A School District 49 board member has resigned, the district announced Tuesday.

Board director Deb Schmidt submitted her resignation to the board on Feb. 23. The reason given for the resignation was “to honor commitments to her family,” the district said in an announcement.

“The BoE (board of education) is grateful for her dedicated service to the D49 community,” the statement read.

Schmidt declined an interview request from The Gazette.

Schmidt was elected to the board in 2023 on a pro-parental rights campaign. During her tenure, the board approved multiple new policies affecting the district’s transgender students.

Policy ACA, approved in November 2024, outlines a procedure for changing students’ names to align with their gender identity, which requires parental consent.

Policy JBA, approved in May 2025, requires students to participate in school sports based on their biological sex rather than their chosen gender. This was followed by policy JBAA in November 2025, which segregated the use of district facilities based on biological sex.

JBAA was repealed in January on a 3-2 vote. Schmidt was among the “nay” votes.

Prior to her time on the board, Schmidt filed a lawsuit against D-49, alleging violations of constitutional rights, when she was escorted out of a February 2023 board meeting for holding and keeping up signs during the meeting. A jury for the U.S. District Court for Colorado ruled in favor of Schmidt last July.

During this time, D-49 also spearheaded a lawsuit against the Colorado High School Activities Association, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and the Colorado Civil Rights Division over the legal implementation of Policy JBA. CHSAA eventually settled in December with the districts and others named as plaintiffs, protecting D-49 from sanctions related to JBA.

Filling the board vacancy

A special board meeting was held Feb. 25 to accept Schmidt’s letter of resignation and declare the vacancy. The board then reviewed and approved the application for incoming board candidates.

Per Colorado law, the board has 60 days to select someone to fill the vacancy. If the board is unable to appoint a new member within the timeframe, then Board President Marie La Vere-Wright will make the appointment.

The appointed board member will serve the remainder of Schmidt’s term, which runs through November 2027.