When a new school board takes over, the handoff is usually simple: outgoing members say their goodbyes, newcomers raise their right hands, and the work begins. But in Douglas County Schools, where liberals regained the majority in November, the transition turned shady.

Colorado law allows newly elected members to be sworn in early, by any notary public, within 10 days of certification. As The Denver Gazette reports, three of four incoming DougCo board members used that little-known loophole over Thanksgiving.

The result? Confused constituents — and blindsided board members who had no idea they’d been removed until afterwards.

The first to go was Becky Myers on Tuesday, Nov. 25, when newcomer Tony Ryan quietly went to a notary and signed his oath — a full week before the transition meeting. Myers had no clue until Ryan copied her on an email about the move. It wasn’t until later that the news hit her like a brick.

“At first I’m wondering, what is he doing? Is this legal? You just go to a notary and get it done?” she told me, noting that it was just her for a few days. “I was honestly kind of sad. I had a little sleepless night in Kansas.”

On Friday evening, now-former President Christy Williams publicly blew the whistle. The day before, she’d told me what happened to Myers — and her fear that she and Vice President Kaylee Winegar might be next.

She was right. By Friday afternoon, both Williams and Winegar learned they’d been ousted, too — replaced by Clark Callahan and Kelly Denzler, respectively, following what Williams viewed as a threat from liberal incumbent Susan Meek.

Outgoing board member Tim Moore resigned after the others were removed.

One flashpoint was disagreement over whether the new board would reconsider an opt-in requirement for the controversial “Healthy Kids” survey at their first meeting.

“Would it be helpful for us to talk through the agenda items for … the new board?” Meek texted Williams earlier Friday — even though the agenda planning session had already occurred.

Then came the zinger: “If I do not have confirmation by noon that the incoming board agenda will be posted as requested, the incoming board members are ready to be sworn in immediately.”

To Williams, the message was unmistakable: “Director Meek orchestrated a plan to manipulate an agenda she had agreed upon previously,” Williams told me. “When she couldn’t get her way, she resorted to threats.”

Yet in the end, the agenda never changed — which raises the obvious question: Why the rush?

“Three of the four new directors were sworn in under a cloak of darkness to throw out the sitting members before their last meeting,” Williams said. “This lacks transparency and isn’t a good way to start off their terms.”

That much is clear. Yet on the Facebook page Douglas County Watch, Ryan insisted his early swearing-in was for purely “sentimental reasons” — because he wanted a childhood friend who’s a notary to administer the oath.

“I had no idea that former Director Williams would react this way,” he wrote, claiming he “made sure to notify those affected by the swearing in ahead of the ceremony on December 2nd,” and blasting any suggestion of a “nefarious purpose without even taking the time to ask me.”

Funny. Myers, Williams and Winegar weren’t given that courtesy before being unceremoniously replaced.

Denzler commented she swore in early because her mother couldn’t attend Thursday’s meeting, so she asked “a notary friend who came to Thanksgiving” to administer the oath with her family.

“I had no idea this would be so distressing to the outgoing board members,” she wrote. Perhaps that’s because no one asked them?

“This transition was to be a meaningful closing chapter, and my family had hoped to attend as a final show of support,” Winegar said in a statement. “It is unfortunate that there is nothing for them to attend now, as my responsibilities… just abruptly ended while I was heating up my lunch on a Friday afternoon.”

Myers told me her husband and daughter were also planning to capstone four years with her. They were robbed.

While newcomers insisted it was purely personal — family, nostalgia, convenience — liberal incumbent Brad Geiger claimed it was “purely partisan.” He blamed Williams for refusing to alter the agenda, arguing the new members weren’t being “treated with respect” and were forced to be sworn in early.

Except Ryan and Denzler both denied being behind the agenda request. Denzler asserted she “was not privy” to the conversations; Ryan “did not support” Meek’s position. They insisted their early oaths were purely personal.

So, which is it — political retaliation or sentimental family moments?

Attorney Brad Miller, who works with school boards across the state that support school choice and parental rights, didn’t buy it. “They planned this. They clearly worked together on this,” he said. “It’s just a super-aggressive move.”

Let’s be real: Three newcomers just happened to pull off this exceedingly rare early swearing-in without coordination? Who would even know this loophole exists unless someone told them?

Nothing substantive came from the stunt, but it was still underhanded — driven by a “turnabout-for-past-grievances” mindset that has no place in governance, much less our schools.

It’s a shame the new DougCo board majority chose to begin its tenure this way.

Jimmy Sengenberger is an investigative journalist, public speaker, and longtime local talk-radio host. Reach Jimmy online at Jimmysengenberger.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @SengCenter.