Scott Esserman served as an at-large (citywide) Denver school board director from 2021-2025. He ran for the District 3 (central Denver) seat last fall and lost to DJ Torres.
Boardhawk wanted Esserman on the podcast because we vigorously disagreed with him on a range of Denver Public Schools issues during his tenure, and wrote about him in a harshly critical tone on several occasions. At times the tone of those criticisms might have obscured the substantive differences in policy and philosophy that underlay them. Some of those disagreements include the performance of Superintendent Alex Marrero, whether DPS is headed n the right direction, Marrero’s contract extension, and school safety.
As strong believers in entering into dialogue with people with whom you disagree, podcast co-hostsA lan Gottlieb and Alexis Menocal Harrigan wanted to hold a pointed yet civil conversation with Esserman about his views, and where they differ from ours. It was an interesting conversation. Enjoy.
