Keaton Gambill
From Ballotpedia
Keaton Gambill is running for election to the Douglas County School District Board of Directors to represent District D in Colorado. He is on the ballot in the general election on November 4, 2025.[source]
Gambill completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Keaton Gambill was born in Bloomington, Indiana. Gambill's career experience includes working in business management. He earned a bachelor's degree from Metropolitan State University of Denver in 2010 and a graduate degree from the University of Denver in 2024.[1]
Elections
2025
See also: Douglas County School District, Colorado, elections (2025)
General election
The general election will occur on November 4, 2025.
General election for Douglas County School District Board of Directors District D
Keaton Gambill and Tony Ryan are running in the general election for Douglas County School District Board of Directors District D on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | ||
 | Keaton Gambill (Nonpartisan)  | |
 | Tony Ryan (Nonpartisan) | |
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Endorsements
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Campaign themes
2025
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Keaton Gambill completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Gambill'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’m a husband and father of three children enrolled in Douglas County public schools. I grew up in Elizabeth and am a proud Castle Rock resident. My wife’s family were among Douglas County’s original settlers, and we’re raising our kids here because this community still stands for the principles that built it: family, hard work, and common sense.
Professionally, I serve as Senior Manager at a non-profit tissue bank, an FDA-regulated organization whose mission is to honor the gift of donation by transforming tragedy for one family into hope for another. I am currently leading an organization-wide AI integration initiative. I am responsible for optimizing operations to ensure consistent, high-quality, and regulatorily compliant outcomes through cross-functional collaboration. This requires balancing strategic vision with operational execution, bringing people, processes, and technology together to achieve measurable results. As part of a mission-based organization, I understand the importance of aligning operational decisions with long-term goals, fiscal responsibility and community impact.
That experience directly relates to the School Board Director role and is what I will bring to DCSD: ensuring every dollar serves students, supporting great teachers, protecting parental rights, and keeping pragmatic academics, not political ideology, at the center of our schools.- Restore safe, focused classrooms so teachers can teach and students can learn: I will back a clear, districtwide discipline code that removes chronic disruptions, protects teachers’ authority, and stops bullying quickly and fairly. We will keep classrooms free from ideological distractions and respect every family’s beliefs. I will pair that with accelerated catch-up for students that have fallen behind and more advanced options for those ready to move faster.
- Put parents in the driver’s seat and expand real choices that work: I will champion full curriculum transparency, opt-in for sensitive content, and timely parental notification on academic or behavioral issues. Families should be able to choose the environment that best fits their child, including public charters and high-quality neighborhood schools, with a strong parent-teacher partnership at the core. I will also grow Career Technical Education so more students access paid apprenticeships and pathways at Legacy Campus and our high schools that lead directly to great local jobs.
- Earn trust with fiscal discipline and relentless support for great teachers: I will prioritize classrooms and teachers. I support zero-based budgeting, freezing central-office growth, cutting low-value consulting, and moving any new operating dollars to schools and staff compensation. I will keep bond and MLO spending aligned to ballot language and expand CTE, safety upgrades, and facility needs exactly as promised.
I am passionate about education policy that supports academic excellence, parental rights, and local control. Our schools should emphasize strong core academics (literacy, math, science) with high standards, and parents must be full partners in their children’s education. I also care deeply about fiscal responsibility and transparency and ensuring every taxpayer dollar demonstrably benefits students. In short, I focus on efficient policies that promote rigorous, safe classrooms, parental involvement, and wise stewardship of public funds.
I look up to people who lead with principle, humility, and truth. One of those individuals is Dr. Thomas Sowell. His lifelong work on education and economics reminds us that good intentions aren’t enough, results matter. He has shown that when schools focus on rigorous academics, discipline, and parental partnership, every student, regardless of background, can excel. I admire his courage to challenge systems that fail children and his insistence that opportunity, not ideology, should guide education.
Professionally, I’ve been inspired by mission-driven executives and mentors who model servant leadership; those who take responsibility for outcomes, share credit freely, and never lose sight of purpose. In my own work at a non-profit tissue bank, I’ve seen firsthand how leadership grounded in service can transform an organization, aligning people around a shared mission rather than personal agendas.
I believe elected officials must act with honesty, integrity, and accountability. They should represent the entire community; parents, students, teachers, and taxpayers. Officials must stay informed, base decisions on facts and evidence, and focus on the best outcomes for students rather than personal or political agendas. Above all, they must be transparent and truthful, using common sense and clear reasoning in every decision.
A school board director’s responsibility is to improve student learning and school quality by setting clear policy and goals for the superintendent to lead their staff and then overseeing results. Directors must stay in the governance lane, avoiding partisan fights, and focus on education outcomes. In practice, that means creating policies that support teachers and safe schools, holding administrators accountable, and being answerable to the community when problems arise. The board’s sole obligation is strengthening our schools and students’ success.
Cheezie’s Pizza during High School and then that job concurrently with my first full time job out of high school as a front loader operator at Country Life Landscape Supply in Elizabeth. I had them for about a year before starting a full-time job in logistics management while attending College at Metro (MSUD).
My favorite book is Marcus Aurelius’ personal journal, called Meditations. Stoic philosophy and way of life centered on wisdom, courage, justice and self-discipline deeply resonates with me. His personal reflections highlight the importance of focusing on truth and clear thinking even amid chaos; much like I believe education must be rooted in the pursuit of truth through critical thinking and high standards. It reinforces my personal commitment to leading with integrity, welcoming good-faith dialogue, and staying calm and principled.
I struggled with PTSD after being shot following a verbal altercation in Parker at the age of 16, and the experience changed the course of my life. I went from being a 4.0 student to barely graduating. I know first-hand how trauma affects learning, and how critical school supports can be, like the 504 plan I was placed on. It wasn’t a lack of intelligence or motivation; it was a normal reaction to something abnormal. That experience taught me resilience, belief in human potential, and compassion for struggling students and desire to support them.
We talk a lot about safety in schools, but safety is more than locked doors and cameras. It’s also the calm, predictable environment that allows students to focus and recover from adversity. I believe in strong discipline codes and clear expectations because predictability builds trust. I also believe in early intervention and firm anti-bullying policies that protect victims first and mitigate the academic detriments that trauma like bullying create, paired with accountability and structured support for aggressors.
A school board member’s primary job is working with the other members and the community to set policy and oversight to improve our schools. This means establishing measurable goals for learning and safety, monitoring progress, and adjusting course when needed. We must listen carefully to parents, educators, and students, and make decisions focused on educational results. In short, the job is to ensure the board stays accountable to families and continually works to make our schools better, not to serve a political agenda.
My constituents are everyone in Douglas County: parents, teachers, students, staff, and taxpayers, including those without children in our schools. Education is a public trust funded by the entire community, and I am accountable to all residents.
My role would be to set policy and ensure the superintendent and staff have the support and direction needed to meet diverse student needs. That includes maintaining strong systems of academic and behavioral support, ensuring accountability for timely interventions, and preserving access to advanced coursework for high-achieving students. I will also promote policies that recognize excellent teachers and staff, reduce unnecessary administrative burdens, and prioritize professional growth. In all decisions, I will seek broad input through school accountability committees and community engagement to ensure our policies align with the values and priorities of Douglas County families.
I will proactively reach out across the county. I plan to meet regularly with parent organizations, teacher and staff groups, business and civic leaders, and community nonprofits. Parents, as our children’s first advocates, deserve an open dialogue, so I will hold town halls, participate in school events, and maintain timely communication with emails and social media. I support structured stakeholder input through the District Accountability Committee, School Accountability Committees, and parent councils. By listening to and collaborating with all voices, my goal is to ensure our policies reflect the concerns of teachers, parents, and the broader community.
Good teaching means setting clear learning objectives and holding students to high expectations, while engaging them with rigorous, meaningful content. We measure it through student outcomes: ideally, test scores and other assessments should show consistent proficiency and growth each year. I believe in piloting innovative methods but only scaling up those that demonstrably improve student learning. For example, a new curriculum or tech tool should be adopted only after evidence shows it boosts mastery of math, reading or other core skills above current baselines. I would invest in professional development and give teachers more disciplinary autonomy. Excellent educators should be recognized and rewarded, and district policy should make it easier to hire qualified candidates by streamlining certification pathways and reducing administrative delays. In sum, good teaching is student-centered and data-driven, and I will support it through clear policy, professional development, and respect for teachers’ expertise.
I will practice conservative stewardship of taxpayer dollars. First, we must honor the promises made in the recently approved bond and mill levy; investing that money fully in the projects and programs voters expected before any new asks. I believe asking for more funding within the next few years would break the trust we earned. I support zero-based budgeting and regular audits to eliminate waste and redirect savings to classrooms. Every line item must support students, and I would prioritize teacher salaries, classroom materials, CTE programs, and school safety upgrades over admin overhead. We will also seek grants or partnerships to supplement core funding. Taxpayers deserve to see clear results from the money we already have.
My safety policies are grounded in prevention, preparedness, and respect for all students. Douglas County already has strong SRO partnerships, and I support continuous improvement on all fronts. That means enforcing consistent discipline so classrooms stay calm and orderly (prevention), completing security upgrades like secure entrances and cameras (hardening), and practicing well-defined response plans for emergencies (frequent drills and clear reunification procedures). We also must protect students from non-physical threats: I will back firm anti-bullying policies that swiftly investigate incidents and focus on protecting victims first. After any incident or investigation, I advocate for transparent, timely reporting to the community (while respecting privacy) to rebuild trust. In short, students learn best when schools feel normal, welcoming, and predictable, yet are thoroughly prepared for any threat.
We should train all staff as gatekeepers to recognize warning signs, and implement systematic risk screenings so no student in crisis slips through the cracks. Early intervention is key: we must involve parents immediately whenever a student shows serious mental health concerns (except in extremely rare cases where immediate disclosure could endanger a child, which should be deferred to the appropriate authorities like CPS). Our schools should emphasize resilience-building and universal social values (like respect and empathy) that are non-ideological, supplemented by targeted evidence-based support programs for those who need it. We must guard against labeling normal struggles as mental health issues and instead promote healthy coping strategies and community support in our schools.
I would like to strengthen policies that enhance transparency, parental rights, and focus on academics. For example, I would require that all curriculum materials and syllabi be published in advance and maintain opt-in procedures for any health or sensitive topics, so parents truly know what their children are learning. I would also tighten discipline and anti-bullying protocols to be clear and consistent. Importantly, I would like to prevent any ideological or controversial content from entering the classroom, ensuring classroom time is devoted to fundamentals and critical thinking, not political or unproven theories. Any new program would have to prove it raises proficiency before being adopted. In sum, I aim to close gaps in accountability or transparency and preserve the policies that keep our schools safe, effective, and aligned with community values.
My campaign, a slate with Dede Kramer, Matt Smith, and Steve Vail, (commonsensedcsd.com) has earned support from several local community and parent groups. We have not requested or received any national organization endorsements, unlike the slate that is running against us who has received endorsements from national interest groups like Planned Parenthood. I am grateful for endorsements from community leaders, such as the current President of the Board, and grassroots parents who share our commitment to academic excellence, school safety, and fiscal responsibility.
My ideal school is rigorous, respectful, and secure. Classrooms are devoted to solid academics. Each day students spend ample time on literacy, math, science and civics with clear standards and no distractions. Every student feels they belong, teachers have authority to keep the classroom calm and organized, and everyone treats each other with respect. Parents and teachers work as partners in this environment. Families know what’s being taught and support learning at home. In a healthy learning environment, high expectations and community values are woven into the culture: children learn to pursue truth, fact-based analysis, and critical thinking. When schools are safe, disciplined, and focused on real-world skills, all students can flourish.
I will actively involve parents in every capacity within my ability. I want to foster a culture where teachers view parents as their strongest allies in educating children. I champion policies like full curriculum transparency and opt-in permissions to keep parents in the loop. I will advocate for high ease-of-use tools and integrations to help parents keep clear line-of-sight on their children’s school life while managing their own busy daily schedules. I will listen more than I speak: by holding listening sessions with parent councils and attending school events, I will hear parents’ concerns directly. By being accessible, responsive, and respectful, I will build trust and show that I truly value parents as partners in education.
We attract top educators by honoring and empowering them. I advocate competitive salaries and benefits, but equally important is a supportive culture. I believe a leading reason for high teacher satisfaction in Douglas County is the lack of top-down ideological/political themes we see neighboring districts imposing on their staff. I support strengthening Douglas County’s Alternative Licensure Program, which allows professionals from other fields to earn their license while teaching full-time under mentorship and structured support. We’ll actively recruit teachers who excel in core subjects and in career/technical areas. For administrators, I advocate seeking proven leaders, offering them clear goals and the autonomy to improve schools. Partnering with local universities, fostering mentoring programs, and publicizing Douglas County’s high standards will help us recruit motivated staff. Ultimately, by rewarding excellence and providing professional growth, we can build a team of educators and leaders dedicated to our students’ success.
I want our curriculum to focus on knowledge and life skills, not ideology. I would support making financial literacy a graduation requirement; teaching budgeting, saving, investing and taxes so students are ready for real life. We should continue to expand career and technical education pathways to prepare students directly for jobs and apprenticeships. Conversely, I would remove policies that replace core learning with settled political or social doctrines. In practice, that means all lessons should be evaluated to ensure they cover fundamentals (reading, math, science, civics) and encourage critical thinking. Any controversial or potentially divisive material must be presented in a balanced way or omitted if it distracts from these fundamentals. By keeping classrooms focused on what works, we maintain integrity in education and ensure every child graduates with real skills.
Artificial intelligence can be a valuable educational tool if used responsibly. I believe AI should serve as a supplement, not a substitute, for learning. I would support student-facing AI tools that are controlled to meet academic ends faithfully and serve as a 24/7 tutor. Teacher-facing AI tools to help with lesson planning, parent communication, identifying class/student level learning gaps through turned-in work analysis, and more. Administratively, we should be employing AI/machine learning to monitor data points throughout the district relevant to our shared performance goals and automatically flagging areas needing focus. Early intervention is more effective and less costly. Ultimately, AI would be used to strengthen our ability to meet our district goals while honoring the community’s voice.
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
2025 Elections
External links
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Candidate Douglas County School District Board of Directors District D |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 11, 2025
