With election season approaching, a recent poll has found voters hold a more favorable opinion of the newly sworn in mayor than the city’s school board – which for months has been embroiled in multiple controversies.

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston enjoys a favorable popularity rating among 71% of likely voters compared to 30% for the Denver Public Schools’ Board of Education.

Johnston’s “unfavorables” was at 15% while it was 50% for the board. Just 30% of likely voters held a favorable view of the school board.

Voters, however, appear to make a distinction between the board and schools in the district with 59% of respondents holding a favorable view of district schools.

With three seats on the ballot in November, Denver voters will have the opportunity to change the makeup of the school board.

Directors Scott Baldermann and Charmaine Lindsay – both elected as union-backed candidates – are running for re-election. Board Vice President Auon’tai M. Anderson, who is not seeking re-election, has his sights on Colorado House District 8, a seat held by Leslie Herod, D-Denver.

The board has faced withering public criticism on a series of missteps from school closures to gun violence and an illegal executive session to the firing of a popular principal.

Conducted by Keating Research for Denver Families Action – which advocates for positive changes in education policy – the poll surveyed 500 likely voters for the November election between July 25 and 31 with a margin of error of +/- 4.4 points.