The Denver Public Schools Board of Education tabled a resolution Thursday that could compensate board members up to $33,000 annually, potentially making the district an outlier in Colorado.

It’s unclear how many Colorado school districts – if any – pay board members to serve. But the compensation would be the exemption to the rule because school board offices are typically volunteer, unpaid positions.

If approved, it would cost the district roughly $230,000 a year to pay its board members.

The board tabled a similar measure in February.

Two years ago, the board approved – in a split vote – paying board members $150 a day for as many as five days a month, or $750, under a then new state law. The $33,000 a year proposal would a 267% increase in compensation for each member.

Directors Carrie Olson and Scott Baldermann were among those currently seated who voted for the board compensation in 2021.

Vice President Auon’tai M. Anderson would qualify if he were seeking re-election.

The policy allows members to be paid for attending regular or special board meetings, committee meetings and training sessions, among other activities.

Board President Xóchitl Gaytán and Directors Scott Esserman and Michelle Quattlebaum have taken advantage of the pay, said Scott Pribble, a district spokesperson.

Director Charmaine Lindsay is also eligible for the compensation but does not receive it, Pribble said.

“If other board members have not been paid, it’s because they haven’t submitted timecards,” said Bill Good, a district spokesperson.

Good said the existing policy requires board members to submit, similar to employees, a timecard.

If approved, the proposed resolution requires board members to be reelected before benefiting from a change in the district’s compensation. As long as the resolution is passed before new board members are sworn in, the new compensation can be taken.

Denver Public Schools appears to be an outlier when it comes to compensating its elected school officials.

“We don’t know specifically how many boards do this, but right now it is the exception rather than the rule,” said Jubal Yennie, executive director of the Colorado School Board Association.

The Denver Gazette reached out to a number of school districts in the Denver metro area – Jefferson County, Douglas County, Cherry Creek and Adams County 14 – to learn whether their board members are paid.

Officials with JeffCo, Douglas County and Cherry Creek school districts replied, saying their board members are all volunteers.

Anderson and Esserman, the primary sponsor of the resolution, argued that a compensated board will attract a wider swath of candidates, particularly among racial minorities and single parents.

“This is about the next generation of school board members,” Anderson said.

If the board doesn’t approve the new compensation at the Nov. 16 meeting, Anderson said the board risks not having a compensated board until 2027.

In other business, Superintendent Alex Marrero presented his recommendations on charter school renewals. Of those up for renewal, Marrero recommended non-renewal for Academy 360, which serves elementary school students in the Montbello community.

Several board members, however, pushed back on the recommendation, questioning whether Marrero was creating a separate standard for charter schools, which have to meet academic expectations, and district schools, which don’t.

The board did not take a vote on Marrero’s recommendations.