Where candidates for Denver mayor stand on education issues: an election guide

An election judge sets out voting stickers on a table.
Denver voters will choose among 17 candidates for mayor on April 4. (RJ Sangosti / The Denver Post)

Seventeen candidates are running for mayor of Denver during a time when the city’s schools face challenges ranging from declining enrollment that’s led to school closures to rising youth violence that’s prompted discussion of the role police should play in schools.

The Denver mayor plays no formal role in running the school system, but that hasn’t stopped some candidates from suggesting that person should have a louder voice and even appoint members to the school board. 

Internal divisions on the school board have played out in public and led some critics to say the board isn’t focused on the needs of students. Other candidates say it’s important to respect the authority of the independently elected school board. 

We asked all the candidates what they see as the role of the mayor in Denver Public Schools, how they would address an affordable housing crisis that’s pushing teachers and families out of the city, and how they would address gun violence that’s showing up at the schoolhouse door

The election is April 4. If no candidate earns more than 50% of the vote, the top two candidates will advance to a runoff election on June 6.

Ten of the 17 candidates responded. Here, in their own words, is what they said.

The Latest

Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani led the Democratic primary for New York City mayor as former Gov. Andrew Cuomo conceded. Cuomo could still run in the general election.

The addition of another charter school is the latest change in the city’s evolving educational landscape. It follows a legislative session that pitted traditional public schools against charter schools in a fight for funding.

Both sides agreed that the Denver school board should put a measure on the ballot to increase funding for DPS. The board president said it would be inappropriate to comment until the tentative agreement is ratified.

Philadelphia and other school districts statewide are struggling to find enough certified teachers to fill vacancies, a trend that advocates for students say is diminishing the quality of kids’ education.

Third graders who did not pass a state literacy exam are using summer school as one final chance to pass and proceed to fourth grade under a tougher grade retention law.

The Newark school board approved the use of Amira, an AI-powered literacy screener designed to assess student reading challenges as part of the state’s new plan to boost reading skills.