Coach Steve Finesilver is a 1974 graduate of Denver’s George Washington High School and has worked as an educator in the district for 45 years, most of them at his alma mater.
Coach Finesilver is a well known and beloved figure in DPS, and his many community activities outside the work day have won him widespread accolades and admiration.
Coach Finesilver has not been known over the as a political actor or a political firebrand, but recently he has felt compelled to speak out. At a school board public comment session in early April, Coach Finesilver addressed the board, and said, among other things during his allotted two minutes:
“Denver Public Schools is considering whether to extend the contract with Superintendent Alex Marrero. A decision should be made only after we have heard public opinion from all of our constituents, families, taxpayers, faculty, staff and students. Hear our voice, hear our vision. Our schools are unsafe. A complicated discipline matrix allows students with documented violent tendencies to attend school without receiving emotional support or remediation. We make no effort to help them until there is an incident. Leadership has generated enormous and justified distrust. Teachers and staff facing challenges are not supported. Morale throughout our district is at an all time low.”
A few weeks later, the board is poised to take up the question of Marrero’s contract extension this Thursday, May 1. It appears likely, though not certain, that the board will take a vote to extend Marrero’s contract, though specifics are lacking. The board has rebuffed growing community unrest about the extension and The total lack of community input into the decision
Coach Finesilver joins us today to talk about the proposed extension, and the current state of the district from the perspective of 45 years on the inside.
