Education Not a Topic in Mayor’s Race

Photos: Ken Lund, East High School, Denver, Colorado

In conversations about the Denver mayor’s race people volunteer that the biggest problem in Denver is the operation of the school district. Its board meetings are frequently a chaotic embarrassment. Those anecdotal views are backed by a recent district-wide poll that reports two-thirds of parents (66%) have an unfavorable view of the District board. (Chalkbeat 4-20-23)

In the Chicago mayoral runoff, education and crime prevention were top issues. Both candidates had backgrounds in the city’s public school system and recognized its influence on the city’s reputation, economy and crime. In Denver’s recent election not a word. The city’s hands-off history has allowed the District in recent years to be controlled by its unions and groups with various, mostly left agendas.

The system is systemically dysfunctional. It lacks accountability, and its governance model is a failure. It needs an overhaul.

Poll results:

• Keeping students safe A or B 14%, D or F 48%
• Put police back in schools 73%
• Don’t return dangerous children to classroom 74%
• Board only interested in its own political ambition 63%