With less than a week left until ballots are counted and with none of them seeking re-election, the four-member conservative bloc of Woodland Park’s controversial School Board is making plans to go out with a bang. After years of accusations that they have shown favoritism to Merit Academy, the district’s only charter school, the outgoing Board is now attempting to lease the district’s middle school building to the Merit Academy Building Corporation for 30 years. At least two members of that Board, however, may be ineligible to cast that vote on account of allegedly having moved out of state.
According to a Facebook post by Board member Keegan Barkley, the Board was not part of negotiating the lease, and first received the proposed agreement at 9:30 A.M. on Tuesday. A special meeting to approve the lease agreement has been scheduled for Thursday evening.
The Board first proposed selling the building earlier this year, but was stopped when the Woodland Park City Council took emergency actions to prevent it by rescinding a local sales tax, revenue from which had figured into the district’s plans to finance the sale. The district sued the city over that move but, in August, a judge ruled in favor of the city. Thursday’s special meeting appears to be a last-minute effort to make an end-run around the prevention of the sale by converting it into a long-term lease.
Shortly after being elected in 2021, the conservative slate in Woodland Park started its tenure on the Board with controversies surrounding favoritism being shown to Merit Academy. There was a rushed approval process, violations of Colorado’s Open Meetings Law, undisclosed conflicts of interest between Board members and the charter school, and leaked emails indicating that some of those members had sought seats on the School Board for the express purpose of chartering Merit in the district.
Though families mingle and many are on good terms, tensions linger between Merit and other schools in the district, and have been exacerbated by allocations of space and other resources, as well as by the Board’s significant preference for Merit. That preference has been one of the underlying concerns prompting much local discussion of the need for a comprehensive audit once new leadership takes over the Board.
Now, with none of the incumbents on the ballot and less than a week to go before voters determine who those new leaders will be, the conservatives who conquered the Board in 2021 are looking to complete their quest by shoring up Merit’s financial future at an uncertain cost to the district.
After resignations and appointments, current Board members David Rusterholtz and Sue Patterson are the only remaining members of the 2021 slate which picked the original fight over Merit; the only two who have waged every battle of the last four years. Now, allegations that one or both of the pair have already moved out of town raise questions about the legality of actions they might take regarding the proposed building lease.
In Colorado, school board members who move out of their districts are required to resign.
Rumors have circulated in the small town for weeks that Rusterholtz has moved, fueled in part by a Facebook Marketplace post from Rusterholtz suggesting as much. Those rumors picked up steam when he participated in Tuesday’s Board work session remotely.
Property documents, however, move the question of Rusterholtz’s residency out of the realm of rumor.
During his time on the Board, Rusterholtz has been listed in Teller County property records as the owner of three properties, one on State Highway 67, and two on Obsidian Drive in Florissant. One of the Obsidian Drive residences was claimed as his primary address and the location of his voter registration. Last month, Rusterholtz sold that home.
While this alone would not be enough to indicate Rusterholtz has moved out of town, the deed transfer attached to that sale might be. On that document, the line for “current address” lists an address in Sterling, Kansas.
After the initial publication of this article, I received a message from Rusterholtz in response to my earlier outreach.
“Although I built a house in Sterling, Kansas nearly three years ago, I do not live there, I had never intended to live there, and I will never live in Kansas,” he said. Rusterholtz, a runner, said that his Garmin app will show that he runs in Teller or El Paso Counties nearly every day.
Rusterholtz’s long-time comrade in arms, Sue Patterson, is also the subject of open questions about her residency, and thereby her eligibility to serve on the school district Board as it prepares to take significant action on Thursday night.
Patterson, a graduate of evangelist Andrew Wommack’s local Bible college, has spent her time on the School Board living on Kokwapy Court in Florissant.
According to records from the Voter Activation Network, or VAN, Patterson – who was previously registered to vote in Florissant – is currently registered to vote in Weyers Cave, Virginia. Records also show that the mailing address attached to her voter file, necessary for anyone intending to cast an absentee ballot, was updated two days ago. On October 27, 2025, her voter file was updated to show a voting address in Weyers Cave, but a mailing address in Florissant.
If Patterson is already registered to vote in another state, she may no longer qualify as an “eligible elector” in the state of Colorado, one of the basic requirements for holding public office. Like Rusterholtz, Patterson participated in Tuesday’s Board work session remotely.
I called Patterson to ask about her residency. As of press time, she has not responded.
Allegations have also swirled around the residency of a third member of the Board’s conservative bloc. Cassie Kimbrell previously lived on Park Street in Woodland Park, but is not currently listed as a property owner anywhere in Teller County. When School Board supporters attempted to recall members of City Council earlier this year, locals noticed that Kimbrell did not sign, even though her husband did. Unlike the allegations against Rusterholtz and Patterson, the questions about Kimbrell’s residency remain unsupported by documentary evidence.
“I regret to inform you that last night it was once again decided that the Woodland Park School District Board of Education would rush forward with a major community decision regarding the former middle school building without real public input or transparency,” Board member Keegan Barkley posted on Facebook. Barkley, elected in 2023, is often the lone vote against the Board majority.
“When I asked why we are rushing this decision,” Barkley continued, “the response was simply: ‘This needs to get done.’”
Barkley also indicated how important the move is to the outgoing Board members. “Director Patterson openly stated she has been waiting 4 years to ‘push this through,’” Barkley posted, referring to an agreement which Patterson was not officially shown until Tuesday morning.
“No evidence has been presented showing how this lease would benefit the District, and some information indicates it could be financially harmful to both the District and Merit,” Barkley continued. “If this is truly a good decision, it will still be a good decision next week, when the incoming Board can review it properly, with full transparency and due diligence.”
Barkley encouraged community members to attend the meeting on Thursday night and hear the facts for themselves. Two Board members, she said, will be participating remotely.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated to reflect comments from David Rusterholtz which were received after publication.
