While candidates will say every election is consequential, the four seats on the ballot next month could reshape the Denver Public Schools Board of Education and chart a new course for Colorado’s largest school district.

On Tuesday, EDUCATE Denver held a candidate forum along with ChalkBeat Colorado and CBS News at Regis University.

“We think leadership at the board level impacts the education of our students,” said Nan Baumbusch, EDUCATE Denver staff director.

Formed in 2022, EDUCATE Denver is a diverse coalition of civic leaders and community organizations whose mission is to advocate for a “high-quality DPS education,” according to the group’s website.

“For this reason, voting in a board election is important whether you have a student in DPS or not,” Baumbusch said.

EDUCATE Denver does not make political endorsements.

More than 100 people registered for Tuesday’s event.

Among the first questions asked during a 45-minute debate between the two candidates running for the at-large seat being vacated by Director Scott Esserman was to rate the job Superintendent Alex Marrero is doing.

“Overall, he’s missing it,” said Alex Magaña, who is the executive principal of Beacon Network Schools, when it comes to safety and the achievement gap.

The forum held four separate debates for each of these seats open for the election. Moderators asked the candidates similar questions about the student achievement gap, school safety, Marrero’s performance and whether his contract should have been extended early.

Thirteen candidates are vying for a seat this election.

Samari Royal Jelks Sr., who filed to run for the at-large seat held by Esserman, said he has withdrawn from the race, but remains listed as a candidate on the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office. Deborah Sims Fard, who running for the at-large seat, dropped out, according to organizers.

With four of the seven seats up for grabs, voters could do what they were unable to do two years ago: flip the board.

Although voters elected three new candidates — Directors John Youngquist, Kimberlee Sia, and Vice President Marlene De La Rosa — only two have consistently broken with the board majority on controversial issues.

Frustrations are still simmering in the community over school closures, low test scores and transparency.

The election two years ago took place just eight months after a student shot two administrators at East High School, raising safety concerns and the community’s ire.   

A Keating Research poll released a month before the 2023 election found 71% of likely Denver voters held an unfavorable opinion of the school board.  

The sentiment has only worsened with time.

In April, a Keating Research poll found that the dissatisfaction has only deepened with just 22% of voters holding a favorable opinion of the board. The survey also found 89% of respondents were concerned about access to a quality public education.

“Voters and families are sounding the alarm,” Clarence Burton Jr., CEO of Denver Families Action, said in a statement at the time. “They want leaders who will restore trust in the system, who focus on solutions, and who put the right to a great public education above politics and infighting.”

Denver Families Action, the political arm of Denver Families for Public Schools, spent more than $1 million on the campaign two years ago to elect Youngquist, Sia and De La Rosa.

When Denver Families for Public Schools launched as a nonprofit organization in 2021, its board consisted of local charter school leaders.

In 2023, voters rejected the incumbents running, Directors Scott Baldermann (District 1) and Lindsay Charmaine (District 5). Board Vice President Auon’tai M. Anderson dropped out of the race for an unsuccessful run for the Colorado House.

The Denver Classroom Teachers Association had endorsed the incumbents. This election cycle, the teachers’ union has only endorsed one incumbent: Xóchitl Gaytán (District 2).

Typically, a teachers’ union endorsement holds greater sway.

A report that examined the effect of teacher union endorsements on voter support found union-endorsed candidates win school board races about 70% of the time.

Local school boards exert tremendous influence ranging from the billions in district spending each year to the effect policy decisions can have on shaping student outcomes.