Significant money poured into the Denver Public Schools Board of Education races, where just three candidates hauled in roughly $2 out of every $3 raised in the final reporting period before voters decide next week who will be city’s next set of policymakers.   

In all, the eight candidates vying for three open seats cumulatively raised roughly $520,000, according to latest campaign finance filings with the Colorado Secretary of State.

Indeed, with Election Day less than a week away, spending for the school board race has exceeded $1.5 million, counting independent expenditure, which is money from entities not connected to candidates. 

And one group, in particular, has already spent a total of $1 million on the candidates. 

The largest hauls by candidates came from Kwame Spearman and John Youngquist, both of whom are running for the at-large seat held by Board Vice President Auon’tai M. Anderson.

In June, Anderson dropped out of the school board race to run for House District 8, which is held by state Rep. Leslie Herod, D-Denver, who is term-limited in 2024.

Spearman, who was co-owner of the Tattered Cover bookstore, got into the race after dropping out of Denver’s mayoral race earlier this year. He raised the most at more than $125,000.

Youngquist, an education consultant and former principal of East High School, took in more than $100,000.

Kimberlee Sia, who is running for the District 1 seat held by Director Scott Baldermann, raised the third-largest amount with nearly $100,000.

Baldermann and Director Charmaine Lindsay, who represents District 5, are both seeking reelection.

All of the candidates, with the exception of Baldermann, began the reporting period with nothing on hand, state data shows.

Here is what the candidates raised:

? Spearman: $128,864

? Youngquist: $108,861

? Sia: $98,945

? Baldermann: $78,560

? Marlene DeLaRosa (District 5): $58,800

? Lindsay: $43,380

? Brittni Johnson (At Large): $1,127

? Adam Slutzker (District 5): $96

Much of the outside spending has been largely driven by Better Leaders, Stronger Schools, which is essentially funded by Denver Families Action – the political arm of Denver Families for Public Schools.

Denver Families was founded with the support of local charter school networks in 2021 and with funding from The City Fund, which is headquartered in Virginia.

The Better Leaders, Stronger Schools committee was also behind a mailer with a picture Spearman, who is Black, and a sad, White child. Spearman has called the juxtaposition “dog whistling.”

The leaflet also accused Spearman of bullying Tattered Cover employees while he was CEO.

The pro-charter group also sent negative fliers about Baldermann and Lindsay, the two incumbents this election cycle.

As of Oct. 30, Better Leaders, Stronger Schools had spent more than $1 million on school board races. The pro-charter group spent nearly half of that since Oct. 24 on attack flyers and the mayor’s TV ad, which alone cost $250,000.

Baldermann, who gave $50,000 to his own campaign, decried the group’s spending.

“I have to self-fund a lot of my campaign to level the playing field against the out-of-state billionaires funding the dark money groups,” Baldermann said in a text message to The Denver Gazette.

“Dark money” groups are entities who engage in electioneering activities but don’t disclosure their funders.  

In Denver, pro-charter organizations are often pitted against the local teachers union, which in 2019 contributed to the historic flip of the board that shifted the balance of power. The current board jettisoned the school performance framework used to justify shuttering low-performing schools.

The Denver Classroom Teachers Association supported all seven board members serving today.

The Better Leaders, Stronger Schools committee – so far – has outspent the teachers union by roughly 4 to 1, Chalkbeat found.

While not the most expensive school board race, this year’s spending is notable for its television ad featuring Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, who took the unusual step of wading into the political frenzy by supporting three candidates endorsed by Denver Families Action: DeLaRosa, Sia and Youngquist.

DeLaRosa, a longtime district volunteer and advocate, is running against the union-supported Lindsay.

With three of seven seats on the Nov. 7 ballot, Denver voters dissatisfied with the board could seize an opportunity to change the makeup of the school board, political watchers have said.

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools. You can read more at co.chalkbeat.org.