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The first thing visitors to the Elizabeth School District website see is a pop-up window with an unusual message: an invitation to help cover legal fees incurred in a lawsuit over library book removals.
The appeal by the 2,700-student district southeast of Denver is part of a broader effort supported by at least three conservative groups, including one led by former Republican gubernatorial candidate Heidi Ganahl, to raise money to defend the district against the lawsuit.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado filed suit against the district in December alleging that the Elizabeth school board’s vote to remove 19 books from school libraries violates federal and state free speech protections. The books, which are now back on shelves because of a court order, are primarily by or about LGBTQ people, people of color, or both.
While school district fundraisers for things like classroom supplies or field trips are common, asking parents and the public for money to pay lawyers is not. The heading on the donation page hosted by Ganahl’s group reads “Save Elizabeth School District,” with buttons underneath suggesting donations ranging from $250 to $10,000.
It isn’t clear from publicly posted district financial records how much the Elizabeth School District has spent on the library book lawsuit. District officials declined to answer that question.
The plaintiffs in the case include two district students, a chapter of the NAACP, and the Authors Guild, a professional organization for writers. Their lawyers argue that the removal of the books violates federal and state free speech protections. Among the titles removed were “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison, “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini, and “It’s Your World — If You Don’t Like It, Change It” by Mikki Halpin.
Lawyers for the district argue that the books were removed because of concerns they weren’t age-appropriate, lacked educational value, and included sensitive content such as graphic violence, explicit sexual references, extreme drug or alcohol use, and self harm ideation.
Elizabeth Superintendent Dan Snowberger declined a telephone interview with Chalkbeat, but wrote in a text that the district’s finances are sound and that the lawsuit’s genesis is what’s unusual about the situation.
“It’s unusual for a behemoth organization like the ACLU with a major financial war chest to come after a small rural district,” he wrote. “We will not allow them to impact the educational opportunities for our children in the district, and will do everything necessary to mobilize outside forces to protect our children.”
The Elizabeth School District has portrayed its legal fight against the ACLU as a David and Goliath story. On social media and in board meetings, some community members have supported the district’s decision to remove the books and its fight against the lawsuit. A common objection to the books is that some passages are too graphic for students, such as those that describe sexual assaults.
Other community members oppose both the book removals and the fundraising campaign.
Jessica Capsel, an Elizabeth resident whose son attended school in the district until she switched him out last year, said she believes the time and money district officials are spending on the lawsuit are distracting them from educating kids.
“That pop up [window] begging for money pops up every time you change a page” on the district’s website, said Capsel, who won a lawsuit against the district over open meeting violations last spring but is not directly involved in the library book lawsuit. “So clearly that’s where their priority has been.”
Tim Macdonald, legal director of the ACLU of Colorado, said by email that the organization didn’t “come after” Elizabeth. Instead, he said, district students and families wanted the district to comply with the Constitution and stop banning books that have content or viewpoints with which board members disagree.
“Fighting for the constitutional rights of students in Colorado is how we protect children; violating their constitutional rights is not protecting children,” he wrote.
Elizabeth’s legal costs and fundraiser totals are opaque
It’s unclear how much money the Elizabeth district has spent fighting the book removal lawsuit in the 10 months since it was filed.
Financial records on the district’s website suggest modest spending on the two primary law firms representing the district. Only about $6,500 was paid to First and Fourteenth, which has a location in Colorado Springs, and nothing was paid to Mitchell Law, located in Austin, Texas, during the first six months of 2025.
The district spent about $57,000 in that same period on a third firm, Miller, Farmer, Carlson Law. That firm typically handles routine matters for the district but is also listed in court documents as representing the district in the book removal case.
It’s also unclear much money has been raised to cover legal fees for the district’s lawsuit and where that money is going.
Ganahl, whose conservative news outlet Rocky Mountain Voice is running the online donation page titled “Save Elizabeth School District,” didn’t respond to Chalkbeat questions about how much her group has raised and whether the money is being sent to the school district.
She sent a statement that said in part, “Our fundraising assistance supports the board in exercising its authority to curate age-appropriate library content, responding to parental concerns about sensitive themes like explicit content or divisive topics.”
Julian Ellis, one of the district’s lawyers from First and Fourteenth Law, also didn’t respond to emailed questions about how much money he’s collected. The district’s website lists Ellis as the person designated to receive paper checks — payable to an Alexandria, Virginia, group called the Article III Foundation — to help cover the district’s legal costs.
Lori Gimelshteyn, executive director of the parents rights group Parents United America, which hosts an online donation page for Elizabeth’s legal costs, didn’t respond to Chalkbeat questions about how much her group raised and where the money is going.
A fourth partner in the Elizabeth district’s legal fee fundraising effort is Citizens Defending Freedom, based in Mulberry, Florida. The group last Thursday held a “Protect Our Children” fundraiser for Elizabeth at a Colorado Springs church, with the ticket proceeds going to Ganahl’s group. A flyer circulating on Facebook said the cost ranged from $100 for a single ticket to $2,000 for the “platinum” package, which included 10 tickets, VIP seating, and a private reception with the four speakers.
A spokesperson for Citizens Defending Freedom referred a question from Chalkbeat about fundraising totals to Bonnie Wallace, one of the event speakers. Wallace, a legislative liaison for Recovering America, an organization that promotes Biblical values in public policy, did not respond to multiple emails from Chalkbeat.
Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat. Contact Ann at aschimke@chalkbeat.org.
