Steve Vail served in the U.S. Air National Guard from 1986 to 2000. He graduated from Rocky Mountain High School.
He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Northern Colorado in 1994 and a graduate degree from Regis University in 2005. His career experience includes working as an IT manager.[1]
Steve Vail completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Vail's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
Focusing on core educational topics of reading, math, science, and history. Provide our students with practical life skills and experience that ensures their success, while removing the noise and distractions of political agendas and outside influences. Supporting the staff and students to maintain respectful classrooms where every student can learn free from disruption and bullying.
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.
Note: Vail submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on October 19, 2025.
I am a Colorado native living in Douglas Country since 1999. My wife and I raised two daughters here. I am an IT Executive, Air Force veteran, and active community member. I am running to continue the great momentum of the current conservative school board and administration and to focus on ensuring every student has the life skills and opportunity to be successful. I am focused on academic excellence, protecting our young girls sports and safe spaces, parental rights, school choice and fiscal responsibility. The Common Sense slate wants to get politics and agendas out of the schools and provide educators, parents and students with an environment and tools to focused on community values and high educational standards.
Protecting our young girls. I will stand up for the fairness and safety of of female students. We are focused on no biological boys in girls' competitions or facilities. Student safety and privacy come first, ensuring a level playing field and for our daughters in both sports, school life and future opportunities.
Parental rights and full transparency. Parents should be fully aware of the values and choices made that affect their children's lives. Parents and teachers should partners in raising our children. To ensure that outside influences and political agendas do not interfere with the success of our most precious family members I will work tirelessly to ensure policies that focus on full transparency, parental involvement and effective partnerships based on community values.
Educational Excellence and school choice. Douglas county is already the number 1 school district in the Denver metro area. We have a 92% graduation rate, our CMAS scores are outpacing other districts, and our teachers, parents and students have said that Douglas county is a safe and welcoming district. We will continue to strive to do even better and build on the great progress that has been made in the past few years. I will be focused on continuing academic excellence, expanding Career and Technical Education (CTE) and special needs programs to ensure that all students have a path to success.
Getting politics out of the classroom and returning to teaching our children reading, math, science, and valuable life skills that provide real, practical paths to success.
Maintaining academic excellence and the growth of career and technical education.
Protecting the safety and fairness in girls sports and spaces
Maintaining parents as partners with full transparency and school choice
Safe and supportive classrooms by keeping decisions and policy aligned with Douglas county values.
Fiscal responsibility that builds trust and confidence with honesty, transparency and a board that has the experience and skills to wisely steward your money
Accountability
Competence and good judgement
The desire to be of service
Ability to listen, understand and have empathy
Collaborative disposition
Strategic long term thinking
Effective, practical financial acumen and experience
This role is about the long term, strategic success of our school district. This role is responsible for building a strong foundation through sound policy and governance that ensures the long term success of the school district.
Raising two strong beautiful daughters. I want to be a good Christian, Husband, Father and Friend. I tell those that I know. "Leave a wake (like a boat) behind you." My hope is that people will remember knowing me and that hopefully, however small, had a positive impact on them. I am so incredibly blessed so now is the time to be of service.
School board members govern on behalf of the community they represent. This means setting the strategic directinn and policies that guide how schools operate, while ensuring the accountability of the superintendent, administration and student outcomes.
This includes
Policy making and oversight
Hiring and evaluating the superintendent
Financial stewardship
Effectively representing the community values and needs of those we serve
All residence of Douglas County are our primary constituents. We also have a responsibility to ensure that Douglas county schools, students, parents and teachers are effectively represented in state and national issues.
By actively working to build confidence and trust by listening to the input of the community. I will serve with integrity, honesty, fully transparent in the decisions that I make as a board member serving the community
Student test scores while are informative they are not the only measure. Surveys, graduation rates, testing, college acceptance rates and CTE job placements are all useful. I will be learning more about what great looks like as I actively interact with the district in this new role.
As an MBA and IT Executive of some of the largest technology companies and healthcare systems in the US I will bring decades of strategic finance and planning experience to this role.
Safe respectful classrooms where every student can learn free from disruption and bullying. I fully support the partnerships with local law enforcement and the highly effective SRO program. I fully support our mental health professionals and will work with the administration to enhance or adapt this efforts.
Remove demonstrably ineffective and political programs such as DEI and CRT (a lot of great work has already been done). Implement more Opt-In policies. Improvement community communications and awareness.
One that is welcoming, agenda free and based on the core educational values that teaches reading, math, science, history and practical life skills. The environment must be outcome tested and accommodate the need of the students to ensure positive and successful outcomes. When traditional learning and methods do not fit a particular population of students, whenever possible and practical school choice and programs should be provided.
One of my primary goals seeking this this role is the enact policies and governance that encourage and enable partnership, visibility and rights of parents in the important decisions made that affect their children. I will be an advocate for parents, students and educators to ensure successful outcomes that reduce political and outside influences and instead focus on a positive welcoming culture of learning, relationship building and educational success.
It is important to remember that the board has one employee, the superintendent. As an experienced executive leader, I understand the value and importance of providing the resources, tools and support to that leader ensuring their success while not interfering with their ability to lead. Board members should be actively involved in leading, managing and mentoring the superintendent, however, we must be aware of the appropriate separation of duties. Through policy and governance we can build an maintain a culture and community that attracts and retains the best and brightest while also limiting negative, or unnecessary outside influences such as unions by providing high value alternatives.
Focus on core topics of reading, math, science and history. Provide practical life skills in communication, finance, and economics. Work to actively remove political or agenda driven topics and focus on successful student outcomes.
Artificial Intelligence can be a very valuable business and learning tool. However we as a board and district must ensure that policies, governance and standards are put in place to ensure that AI does not take the place of effective learning, retention and good research methodologies.
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.
Note: Vail submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on October 17, 2025.
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