Denver voters have approved mill levy overrides before. DPS collected $369.6 million last year from seven voter-approved overrides dating to 1988. That history is exactly why voters deserve specifics. A district that has been trusted this many times should be able to say what the next dollars will do.
Three eventful years into his tenure on the Denver Public Schools Board of Education, board member John Youngquist discusses where the board’s focus should be as it emerges (we hope) from a period of tumult, in-fighting and dysfunction.
We asked Denver Classroom Teachers Association President Rob Gould, and Vernon Jones, a community advocate and executive director of FaithBridge, onto the show to discuss the mill levy, reasons voters should approve it, and to answer some questions about why maybe some voters should be skeptical that it’s a good idea. We also discussed board and district leadership and whether there need to be changes.
It is time for the board to call for new leadership of the body. A new officer election would give members an opportunity to reconsider that leadership and publicly articulate the expectations they have of those serving as president, vice president, and other offices.
Recently, I’ve heard people question whether Denver should make another investment in our schools because of the disagreements and challenges happening among adults in the district. As a student, that is hard for me to understand. Whatever concerns adults have about leadership, governance, or accountability, taking investment away from students because of adult behavior feels like punishing us for decisions we did not make.
The Denver school board on Thursday, October 8, censured Director Monica Hunter for allegedly making anti-Semitic statements about a fellow board member. The censure followed a quick investigation by an outside party, and while the findings of the investigation were inconclusive, the board decided on a 4-2 vote that there was enough evidence to merit the censure. Potential conflicts of interest with Hunter’s employment also contributed to the decision to censure her. In this episode, co-hosts Alexis Menocal Harrigan and Alan Gottlieb discuss the fallout.
Maybe it is time for all of us to say NO to the board’s request for a $44 million mill levy tax increase. I am torn. Denver’s teachers need to be paid more. But I do not see how Denver will ever do better by most of its students without a clear plan, transparency, honest discussion of progress, and real accountability for student success — none of which this board has offered.
Alleged antisemitic statements by Denver school board member Monica Hunter aimed at her colleague Amy Klein Molk are problematic. Equally troubling, however, is why the superintendent and board president sat on them for nine months until it became politically expedient to release them. In this episode, co-hosts Alexis Menocal Harrigan and Alan Gottlieb discuss whether board relationships and trust in board President Xóchitl Gaytán and Superintendent Alex Marrero are irreparably damaged, and if so, what should happen as a result.
The Denver school board on Thursday, Sept. 17 voted unanimously to launch an investigation into allegations that board Director Monica Hunter made anti-semitic comments about fellow board member Amy Klein Molk, who is Jewish. In this episode, co-hosts Alexis Menocal Harrigan and Alan Gottlieb discuss the meeting’s bizarre twists and turns, and impacts on Denver Public Schools students, with Nicholas Hernández, executive director of the advocacy group Transform Education Now.
At the September 17 Denver Public Schools Board of Education public comment session, 14 people addressed the board and community about allegations leveled against two board members by the board President Xóchitl Gaytán, with an assist from Superintendent Alex Marrero. Two comments stood out, so we are publishing them here.
DPS is still struggling to define equity. Still struggling to define a shared vision forward with a comprehensive strategic plan to get there together. Too many departments, committees, sub-committees, and parts operating in silos, disconnected from the reality that we must align our brilliance to do what is better and best for black children and therefore all children served by Denver Public Schools.
The Reimagining SPF Committee is making it harder for members of the public to get critical academic data that they rely on to understand what is happening inside our schools. Committee members are asking you to trust that the system is working for the success of your student and then hiding the evidence that would prove it.
Here’s a worthwhile read on all the factors that must be considered when deciding how and when to reopen schools. The authors believe schools should open in the fall if at all possible, but only if the proper conditions are set.
Compass Academy, a southwest Denver charter middle school, had planned to expand and add a high school. That’s no longer the case.
The Covid-19 calamity presents an opportunity for all sides to come together to create a new vision for what public education might look like in Denver when we emerge from the pandemic. We offer a respectful counterpoint to some recently floated ideas.
The structure and systems remain in place. Supremacy ideology continues to choke the potential of this district to be anything but talk when it comes to transforming the lived realities of black children, families, communities, teachers and leaders.
Boardhawk is an independent service dedicated to community-based commentary and advocacy-focused coverage of Denver Public Schools and its recently reconfigured Board of Education.
There’s a good article by Elizabeth Hernandez in The Denver Post today about the additional challenges faced by the state’s English language learners as districts have transitioned to online learning in the Covid-19 era.
A Denver school board resolution that could have effectively gutted the plans that drive innovation schools has been shelved until later this year, after an outcry from some principals prompted the board sponsor to reopen a dialogue on the issue.
At best, the district will face draconian cuts. At worst…well, let’s not go there yet.
Before voters approve a $44 million DPS tax hike, tell us what will change
Denver voters have approved mill levy overrides before. DPS collected $369.6 million last year from seven voter-approved overrides dating to 1988. That history is exactly why voters deserve specifics. A district that has been trusted this many times should be able to say what the next dollars will do.