Denver voters appeared to have rejected two incumbent school board members who sought reelection, confirming deep public dissatisfaction with the district’s leadership that has been stewing for months.

In the District 1 race, challenger Kimberlee Sia led with 57% of the vote over Director Scott Baldermann, who held 44%, the unofficial tally showed. Baldermann is a software company owner.

Director Charmaine Lindsay, who represents District 5, is also behind, trailing Marlene De La Rosa 59% to 24%. Lindsay is a family law attorney.

The campaign for De La Rosa, a longtime district volunteer and advocate, claimed victory after the 8:30 p.m. results dump.

“I think I’ve won,” De La Rosa said at her watch party at Bar38 in Denver.

Adam Slutzker, a project manager for an architectural design company, had also sought to replace Lindsay. He came in third with 17%.

The incumbents trailed following a summer of discontent, in which a “Resign DPS Board” effort sought to recall and vote out all the incumbents.

Lindsay blamed her loss on the injection of outside money into the races.

“I’m not surprised that I’m losing. I’m surprised that I’m losing by so much,” Lindsay said.

Lindsay added, “I think the deck was definitely stacked against us with all the money that came in.”

Baldermann did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Leading up to the election, polls showed just 30% of likely voters held a favorable view of the school board.

Denver Classroom Teachers Association – which represents about 4,000 educators – endorsed the incumbents.

Teachers unions have had an outsized influence on Denver’s school board elections. Financial and campaign support typically accompany an endorsement, which meant securing union support was critical for candidates.

A recent study that examined the effect of teacher union endorsements found that union-backed candidates win school board races seven out of 10 times. The research suggests a teachers’ union endorsement can function as a sort of shortcut for low-informed voters.

Previous research shows union endorsements can drive votes more than incumbency or academic achievement.

The more than $1.3 million spent this election year doesn’t make it the most expensive school board race. But the spending was notable for Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, who tried to skip the scales by supporting Sia and De La Rosa in a TV ad.

Sia downplayed the infusion of independent expenditure.

“I think that voters just really wanted to be able to ensure that the board is focused on students,” Sia said.

The teachers’ union supported all of the serving board members, including Board Vice President Auon’tai M. Anderson, who did not seek reelection.

The election comes among months of withering public criticism for a series of missteps that included school closures, gun violence and an executive session the court has ruled illegal.

Local political pundits had speculated – given the public discontent – that the race held the potential of changing the board’s philosophical composition.

Baldermann had been critical of what he called “dark money” in the race from a political arm of Denver Families, which in 2021 was founded with the support of local charter school networks with funding from Virginia-based The City Fund.

The committee – Better Leaders, Stronger Schools – outspent the teachers union by roughly 4 to 1, Chalkbeat reported. The pro-charter group also sent negative fliers about Baldermann and Lindsay.

To combat the attacks, Baldermann gave $50,000 to his campaign in the waning days of the election, the latest state financial reports showed.

Voters across the school district also cast votes the at-large seat being vacated by Anderson.