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Six Denver school board members shared their displeasure with the seventh board member, John Youngquist, Thursday evening, saying his recent actions were disappointing and upsetting.
The discussion stemmed from Youngquist’s December allegation that the board violated state open meetings law. Three board members — Michelle Quattlebaum, Xóchitl “Sochi” Gaytán, and Scott Esserman — countered in a letter to board President Carrie Olson that Youngquist acted unprofessionally toward board members and staff and said his claims of open meeting violations were unfounded.
On Thursday, Youngquist’s six board colleagues spoke in stern but measured tones about the impact of his actions.
“I’m deeply disappointed in the problematic comportment that I’ve seen from you in this last year,” said Gaytán. “I believe that the behavior is not going to change.”
Esserman said he was concerned about the amount of time the board has spent on the controversy and noted that outside lawyers hired by the district confirmed the board didn’t violate open meeting law.
Youngquist responded briefly after the other six board members spoke, saying he wrote the Dec. 17 letter containing the allegations in a “moment of frustration.” He also said he appreciated hearing board members’ feedback and committed to following district policy on board member conduct.
The episode with Youngquist and the other board members is reminiscent of some of the infighting that dogged the board for much of 2022. During that period, several board members locked horns, with accusations of bullying and harassment.
Multiple board members on Thursday drew contrasts between the current situation and the problems two years ago.
“I want to assure you, the community, and our friends in the media, that the board is on a strong and productive path, hallmarked by accountability and transparency,” said Olson.
She described Thursday’s discussion as uncomfortable but necessary.
Board member Marlene De La Rosa said some people want to label the current board as dysfunctional, but that’s not accurate.
“What we are displaying here today is our collective accountability, transparency, and the ability to communicate with each other respectfully and professionally.”
Youngquist’s recent accusation that the board violated open meetings law stems from a Dec. 12 executive session where board members discussed state pension rules that limit how much Youngquist, a former district employee, can be paid by the district for official school board duties.
Youngquist claimed in the Dec. 17 letter to Olson that the purpose of the executive session was not properly stated in the public notice as required by law. He also objected to being excluded from the executive session.
A district court judge found that the district violated open meetings law in 2023 after a lawsuit brought by Chalkbeat and other media organizations.
Two days after Youngquist sent the letter, Gaytán announced at a school board meeting that she, Quattlebaum, and Esserman, wanted to discuss policy violations by Youngquist on Jan. 9.
The board didn’t go into details about his alleged violations at the time, but mentioned he’d accused the board of a lack of transparency and that he’d shown “behavior unbecoming of a board member” toward Denver Public Schools staff.
The Denver Post reported Thursday that Youngquist said he was aware of two instances when he offended senior district staff members in the past year. One case happened in February, when he was told he offended Deborah Staten, the district’s chief of staff. Youngquist told the Post he was unclear how he had done so.
The other case occurred a month later during an email exchange between Youngquist and Aaron Thompson, the district’s general counsel. Youngquist didn’t feel Thompson answered his questions adequately and said in an email the attorney’s response represented a manipulation. Thompson then suggested Youngquist’s pushback stemmed from racial biases, according to the emails reviewed by the Post.
In an email reply to Youngquist, Thompson wrote, “Historically, stereotypes of deceitfulness and manipulation have been unjustly and harmfully applied to Black individuals and communities.”
Gaytán said at Thursday’s meeting she wouldn’t publicly disclose specifics about Youngquist’s behavior toward employees, but said “I feel that it’s unfair and unjust to the employees.”
After the half-hour discussion of Youngquist’s conduct on Thursday, some board members seemed satisfied with his response. Others found it lacking.
Quattlebaum thanked Youngquist for expressing his agreement with board goals, but said “I’m struggling to identify the accountability piece in what you just shared.”
Esserman said he hadn’t seen the level of accountability he’d like in recent news stories where Youngquist discussed the dispute.
“I’m feeling that that’s still missing and hope to hear it in the future,” Esserman said.
Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat, covering early childhood issues and early literacy. Contact Ann at aschimke@chalkbeat.org.
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