The board of Denver Public Schools is an embarrassment to the state and they are all deserving of being kicked to the curb.
Sadly, only three board seats are up for reelection.
From Colorado Chalkbeat:
The election has the potential to shift the dynamics of the board, which has been criticized for infighting between some members. It could also change the board’s approach to solving the problems of declining enrollment in Denver Public Schools and school safety, which has become a topic of debate after a shooting at East High School.
So here’s some stuff voters need to know as they cast their ballots for school board members.
First the good news — at-large troublemaker Auon’tai “Tay” Anderson is not running for reelection, to the relief of parents everywhere.
PeakNation™ will recall that teachers’ union endorsed Anderson and the rest of the current dysfunctional board.
That’s why it’s important to note the union has this time endorsed Kwame Spearman, who ran for Denver mayor before dropping out of that race earlier this year.
The Denver Gazette, meanwhile, has endorsed John Youngquist, a school principal and assistant superintended who says school safety has been ignored and supports revamping the school system’s defective discipline matrix.
The Denver Classroom Teachers Association has also endorsed the two incumbents: Scott Baldermann in District 1 and Charmaine Lindsay in District 5, Chalkbeat reports.
The Denver Gazette balked at those candidates as well, and endorsed Kimberlee Sia for District 1 in southeast Denver, and Marlene De La Rose for District 5 in west and northwest Denver.
Of De La Rose, the Gazette writes:
She has been the archetypal parent-activist since her own children started in Denver schools over 20 years ago. She calls herself a “uniter, not a divider” and “a doer, not a talker” — a dramatic change for a board that has spent the past four years talking itself in circles.
Sia has an impressive background in education and is running on a platform to prioritize student achievement and school safety.
The Gazette has made some thoughtful picks, which readers can learn more about here, while the teacher unions don’t support charter schools, but do support the status quo of declining enrollment and poor test scores with their choices of candidates.