In a highly anticipated election, Denver voters are poised to oust two of the three incumbents on the Denver Public Schools Board on Tuesday, early election results showed.

It seems to signal a push to change the district’s direction at a time when trust in leadership is low.

Director Xóchitl Gaytán, who represents southwest Denver in District 2, was the only incumbent on track to retain her seat, having secured 55.47% of the vote, according to the initial tally.

Scott Esserman (District 3) and Michelle Quattlebaum (District 4) were on track to lose their bids for re-election, drawing just 18.09% and 15.1 % of the vote respectively.

Esserman, who was elected to the at-large in 2021, ran in District 3 represented by Board President Carrie Olson. Olson, in her eighth year, is term-limited and could not seek reelection.

Here is the vote break down by district race:

At large: Amy Klein Molk (54.55%) and Alex Magaña (45.45%).

District 2: Gaytán (55.47%) and Mariana Del Hierro (44.53%).

District 3: Donald “DJ” Torres (41.89%), Caron Blanke (40.02%) and Esserman (18.09%).

District 4: Monica Hunter (40.5%), Timiya Jackson (28.57%), Jeremy Harris (15.82%) and Quattlebaum (15.1%).

DPS is governed by a seven-member board with two at-large members who represent the entire city and five districts.

With four of seven board seats on the ballot — and simmering frustrations over school closures, low test scores and board transparency — the election could reshape DPS and chart a new course for the state’s largest district.

The public has been critical of the board for a series of missteps that included campus closures, gun violence, an executive session the court ruled illegal and the new contract extension for Superintendent Alex Marrero.

The discontent with district leadership was on full display two years ago.

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 state House.

Eight months after an East High School student shot two administrators, raising safety concerns, voters elected three new members — Board Vice President Marlene De La Rosa and Directors John Youngquist and Kimberlee Sia — in an anti-incumbent sweep.

Voters rejected the candidates the teachers’ union endorsed two years ago — Kwame Spearman and then Directors Scott Baldermann and Charmaine Lindsay.

The Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) represents roughly 4,200 teachers across the district.

Combined, the 11 candidates vying for the four open seats raised more than $400,000 — far less than the record sums (nearly $700,000) seen in the 2023 race.

The election two years ago saw an infusion of cash that doesn’t typically characterize school board races.

Better Leaders, Stronger Schools — which was essentially funded by Denver Families Action, the political arm of Denver Families for Public Schools — spent more than $1 million on the campaign, which included a $250,000 TV campaign featuring Denver Mayor Mike Johnston to elect Youngquist, Sia and De La Rosa.

Last election, the Denver Classroom Teachers Association had endorsed the incumbents and at large-candidate Kwame Spearman. This election cycle, the teachers’ union only endorsed one incumbent: Gaytán.

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 winning school board races about 70% of the time.

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

Editor’s note: This is a developing story.