After losses by all three Denver school board candidates endorsed by the teachers union, school advocates from different points of the political spectrum predicted changes ahead.

“I think we’re going to have a lot less drama and more focus on kids,” said Parker Baxter, director of the Center for Education Policy Analysis at the University of Colorado Denver.

The Center for Education Policy Analysis works with educators and school districts, nonprofits and government agencies to improve public education as a resource for decision makers.

For months, the public has criticized the Denver Public Schools Board of Education for a series of missteps that began with a school closure list last fall through the firing of a beloved principal this past summer.

The palpable frustration was captured in a couple of polls leading up to the election showing low public confidence, with 70% of likely voters dissatisfied with the all-union backed board.

Tuesday’s election results reflected that frustration.

None of the union-backed candidates – Kwame Spearman (at large); Directors Scott Baldermann (District 1) and Charmaine Lindsay (District 5) – cracked 50% of the vote.

On the other hand, candidates endorsed by Denver Families Action won.

“For far too long, Denver education has been dominated by the politics of division – politics that turn public school communities against one another,” Clarence Burton, Jr., CEO of Denver Families Action, said in a press release.

Burton added, “What we see in this election is the community rejecting that approach by supporting candidates who are not tied to a particular ideology, but instead to what is best for students, families, and teachers.”

The vote was decisive.

John Youngquist, the former principal of East High School, nabbed 62% of the vote in the race to fill the at large seat held by Board Vice President Auon’tai M. Anderson.

Kimberlee Sia secured 55.51% of the vote in the race against Baldermann in District 1. And Marlene De La Rosa, a longtime district volunteer and advocate, seized 59.45% to win the District 5 seat held by Lindsay.

“It was a huge blow to the teachers union,” said Brenda Dickhoner, president and CEO of Ready Colorado, a conservative education advocacy organization. “I think this was a resounding message that the rest of the board should hear.”

Youngquist, Sia and DeLaRosa are set to be sworn in at the board’s Nov. 28 meeting, said Scott Pribble, a district spokesperson.

Ready Colorado and Denver Families, which was founded in 2021 with funding from Virginia-based The City Fund, both support alternative education models, such as charter and innovation schools.

In Denver, pro-charter organizations and the teachers union have clashed.

Given the power of a union endorsement – recent research has found these candidates win 70% of elections – and the grievances against the union-backed board, do Tuesday night’s wins mean the influence of Denver Classroom Teachers Association is waning?

The short answer is it depends who one asks.

“This was not a close call. It was an absolutely blowout victory,” said Tyler Sandberg, a political consultant and founder of Ready Colorado. “Voters don’t want chaos, they want competency.”

The decisive win means Sandberg expects the board to take notice.

“Reformers are not going away,” Sandberg said.

The Baldermann and Lindsay departures also signal the loss of two of Board President Xóchitl Gaytán’s staunchest supporters. While Baxter does not have a crystal ball, he believes the district will see new board leadership emerge in the wake of Tuesday’s election.

The first teachers union west of the Mississippi to secure a contract, DCTA was formed in 1923 and today represents nearly 4,000 Denver educators.

The union has been around for 100 years and will be for another, DCTA President Rob Gould said.

Tuesday’s shellacking doesn’t change that, but the way Gould sees it, the election does portend troubled waters ahead.

“Dark money works,” he said, referring to the label applied to groups that engage in electioneering activities but do not disclose funders. Such entities are not legally required to identify their contributors, unlike regularly political action committees or candidate campaigns.   

Better Leaders, Stronger Schools had spent more than $1 million – including a $250,000 TV campaign featuring Denver Mayor Mike Johnston – to elect Youngquist, Sia and DeLaRosa.

“There’s no way that we can complete with that money,” Gould said.

Better Leaders, Stronger Schools was effectively funded by Denver Families Action, the political arm of Denver Families for Public Schools.

Educators – Gould said – fear a return to the board that introduced education changes before the historic 2019 flip with support from the union.

“I think the surprise is the amount of money that was spent against teachers and teachers’ voices,” Gould said.