A gaggle of geese, a murder of crows, a conspiracy of lemurs — these are the collective nouns that describe these collections of animals. In the Denver Public Schools’ board election, Denver Families for Public Schools has given us its own version: a cabal of candidates.

Four candidates received Denver Families’ endorsements on top of board members from the 2023 election, Kim Sia and John Youngquist. Sia was chief executive of the Denver KIPP charter schools, three of which are in “priority improvement” or “improvement” status. Youngquist is noted for his incivility, with board reprimands and lawsuits pending.

The four current candidates have their own share of dubious skills and/or personal qualities that should unhinge the voting public. Their backgrounds and behaviors expose the motives of Denver Families and its big-money supporters, including Chief Executive Clarence Burton and DFPS President Pat Donovan, also of KIPP, Rocky Mountain Prep, Colorado League of Charter Schools and RootEd. The Denver Families’ independent expenditure committee has pumped hundreds of thousands of dark dollars into this cabal.

Alex Magaña, at-large candidate, has history with DPS. He tangled with Superintendent Alex Marrero over his management of the Beacon Innovation Network, two middle schools in Denver. Grant Beacon and Kepner Beacon barely met performance ratings in 2023-24 and 2024-25. DPS found problems in the network’s operations and started procedures to take control of the two schools. The network sued the district and lost. It’s not a happy “partnership.” Magaña’s bio claims experience transforming schools into innovative learning environments. His schools’ results make this claim misleading.

Mariana del Hierro, District 2 candidate, was hit this week by employees of her organization Re:Vision seeking to join a union due to their unhappiness with her management. According to recent articles, del Hierro used her superior position to intimidate her employees, vulnerable women immigrants from Latin America. The organization’s two founders as well as seven community organizations that collaborate with Re:Vision stated her employees’ stories were “deeply troubling.”

Timiya Jackson, running for district 4, probably secured her endorsement by the Denver Families’ deep-pocketed independent expenditure committee because of her experience with charter schools. She served as dean of students at The CUBE. It closed in 2021 due to low enrollment. She was on the board of Academy 360, a charter with 135 students now in its third year of priority improvement. DPS closed district schools with more students and higher scores. Pat Donovan needs DPS board members who will prioritize his charters over district schools, forcing district school closures before charters no matter their populations and performance ratings. Jackson fits that bill.

Then there’s Caron Blanke, District 3 candidate. Denver Families is full-on in her support citing her collaboration and non-profit leadership skills. Others disagree. The Hebrew Education Alliance Synagogue is a hundred-year-old institution that, according to some congregants, hit very hard times during and after Blanke’s roles as president of its board. Neal Price, retired executive director of the conservative synagogue after decades of service, states upon Blanke’s departure, synagogue membership had dropped and its finances were a jumble.

Long-time congregants described their experience with Blanke. As synagogue board president, she forced the senior rabbi of many years to retire with a 3-year salary payout. She consequently got the board to hire the assistant rabbi, her favorite. She also hired an executive director who was not competent for the job. With these two hires, the synagogue’s operations deteriorated and a real estate transaction important to the synagogue’s long-term finances went south.

The assistant rabbi-turned-senior rabbi subsequently left. He too received a multi-year payout and the congregation had to hire another senior rabbi. Price notes, “The synagogue was paying three rabbis, but only one was working. Speaking as a person with two granddaughters in DPS, I have skin in the game. She (Blanke) considers herself to know more than anyone else. She’s not a team player.”

Other long-term congregants and employees also expressed their concerns about Blanke’s leadership. She “created financial hardship for the synagogue. It’s taken four years since her departure to get financially sound.”

One of the most important jobs of school board members is fiduciary responsibility. According to a long-term congregant deeply involved with the synagogue’s finances, “Blanke doesn’t know what a budget is or what a financial statement is. Before her term as president there was a surplus of funds, and when she left, there was a deficit because of her mismanagement.”
The congregants’ experiences run deep. As Price observes, “I was taught that as a leader, you take your organizational chart and turn it upside down, with the CEO at the bottom. The CEO supports everybody else. Everyone’s success is your success. That’s not how she understands it.”

Given these four candidates supported by Denver Families and all its money, their vision for DPS comes clear. Denver Families, especially Pat Donovan and his collaborators, want a board he can control. If elected, these candidates and their fellow travelers will fire the superintendent, defend charter schools over any other priorities, and bring on the chaos. These candidates will be a cabal, not a board.

Paula Noonan owns Colorado Capitol Watch, the state’s premier legislature tracking platform.