Denver Public Schools Director Xóchitl Gaytán has been seeking support behind the scenes for a bid to lead the school board, according to people familiar with the conversations — a move that follows her visible role at the swearing-in last month and her unsuccessful push for an early officer vote.

Gaytán downplayed the maneuvering.

“Some of us are interested in officer roles, some of us are not,” Gaytán said. “We’re all just in conversations right now.”

Gaytán said community leaders and members have encouraged her to take up the mantle. She declined to say who publicly.

Vice President Marlene De La Rosa — whose position places her next in the board’s leadership order — did not return multiple phone calls seeking comment.

At least two board members said De La Rosa had expressed early interest in the role — an account Gaytán disputed. Gaytán said her understanding was that De La Rosa preferred a more behind-the-scenes leadership role.

The DPS Board of Education will vote on new board officers Tuesday.

With certified election results on Nov. 21, DPS officials had 10 calendar days to swear in members. Officials did so the next day. And, Gaytán — along with De La Rosa and outgoing Director Scott Esserman — also called for an officer vote, a hasty move that drew wide public criticism.

Several board members said they had heard from community members, who expressed concerns that the officer vote felt rushed.

Scott Pribble, a DPS spokesperson, said outgoing Board President Carrie Olson later removed the vote from the agenda, citing the absences of Directors Kimberlee Sia and John Youngquist.

Directors Donald “DJ” Torres (District 3), Monica Hunter (District 4), Amy Klein Molk (at large) and Gaytán were sworn in on Nov. 21. Since the community effort “Resign DPS” was kicked off two years ago to oust board members, Gaytán is the only incumbent to be re-elected.

After being sworn onto the board in 2021, Gaytán — then a first-time member — served a two-year, often tumultuous term as board president that ended in 2023. During that period, Auon’tai M. Anderson — whose tenure on the board was marked by controversy — served as her vice president.

Her tenure as president was marked by several missteps, including Superintendent Alex Marrero’s first school closure attempt, which took many in the public by surprise, the East High School shootings, and growing distrust of the district’s safety plan.

Gaytán also pushed, unsuccessfully, for a second censure of Anderson, whom she accused of sharing information from an executive session for which she had presided and that a court later ruled was illegal.

During that executive session, the board met for more than five hours about returning police officers to campus after a student at East High School shot and wounded two administrators. The Colorado Sunshine Law requires state and local governments to discuss and take action in meetings that are open to the public.

The president’s role isn’t just ceremonial.

The board president controls the agenda. Three members can add an item, but the president can remove it unilaterally.

The president also appoints members to committees, represents the board at events and communicates with the media.

Directors can be nominated by other members or nominate themselves for the position.

Gaytán does appear to have the wind in her sails.

As the only incumbent returning to the board, Gaytán is one of four members elected with the endorsement of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association — a group that could function as a voting bloc.

That wasn’t the headline two years ago when none of the candidates endorsed by the union won.

With enrollment continuing to decline, placing more budget pressure and school closures on the horizon, the new board faces significant challenges.

One of the president’s first tasks will be to begin to repair the public trust.

Former board presidents with whom The Denver Gazette spoke said two-member committees, which should meet in public, having privately discussed Marrero’s contract extension and that written policy language should be eschewed in favor public transparency.

“We need a school board that knows how to govern,” said Elaine Gantz Berman, who served from 1997 to 2005, two terms as president.

Berman added: “I think there needs to be clarity that the role of the board is to keep the superintendent accountable. They need to set an example.”