Roaring Fork School District Board Director Betsy After resigned during Wednesday’s meeting, saying she could no longer give the district the level of service students deserve as she focuses on her son’s recovery after a Feb. 16 ski accident and her family’s upcoming medical needs.

After told the Post Independent her son, Jules, was injured on Buttermilk Mountain in February. She said he suffered a concussion and later developed an eye complication that will require ongoing medical care and surgery. He is a student at Carbondale Middle School.

“His recovery and caring for him has been a lot more complicated than we anticipated at the outset of the accident,” After told the Post Independent. “It just is requiring a lot of time, a lot of attention, a lot of care. So something had to give for me personally, so I can keep my day job and manage his health and recovery and my family. So the thing that had to go was the job that I was doing as a school board member.”

In her resignation statement, read during Wednesday’s meeting, After said she could no longer give the district the level of service students deserve.

“At this time I cannot fulfill my commitment to the board,” she said during Wednesday’s meeting. “I am resigning my position as a director on the Roaring Fork School District Board of Education, effective at the conclusion of the public meeting on April 15, 2026.

“I’ve aimed to show up for this district with my whole heart since 2023, but this is not possible for me right now,” she added. “The students in the district deserve a five-member board that can offer the full presence and attention that governing requires. Stepping down is a difficult choice, but it is the right one to ensure the board remains strong and my family is supported.”

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Elected in November 2023, After represents District B, which includes the area of Carbondale west of Highway 133. During her time on the board, she served on the finance committee, represented the board on the Colorado River BOCES board of directors and sat on the RFSD District Accountability Committee.

Reflecting on her time on the board, After told the Post Independent the role has been an honor.

“It’s really been an honor to have the opportunity to be on the board,” she said. “I think leaving wasn’t really a choice. I simply can’t be in two places at once, and I feel like the place I need to be is at home with my kids.”

After told the Post Independent she is leaving with confidence in district leadership as the school district continue navigating declining enrollment and rising costs.

“I am leaving with just the utmost trust in Dr. Anna Cole as a leader of our schools,” she said. “She is just guiding this really complex institution during such a hard time due to declining enrollment. That’s not through any faults of our own. It’s mirroring trends across the state and the country, while expenses for everything are rising.”

Board President Lindsay DeFrates, who was elected alongside After in 2023, told the Post Independent the board will miss her insight, energy and service on both the finance committee and Colorado River BOCES board of directors.

“The board will very much miss Director After’s participation,” DeFrates said. “I especially have always appreciated her insight and ability to ask questions which get right to the heart of very complex matters.”

DeFrates said she understands After’s decision and supports her stepping away to focus on her family.

“I think, of course, I’m going to miss her a lot in our meetings,” DeFrates said. “We have worked together since we both joined the board, and yet I completely understand her decision. Her family needs her, and she’s making the right choice to be with them in this difficult time.”

Superintendent Anna Cole said during Wednesday’s meeting that After’s work helped shape the district’s new strategic plan and thanked her for her service.

“We are incredibly grateful for Director After’s dedicated years of service to the Roaring Fork Schools community,” she said. “Her unwavering commitment to strengthening schools that meet the needs of all students was instrumental in the development of our new strategic plan and helped focus and align our governance team. We will miss her grounded, practical, community-minded leadership and her depth of experience in governance, communication and problem-solving.”

The board accepted After’s resignation Wednesday and approved a resolution to fill the vacancy by appointment within 60 days. Interested candidates must submit a letter of interest and qualifications by May 20. The board plans to interview applicants May 27 at its regularly scheduled public meeting. To be eligible, candidates must be registered electors of the school district and residents of District B. The appointee will serve until the next regular school biennial election in November 2027. More information is available at rfschools.com.