John Youngquist wins Denver school board’s at-large seat; incumbents Scott Baldermann and Charmaine Lindsay ousted

John Youngquist, a former East High School principal, trounced ex-Tattered Cover CEO Kwame Spearman in the race for the open at-large seat on the Denver school board Tuesday night in an election that cost two incumbents their seats.

Youngquist held a 35-percentage-point lead over Spearman in the citywide race for the seat being vacated by board Vice President Auon’tai Anderson, as of the latest results at 12:10 a.m. Wednesday. And in two district races, challengers Kimberlee Sia and Marlene De La Rosa defeated incumbents Scott Baldermann and Charmaine Lindsay, respectively, by significant margins.

“We feel pretty positive about the results. People are ready for an experienced group of leaders,”  Youngquist said Tuesday night, adding, “The families, the community is looking for change on the board.”

The three candidates who now will join Denver Public Schools’ Board of Education were backed by Denver Families Action, a deep-pocketed political group with charter school ties — making the results a defeat for the teachers union.

While members backed by the Denver Classroom Teachers Association still will retain the majority on the seven-member board, the results mark the first time that candidates supported by reform groups have held seats on the board since 2021. The DPS board flipped to a union-backed majority in 2019.

The teachers union endorsed incumbents Baldermann and Lindsay as well as Spearman.

“Regardless of the election’s outcome, we remain committed to working collaboratively with all board members,” DCTA President Rob Gould said in a statement. “We must ensure that students receive the support they need, and educators have a meaningful role in guiding and shaping future decisions made in Denver Public Schools.”

As of the 12:10 a.m. update, Younguist held a commanding lead in the at-large race, with 64,088 votes, or 62% of the total. Spearman had 27,451 votes, or 26.56%. And Brittni Johnson, a community organizer and DPS parent, had 11,821 votes, or 11.44%.

Spearman told The Denver Post that he had called Younguist to congratulate him, saying that while he expected the margin to tighten as counting continued, “we believe the gap will be challenging to overcome.”

In the District 1 race in southeast Denver, Sia, the former head of the KIPP Colorado charter school network, had 14,285 votes, or 55.51% of the total. Baldermann had 11,448 votes, or 44.49%.

“I’m very proud of what I accomplished the past four years,” Baldermann said in a statement. “It’s been an honor to serve and I wish (Sia) and the next board the best.”

Sia called her win “super exciting” and said she hopes to elevate the voices of students, families and educators.

“I’m really excited to be able to start this work and I obviously jumped into the race because I feel like there needs to be some change in DPS,” she said, adding that she is ready to work with the new board “to bring the focus back to kids and all of the work that needs to be done.”

In the District 5 race in northwest Denver, De La Rosa, a former DPS parent, had 11,752 votes, or 59.45% of the vote. Lindsay, who was appointed to the board in 2022, had 4,767 votes, or 24.11%. And parent Adam Slutzker had 3,249 votes, or 16.44%.

“I’m just super happy to see the results and the community support that I have,” De La Rosa said.

Lindsay couldn’t be reached for comment.

“Never been a board so out of touch”

This year’s election for three seats on the Board of Education garnered heightened interest from parents and community members, who sought to shake up the leadership of Colorado’s largest district following a shooting inside East High School in March.

Parents have formed two groups — Resign DPS Board and the Parents Safety Advocacy Group, or P-SAG — that have advocated for a change on the board, citing concerns about school safety and infighting among directors.

Mayor Mike Johnston even entered the fray, endorsing the three reform-backed candidates — Youngquist, Sia and De La Rosa — and appearing in a TV ad to support them.

The fact that two incumbents lost their seats “happened because there has never been a board so out of touch with the basic beliefs of most Denver families,” said Heather Lamm, the founder of Resign DPS. “I hope it’s a clear signal that DPS needs to listen better and to act differently.”

The school board election has drawn close to $2 million in political spending, including more than $1.3 million from an independent expenditure committee called Better Leaders, Stronger Schools, according to filings with the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office.

The committee, which is funded largely by Denver Families Action, spent money on advertising, ranging from mailers to a television ad — a rarity in Denver school board elections — to support Youngquist, Sia and De La Rosa and to attack the three candidates with union support.

“This is a momentous day for Denver,” said Daniel Aschkinasi, the registered agent for Better Leaders, Stronger Schools.

“The three candidates that we are supporting embodied a vision of what a return to education policy should be and the direction that voters wanted to see,” he added. “I really hope that the DCTA is looking at these three board members, not as opponents but as opportunities.”

The union has spent significantly less — just more than $167,400 — than reform groups during the election, according to filings with the Secretary of State’s Office.

“It’s also important to acknowledge that there has been a concerning influx of out-of-state dark money attempting to influence this election,” Gould said in his statement. “Many of these efforts are funded by charter school networks, during a time of school closures and declining enrollment. We must remain vigilant and question the motivations of these individuals and groups, as their ‘investment’ in the election raises questions about expectations and implications for the future of Denver Public Schools.”

The fact that a TV ad ran during a school board election “suggests that there are some major interests involved that have resources,” said pollster Floyd Ciruli, adding, “It suggests that it’s competitive and a lot is at stake.”

Focus on safety and discipline

The pandemic threw school boards across the U.S. into the spotlight as districts were faced with difficult decisions around school closures and board meetings turned into partisan battles over public health policies and classroom curriculums.

Unlike in districts elsewhere in Colorado and the country, the debates happening in Denver haven’t centered on classroom curriculums or book bans. Instead, the East shooting ignited interest in the election by highlighting the district’s discipline policies and the board’s decision to remove armed police officers from district buildings in 2020.