Aaron Salt
Prior offices
Academy School District 20 school board, At-large
Elections and appointments
Personal
Contact
Aaron Salt was an at-large member of the Academy School District 20 school board in Colorado. He assumed office on November 19, 2021. He left office on June 1, 2025.
Salt ran for election for an at-large seat of the Academy School District 20 school board in Colorado. He won in the general election on November 2, 2021.
Salt completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Salt was born in Dothan, Alabama. He obtained an undergraduate degree from Auburn University in 2009 and a graduate degree from Florida State University in 2011.[1]
Salt's professional experience includes working as a counselor for adolescent rehabilitation centers, writing code, and working in project management, where he ran software and IT teams. He eventually began his own business consulting firm in Colorado Springs, Colorado.[1]
Elections
2021
See also: Academy School District 20, Colorado, elections (2021)
General election
Endorsements
To view Salt's endorsements in the 2021 election, please click here.
2019
See also: Academy School District 20, Colorado, elections (2019)
General election
Endorsements
Salt was endorsed in the race by Colorado State Representative Shane Sandridge (R)-District 14 and State Representative Tim Geitner (R)-District 19. For a complete list of Salt's endorsements, please click here.[2]
2021
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Aaron Salt completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Salt's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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My wife and I have lived in Colorado Springs for nearly a decade. We have 4 children, ages 7 to 6 months old. I have BA in psychology and a Masters of Social Work. I have worked as a counselor in residential adolescent rehab centers, as a software developer and project manager, and I currently run my own marketing own firm.
I was a founding board member of a District 20 charter school, and I sat as the board chair for 3.5 years before resigning in September 2021. I am also currently serving my second school year as a community representative on the School Accountability Committee (SAC) at Rampart High School.
I have also spent time testifying against bills that would eliminate parents’ rights and school choice at the state capitol. I have formed relationships with legislators to advocate for our community and our students. - Parent's rights
- Strong Academics
- School Choice
I am extremely passionate about family values and parents' rights. I have advocated against bills that would usurp parental consent and put it in the hands of the government. I am also incredibly passionate about school choice. I started a charter school, and I've been an advocate for pro-school-choice efforts across the state.
I have always looked up to my grandfather. He was always a diligent worker, and a real "salt of the earth" kind of man. He loved God, his family, and his country. One of my favorite pictures of him shows nothing but pride on his face, watching his grandkids in a school play. That's the example I want to follow. Be someone who stands by their word and works hard for their family and their community.
John Dickenson was one of our Founding Fathers. He is what every citizen in our country should aspire to be. He was the author of "Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania," which helped write the narrative for our forefathers to declare independence from England.
Integrity, transparency, accountability, and accessibility. You represent the people who elected you.
Integrity, transparency, accountability, and accessibility.
Anyone elected to this office has one mission: the successful education of our students. That is the sole responsibility, and everything done should be towards that end.
I remember being in 3rd grade listening to the OJ Simpson trial on the radio in our classroom.
My very fist job was working at Boy Scout camp when I was 14. I only worked there over the summer, but I went back nearly every year until I was in graduate school. I started there as an intern, but was promoted through the years to Program Director.
The primary job of a school board member is to set policy that removes barriers for learning. The board answers to the voters in the community, but the board is ultimately responsible for ensuring strong academic outcomes of the students.
Our constituents are primarily the voters in the community, however there are many other important stakeholders in our community: students, teachers, staff, administrators, parents, and business owners
As an elected representative, it's critical to listen to all the stakeholders in your community. With that, it would be my duty to ensure the policies I support have a positive academic affect on all students in our district.
I started a charter school in District 20, so I've already built relationships within our community with regards to education. In addition, I run a small business, and I regularly attend our local church. I'm very active in our community and proactively seek partnerships to help offer our students more opportunities.
No, I don't believe we should intentionally recruit for diversity. I fully believe we should recruit for talent. Our students deserve the best possible teachers in the classroom.
There are many social programs/agendas that our state legislature require school districts to implement. Many of these programs are tied directly to funding. Unfortunately, these social programs are distractions for our students, teachers, and administrators. We need to push back against those and focus on core education.
Good teaching empowers and engages students. I personally like to look at growth scores from our statewide tests to ensure all students are being challenged and continuing to grow. Too many classrooms tend to "teach to the middle" and ostracize the outliers. Good teaching provides opportunities for the entire spectrum.
The two big areas to expand curriculum in my opinion are for civics and CTE (career and technical education). D20 already has programs for each of these curricula, but I would love to see expansion happen for both. The charter school I started teaches grade-appropriate civics down into kindergarten, and I don't see why the district schools shouldn't be doing that as well. With regards to CTE, there was a lot of expansion recently with the bond money from 2016, but I've seen other districts implement CTE in creative ways, that we could use to expand our offerings to D20 students.
Before asking the voters for more tax dollars, I would want to do an audit of our budget to see where we can move existing dollars from overhead and push as much as we can into classrooms.
My principle is that students can't learn if they don't feel safe. It's a core, foundational principle for each and every student. School safety is a large umbrella, and I've advocated for policies at our charter that ensures safety for all students. This starts as simple as removing tripping hazards on the playground and increases all the way to qualified, trained armed staff inside each school.
COVID and mask mandates have increased mental health issues for our students. As a former social worker, I’m grieved by the push for students to “keep soldiering on,” when their whole support system has morphed or collapsed over the past 18 months.
I would like to see additional time given in the day for students to decompress in the form of stretching, breathing, etc., which are known ways to relieve stress.
I also believe we need to increase access to counselors, with regular check-ins between counselors and parents. This constitutes a team surrounding each student, working to achieve the best possible result. I'm a big proponent of minimal technology in the classroom. Technology is a tool, and when used correctly, it can provide strong support to our teachers and students. With that said, there are many studies that show better academic outcomes when students are taught in-person by a teacher rather than through technology. COVID has shown a desire for more technology, especially for continuity of learning. That should never be a substitute for highly qualified teachers instructing students in a classroom.
We need students in classrooms. I'm an advocate for keeping students safe and healthy, which includes mental health as well. There are too many risks to students mental health with quarantines, masks, and the collapse of their social support systems for us to continue being fearful. We should return to learning as normal, allowing parents to decide what level of protection is right for their student. Anyone who is sick should always stay home, but healthy individuals should be allowed in school.
I have distributed my cell phone number on my mail pieces, website, and flyers. I am accessible, and I earnestly want to hear parents' opinions. This is a practice I started at the charter school, speaking with parents and teachers in our community. It's critical to hear their perspective and their experiences in order to develop parent-focused policies.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
2019
Aaron Salt completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Salt's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I've been married to the woman of my dreams for 9 years, and we have 3 little boys. Our kids are the delight of my life, and I, like all parents, want them to have the best possible opportunity to succeed. Academy District 20 is where that opportunity lives, and I would be honored to earn your vote in becoming part of realizing that for the students in our district.
I'm a founding board member of a charter school, and I am still serving the community today as board chair. This experience, in addition to my professional background in helping businesses operate effectively and efficiently, has taught me that a well-prioritized budget is necessary to make the highest quality education a reality, which includes obtaining and retaining great teaching talent in our schools.
I know quality education is as important to your family as it is mine. That's why I believe in empowering parents, who know their child best, to make choices that best fit their child's educational needs.
- Advocate for parents' rights, parental involvement, and creating a partnership between the classroom and the home
- Only candidate experienced in educational governance and policy making
- Firm believer in school choice, allowing parents to make the best decision for their children
I'm passionate about local control. I believe we, as an elected district board, have a better view on the needs of our students than the state does. I believe parents, which are the most local form of control, know what's best for their children and should be able to direct their children's education.
I aim to protect local control for parents and the district, maintaining autonomy from the state legislature.
I think Bill S. Preston Esquire summed it up best in his historical documentary, "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure." My political philosophy is, "Be excellent to each other."
The most important characteristics for an elected official would be honesty, integrity, and respect. You want someone who knows how to lead through servanthood. Elected officials should also be aware of current events that could effect their constituency and know how to situate their community as well as possible. An elected official should also stand up for the rights of all.
I have already served on an educational policy-making board, and I currently sit as board chair in that capacity. I've made hard decisions when it comes to budgets. I understand working with other board members when managing the executive director, or superintendent in this case. I helped write a charter for a school, negotiated the contract, fought for better SPED coverage, and have listened to the will of the parents. I've been successful in that role so far, and see no reason why this past experience wouldn't prove successful in the future.
I would love to leave a legacy of servanthood. I would like to leave a legacy of parental involvement. Academics will remain strong when those in authority understand true leadership. If I could leave a legacy of servanthood and parental involvement, continuing the work done by previous board directors, I would look back at my term with pride.
My very first job was working at a Boy Scout camp when I was 14. It wasn't a paid position, but we got a small stipend for volunteering. That summer I learned an awful lot about work ethics, enjoying the people you're working with, and standing on your own values. It wasn't a long employment, as we worked for about 6 weeks over the summer, but I worked at that camp nearly every year until I was the Program Director, running the camp for two years, at 21 and 22 years old.
My favorite book would probably be the Ender series by Orson Scott Card. I know it's a series, and not a single book, but please don't hold that against me. The reason I like it is because the series does a great job of highlighting issues around racism and cultural differences. I find the entire series to be well written, but also philosophically engaging. If you only read Ender's Game, you need to get the rest of the story.
The primary job of the school board is to ensure the district, and the schools within, are educating the students in an acceptable manner. It is not the duty of the district board to directly manage any employees, except the superintendent. The board members should set policy to ensure nothing gets in the way of quality education.
There are many constituents to serve in our district. There are parents, students, teachers, administrators, staff, and community members. All of them have needs from the district in different ways. It's our job as board members to ensure that all constituents are cared for appropriately.
I'm a huge advocate for parental involvement, parental rights, and transparency between the classroom and home. I believe transparency and communication leads to trust, which is the foundation for any relationship. Those are the pillars I want to make sure are included in the decisions made by the board during my term. I also plan to discuss initiatives with the superintendent that will increase parental involvement, not just in the classroom, but in the home as well.
I believe it's important to intentionally recruit and hire based on current needs. As a business consultant, I tell owners to hire based on a needs assessment, and that's what I believe should be done in the school as well. Look at the strengths of the current team and find out what's missing. That's the diversity you need to bring things into balance.
I believe there are lots of things that get in the way of education. Political agendas, funding, and technology are all things that can hinder a quality education. Our goal, from a board perspective, is twofold: protect our students and support our teachers. We need to block obstacles so students can focus on learning, and we need to ensure our teachers are equipped and supported. They have one of the most critical jobs in our community, and we need to give them every opportunity to succeed.
A 21st century diploma should reflect success in our 21st century society. It should come with learning how to think critically, and not just take things at face value. It should equip and prepare students for a growing use of technology. It should teach students about the complicated global economy. However, it should also focus on basics of reading and mathematics. These are timeless skills, and necessary in any century. I also think students should be provided with a jump-start on college and career training through technical/trade classes, allowing them to test out potential career paths.
District 20 already provides some CTE opportunities. That is one area I would like to see expanded for our students. I would like to partner with local businesses and companies to provide more paths in more trades, even allowing students to start earning some money while in high school and learning their trade or skill.
Every student should feel safe. The should feel safe in the physical environment. This is just as much related to facility safety and management as it is from a malicious intruder. With that said, we need staff that is trained and ready if there is a crisis situation. I believe it is the district's duty to ensure we have staff members who are qualified and trained to handle these tense situations on every campus. It goes beyond physical safety though. Students should feel safe to fail, as it is part of the learning process. We want students to feel safe, because they can't learn to their full potential if they're afraid.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
External links
