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By Melanie Asmar/Chalkbeat
The Denver school board has ordered an investigation into allegations of discrimination against member John Youngquist, the board said in a statement Monday.
The decision comes after the board met in a closed-door executive session Thursday to receive legal advice on how to respond to the allegations, which were levied by Denver Public Schools Superintendent Alex Marrero.
In an April letter to board President Carrie Olson, Marrero accused Youngquist of “belittling, dismissive, and condescending behavior toward district staff, especially employees of color,” among other allegations. Marrero asked in the letter that the board censure Youngquist.
Youngquist said in a statement Monday that he is supportive of the decision to launch a “fair, impartial, and independently facilitated investigation,” though he said such a process should have occurred before the allegations were made public.
“I am confident that my name will be cleared of the accusations made by the superintendent and that we will be able to move forward with the work of the board of education for the children of Denver,” said Youngquist, who was elected in 2023 to a four-year term on the board.
The board said it will decide how to proceed once it receives the findings of the investigation. The board will follow its process for addressing board member violations, which says a censure may occur if there is a “substantial violation of board policy.”
It’s not clear from the board’s statement who will be conducting the investigation or its scope. The statement said the board will follow an administrative policy usually used to investigate allegations of discrimination and harassment against DPS employees.
“The district prohibits discrimination and has a grievance procedure to investigate and respond to complaints of discrimination in a manner that is fair and impartial,” the statement said. “We reviewed applicable law and policy and, as required by both, will follow our (administrative policy).”
The policy says such investigations should be “thorough, reliable, impartial, prompt, and fair” and involve interviewing witnesses, obtaining evidence, and “identifying sources of expert information.”
“We will have no further comment until we receive the findings,” the board said in its statement. “At that time, we will have a public discussion.”
The last time the board investigated one of its own members was in 2021. The board hired an outside law firm, the Denver-based Investigations Law Group, for that investigation. The board censured then-member Auon’tai Anderson based on the findings.
Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at [email protected].
Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.
