Denver school board reveals dueling allegations that directors violated state law, board policy

Three members of Denver Public Schools’ Board of Education went public Thursday night with allegations that a fellow director had accused them of violating open meeting laws, and they, in turn, accused him of “behavior unbecoming of a board member toward DPS staff.”

Near the end of Thursday’s regular board meeting, director Xóchitl “Sochi” Gaytán said she and fellow board members Michelle Quattlebaum and Scott Esserman had emailed board President Carrie Olson asking that unspecified policy violations by another member be discussed during a work session on Jan. 9.

Quattlebaum identified the board member as John Youngquist, a former DPS principal and teacher who was elected last year to an at-large seat on the board.

“Several board members have addressed board policy violations with director Youngquist in private settings, including a conversation with president Olson, regarding behavior unbecoming of a board member toward DPS staff,” Quattlebaum said. “…We have been accused of violating the law. We have been accused of (a) lack of transparency as well as violating the Colorado Open Meetings Law.”

Gaytán said the allegations by Youngquist were “unfounded” and that the board had also been threatened with a lawsuit.

The members did not further detail their allegations against Youngquist, who tried to address his fellow directors at Thursday’s meeting but was stopped by Olson after his colleagues said his behavior threatened the integrity of the board.

Olson told him to wait for the Jan. 9 work session, at which the group plans to address unspecified policy violations by Youngquist as well as his accusation the group violated the Colorado Open Meetings Law.  Addressing such matters at a work session is the second step in DPS’s process of publicly censuring a board member.

Youngquist later told Chalkbeat Colorado that he wants to ensure the board’s closed-door executive sessions relating to members are conducted in a transparent way, including naming the subjects of those meetings in agendas shared with the public.

He did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday from The Denver Post.

After the meeting Thursday, Gaytán declined to discuss the matter with The Post.

The board’s Jan. 9 work session will start at 4:30 p.m.

This is a developing story and may be updated.

Denver Post reporter Jessica Seaman contributed to this report.

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