| 4. What role would you as an elected official play in increasing the quality of education in Denver’s public school system? | |
| MAYORAL CANDIDATES | |
| Matt Brady | I would work with parents since the education of their children is their principal responsibility, and schools exist to help. My parents were very involved in the education of my two sisters and me, and we are well-equipped academically. I helped start the DU Bridge Project in 1991 to assist at-risk Denver children with after-school and summer enrichment programs. DU discontinued this program during the Covid pandemic. I would develop a new program that would engage parents and students to help achieve a functional literacy 12th-grade level of all HS graduates, and improve K-12 graduation rates up to the high 90 percent. I have successfully done tutoring of students from time to time. |
| Jim Walsh | I would press to de-emphasize test scores as a barometer of the success of our schools, instead using a broad range of assessments. As Mayor, I would improve the education of students from low-income backgrounds by channeling resources to the parents and communities of low-income students. |
| Trinidad Rodriguez | I envision a structural organizational relationship between the city of Denver and Denver Public Schools with a goal of deriving better outcomes for students and families in the short-, medium- and long-term. Increasing voter engagement and participation in board elections mitigates outsized influence of outside interest groups which can distract from putting student needs first. Driving the board to be centered on students while bringing greater collaboration from health, housing and other providers. Aligning the representation of students’ racial and ethnic background with the composition of the board, enhancing racial equity and inclusion of more historically marginalized communities. |
| Mike Johnston | The City of Denver should continue to work closely with DPS to ensure our students are receiving the best education and our teachers and staff receive the support they need. As Mayor, my goal is to work closely with teachers, administrators, and parents to make sure the City is supporting DPS while using my position to push for better outcomes. I have 3 priorities for my partnership with Denver Public Schools: first is ensuring equitable access to out of school learning opportunities by providing funding for students receiving free and reduced lunch to access high-quality afterschool and summer school programming to help close achievement gaps and find their areas of passion. Second, I would expand mental health services for school-based health clinics by expanding our partnership with Denver Health. And third, I would publicly advocate for the election of thoughtful, experienced Denverites to the School Board who are committed to doing the essential job of providing high quality teaching and learning to the students of Denver. We can’t have a great city without a great school district, and can’t have a great school district without a functional, professional School Board. |
| Chris Hansen | As Mayor, I will continue to hold the district accountable for its decisions and outcomes using the power of the Mayor’s bully pulpit. I will also continue the efforts on which I have made progress in the state legislature to protect and tell the stories of schools that are helping to serve historically under-served student populations and close achievement gaps. I will focus on building complete, connected neighborhoods, so that every neighborhood in the city has access to a grocery store, library, playground, recreation center and other hubs of services for families. Expanded learning experiences have been shown to increase student performance overall. Making them available to all students and not just families with social capital and connections is critical, as Mayor I will try to build these types of partnerships between schools and the business community. I would work with the Denver School Board to pursue the possibility of having a member of the Mayor’s administration on the Board as a non-voting member. If we acknowledge that great public schools are necessary for a strong urban center like Denver, it feels reasonable to have direct representation from the Mayor’s office to ensure that decisions being made by the district are reflective of larger issues in the city. For instance, if there were a representative from the city who was a member of the Board, then the recent proposal to close a school that is near a significant new housing development would not have advanced as far as it did. We cannot afford to have that kind of disconnect, which creates problems for families, students and the district down the line, in addition to the glaring inefficiency of those proceedings. |
| Lisa Calderón | There are many successes of DPS, such as rising graduation rates, improved diversity of leadership, the addition of Community Hubs providing resources and food, and clarity of roles between the board and superintendent. However there is much room for improvement. The education offered through DPS could be improved not just by targeting educational programs, but by addressing the myriad of other challenges that students face in and out of school. As mayor, I would focus on address inequitable school funding, that disadvantages certain schools – and the surrounding communities – disproportionately. I would also expand funding for bilingual and multilingual education with enrollment challenges. To better support the health and safety of DPS families, I would also address the pressing issues of housing and affordability within denver. Students, families, and educators cannot focus on learning and teaching when basic necessities are not met, such as stable and affordable housing, access to food, safe and easy transportation, and steady employment. As such, I will expand the work of the Office of Children’s Affairs to include parents and teachers, increase the availability of affordable housing, and center economic opportunities with steady living wages across all policy areas. Additionally, I would partner with DPS to create a safer environment for kids to learn. As mayor, I would work to improve the strained relationship between DPS Security and principals to explore alternative forms of discipline that prevent the school to prison pipeline. I would also expand resources for gun violence prevention, and improved education on drug-use prevention, treatment, and harm-reduction. |
| Kelly Brough | A world class city needs a world class education system. The Mayor of Denver is not and should not be responsible for Denver Public Schools (DPS), but the Mayor, Superintendent and School Board must all work together to ensure progress toward shared goals. Most importantly, DPS must be laser-focused on improving student success and closing achievement gaps among students of color and those coming from low-income families. As Mayor, I will use the power of my platform to inform and shape the direction of DPS. My priorities for Denver Public Schools would include: • Focusing on the November 2023 school board election to ensure we’re getting a strong, engaged school board that is squarely focused on improving student achievement and addressing achievement gaps. • Developing partnerships that enable the school district to spend their limited funding on classroom investments. For example, when I worked for Mayor Hickenlooper, the City started picking up trash and waste for the school district to eliminate that expense and allow the district to reinvest those dollars into the classroom. • Aligning and investing in programs and services that support student success outside of the classroom through our Denver Public Library, our Parks and Recreation Department and our Office of Children’s Affairs, which funds several before and after school and summer programs in neighborhoods across the city. • Exploring if and how the City can hire DPS students into apprenticeships or paid internships to make earning and learning part of their high school experience. |
| Renate Behrens | increase budget, payment and better education for teachers |
| Deborah “Debbie” Ortega | The City School Coordinating Committee would play a crucial role in working on a range of issues such as the impact of school closures on their neighborhoods and keeping our children safe as they get to and from school by fulfilling the Safe Routes to School program, as examples. Although DPS and City Hall are separate bodies, I plan to be a mayor that removes communications barriers between these entities – our children’s futures depend on productive conversation between city leadership and Denver Public Schools that also provide options for learning to prepare them for career opportunities, regardless of whether they pursue college or not |
| PAUL NOEL FIORINO (write-in) | Music, dance and sport continue to be needed. A curriculum based in Arts Education will lead to the technology, mathematical development of students. STEAM. Teach the Whole Child. FIORINOFORDENVER.COM |
| Thomas Wolf | As stated above, I believe budget is highly correlated to quality, so preserving that has to be the top priority. I think there are other synergies to be had in procurement and maintenance as well. But in regard to curriculum and operations I think it is best to leave that to the School Board. |
| Dr. Abass Yaya Bamba | AS an elected official, I already proposed in my platform five days summit with all the stakeholders based on smart growth approach find solutions for the short, medium and long term. The recommendations of summit will be used as the road map for the reform of Denver’s public education system. |
| Terrance Roberts | By making sure to have lower rent and better housing with rent controls and proper support for food and better living situation at home so kids can come to school prepared to learn. Better after school programming, better recreation centers and more youth centered spaces will help DPS teachers and staff have children at school ready to learn and will create a better learning environment. My policies will help teachers with housing and food security as well. |
| AUDITOR | |
| Timothy M. O’Brien | As Denver’s Auditor, my authority to examine Denver Public Schools is limited. Wherever Denver tax dollars go, the Auditor should be able to go, too. However, as Denver Public Schools and the School Board are separate from the City and County of Denver, our access is limited. However, there are many related programs within the City and County of Denver aimed at supporting families and ensuring children have access to quality education, and I believe these are important areas for audit. For example, recently, I examined the Denver Preschool Program and I am currently auditing the College Affordability Scholarship Program because I believe it is important that the city use the resources from newly passed ballot initiatives effectively to achieve the outcomes voters intended. We found the city had insufficient oversight of the Preschool Program and left excessive accumulation of funds on the table. Leaving tax dollars unused (accruing interest in the bank) or using too much for administrative costs, instead of for direct program benefit, keeps the city from expanding participation in the program. If more families are able to take advantage of supportive resources, then more kids are set up for success. After that audit, the city implemented every one of my recommendations. These actions should create greater opportunities to expand program participation, which means offering learning opportunities to more Denver children. I plan to continue work like this to ensure Denver’s public resources are used efficiently and effectively in support of our children, families, and communities’ success. |
| Erik Clarke | The Denver City Auditor does not have a direct relationship with DPS; however, I will engage within our school systems as a collaborator to help resolve challenges faced by our communities on a holistic level. I’ll bring energy to this office and a collaborative, thoughtful, community-wide approach to governing. |
