All Politics May Be Local, But the Ramifications of Local Elections Are Far-Reaching

By Moira Cullen, DFER Colorado State Director

Nothing says local politics like school board elections.  Like many other communities, the Denver Public school board is a 7-member board which has traditionally been comprised of parents, community and business leaders, attorneys, education policy wonks, and Denver citizens who are invested in and committed to the goal of Colorado’s capital city having a quality public school system. The board members are un-paid; most hold other full-time employment but spend countless hours overseeing Denver’s large urban school district that has struggled with low enrollment, languishing student achievement outcomes, and low graduation rates for years. Everyone on the board would tell you that they are committed to doing what is best for Denver’s kids.

Today, though, politics threaten to overshadow the district’s vision for improving Denver’s schools. A battle has been brewing on the DPS Board, one that dates back to now-Senator Michael Bennet’s tenure as Superintendent. The debate centers around whether DPS will continue to be one of the leading school districts in the United States on education reform, or if its progress and momentum will be stalled and likely rolled back.

At this moment, Nate Easley, the President of the School Board, faces a recall election. This fall, he was threatened with a recall if he voted for the district’s proposed plan for turnaround schools in Far Northeast Denver, a community in which schools have languished for years. The plan calls for dramatic changes at Montebello High School and five of its feeder schools, including transitioning Montebello into 3 smaller programs, having charter schools operate several of the feeder schools, and requiring changes in school leadership and staffing.

Nate supported the plan, which is now being implemented (see a recent Denver Post Editorial on this: Editorial: Families want school reforms – By The Denver Post). And now, a group of community members, who felt that the community was left out of the process in developing the district’s plan and that the district is closing schools that were showing improvement, are committed to unseating Nate.  We’ll know at the end of March if the recall proponents were successful in collecting the 5300 signatures they need to get the recall on the ballot. If they are, Northeast Denver will have an election in early June.

If Nate loses his school board seat, the 4-3 pro-reform majority on the school board will be lost. Much is at stake, with DPS poised to tackle key reform initiatives, including expanding high quality charter schools, implementing Senate Bill 191, grappling with school leadership plans, and addressing turnaround efforts for other low-performing schools in our city. Denver is the lynchpin of reform in Colorado; a successful recall will likely result in the loss of Denver’s superintendent and possibly a rollback of the state’s reforms on teacher effectiveness, school accountability, and public school choice. This recall may be about Nate Easley, but given their similarities, it is a referendum on President Obama’s education agenda as well.

DFER-CO is actively opposing the recall effort. We are raising money for Nate’s campaign to maintain his seat and helping devise his campaign strategy. And, if this goes to the ballot, we will help launch a full campaign in Northeast Denver.

Nate Easley may be the one facing a recall, but the entire education reform movement is at stake.