, the mom who shows up, and the leader who knows schools must reflect the values of the people who live here — not activists with an agenda.

On November 4, don’t be tricked — choose the treat. Choose integrity, accountability, and a school board that serves families first.

Amy Stephens is the former CO House Majority Leader representing Monument, CO.

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.