The newly elected Denver school board will vote Thursday to extend Superintendent Alex Marrero’s contract from two to four years, just five months into his tenure and before any kind of performance evaluation has been started, let alone completed.
“Through a very challenging first half of the school year, Dr. Marrero has shown exceptional leadership in supporting our schools, educators, and students, while also doing an extensive Listening and Learning tour to connect with and learn from the DPS community,” board President Xóchitl Gaytán, elected last month, wrote to DPS employees. And, she added in a press release, “he students, families and employees of Denver Public Schools deserve stable, strong, compassionate and authentic leadership. Dr. Marrero has demonstrated all of those qualities.”
Early Thursday, the Latino Education Coalition released a strongly worded statement criticizing the move to extend Marrero’s contract so early in his tenure.
“Before a conversation about a contract extension is to be had, let alone a vote, there should be metrics in place and feedback from DPS staff, community and all impacted parties,” the coalition statement says. “Dr. Marrero’s contract should not be renewed until we can see progress in student learning, improvement in teacher support and employee well-being.”
The coalition also said that “he lack of transparency and community involvement is not how this new school board has committed itself to operate. Given the unique challenges currently faced by our students and teachers, extending the contract of Dr. Marrero should not be the first order of business.”
Earlier this year, the coalition objected to the search process that led to Marrero’s hiring and urged the school board to broaden its search for a new leader.
School board Vice President Tay Anderson said in a statement that the extension is a way of delivering on people’s request for “bold” leadership.
If the extension passes, which appears almost certain, Marrero’s contract will run through June of 2025, with a year’s extension possible beyond that. The previous contract ran through Marrero’s current annual salary is $260,000, with annual increases pegged to the area’s Consumer Price Index.
The resolution to voted on tomorrow lays out a general plan for evaluating Marrero’s performance going forward. The board will evaluate Marrero’s performance by October 31 of each year, and the evaluation will include a self-assessment by Marrero.
“The Superintendent’s evaluation shall be kept confidential to the extent permitted by Colorado law,” the resolution also says. That secrecy clause is new language, not part of Marrero’s original contract.
Marrero was hired last spring out of the City School District of New Rochelle, New York, and began serving as Superintendent July 1. He succeeded Susana Cordova, a 31-year DPS veteran who climbed the ranks to the top job and then resigned from the superintendent position in November 2020 after less than two years on the job. Cordova took a high-level position with the Dallas Independent School District.
