With the recent resignation announcement of Denver Public Schools Superintendent Susana Cordova – a native to the city and the first Latina to serve in the role – former Denver Mayor Federico Peña, a cabinet member of the Clinton administration, and current Mayor Michael Hancock are blaming board members for her departure, insinuating her race may have been a factor, and calling for a sea change that includes an independent committee charged with finding her replacement. 

“We found it troubling that past Anglo, male superintendents were never ‘struck,’ ” the Democrats wrote in a statement delivered to the 14-member board Monday.

“Rather than galvanizing behind this extraordinary talent once she was unanimously selected after a broad, national search, she was confronted with a teacher strike her first week as Superintendent,” the statement read. “New school board members, some seeking to fire Dr. Cordova, were recruited and have opposed her efforts at almost at every opportunity. They mistreated her in public board meetings and interfered in the day-to-day management of the school system, rather than collaboratively establishing policies and direction for the district. They still have not developed a new district plan or long-term strategy beyond the expiring 2020 Plan.”

The mayors said they could no longer remain silent over “this mistreatment” of Cordova and called it “tragic to watch political fights among adult school board members with personal agendas and little focus on student success.”

The two warned that, due to the behavior of the board, the city will be subjected to another “costly” national search, “likely to become a ‘politized process,’ ” and said they “do not believe that this dysfunctional board can now attract a more capable superintendent.” 

To “begin to regain some semblance of credibility among the broader community,” Hancock and Peña are calling for several next steps, including creating an independent committee of residents to take the lead in recruiting, vetting and recommending new candidates to replace Cordova, who has yet to announce a departure date. 

“The job is going to be even more challenging since we know that both Jefferson County and Douglas County are also looking for superintendents,” they wrote. “Competing for talented leadership when the Denver Public Schools Board has yet to finalize a post-2020 plan is deeply concerning.”

The mayors also urged the board to “immediately” develop a new strategic plan and “restore the confidence” of the community, “especially the Latino, African American and other communities of color, and reassure Denver residents that they will act responsibly and only in the best interests of students. 

“It’s time to put aside personal political agendas and work collaboratively as a board should,” the pair penned.

Tay Anderson, one of the board members elected with the backing of the teachers’ union, took to Twitter to attack the letter, calling it an “overreach of government” in a series of tweets.

“We are duly elected School Board Directors and NOT once have you come to us to support, but issue statements that undermine the will of the voters,” he wrote, adding that Hancock “should worry about finding solutions to homelessness,” instead of “continuing FALSE claims against the Denver School Board.”

Two days earlier, Arne Duncan, former President Barack Obama’s education secretary, categorized Denver’s school board as “bad” on Twitter. 

“It’s incredibly harmful to children’s education, and destabilizing to school districts, when good superintendents get undermined by bad school boards. Denver’s children deserve better,” Duncan wrote. “I am so tired of seeing this happen.”

Cordova, who is leaving for a job with the school system in Dallas, has indicated she was not actively looking for another job when approached with the offer.