Sign up for Chalkbeat Colorado’s free daily newsletter to get the latest reporting from us, plus curated news from other Colorado outlets, delivered to your inbox.
Denver Public Schools Superintendent Alex Marrero has asked the school board to censure member John Youngquist, writing in a letter that Youngquist “has consistently demonstrated a pattern of hostility, policy violations, racial insensitivity, and unethical conduct.”
Marrero sent the letter to school board President Carrie Olson on April 22, nine days before the board voted 5-2 to extend the superintendent’s contract. Youngquist voted no.
In the letter, Marrero accused Youngquist of behaving inappropriately toward DPS staff and wanting to harm the school district “in pursuit of personal ambition.” Youngquist is a longtime educator and former principal of East High School who was elected to the school board in 2023. Marrero wrote in the letter that Youngquist has “an obsession” with removing him as superintendent.
“It is becoming increasingly clear that his actions are driven by a personal ambition to become superintendent himself as he had previously pursued repeatedly, unsuccessfully,” Marrero wrote, according to a copy of the letter obtained in an open records request. The Denver Post first reported on Marrero’s request that Youngquist be censured.
Youngquist said in an interview Tuesday he does not want to be superintendent. He applied once, in 2021, and did not get the position, he said. Marrero was hired instead. Youngquist said the letter feels like “a personal attack against me by the superintendent, and that’s something I don’t understand.”
Youngquist refuted Marrero’s claim that he wants to hurt DPS, where he said he started as a teacher in 1991.
“Every step of that way has been a complete commitment to supporting our children and families,” he said. “It is what I devoted my career to.”
Allegations include that Youngquist mistreated DPS staff
Marrero alleged in the letter that Youngquist has “repeatedly engaged in belittling, dismissive, and condescending behavior toward district staff, especially employees of color.” He wrote that Youngquist’s behavior “aligns with someone who is threatened by diverse leadership and equity-centered progress.”
“This is not simply a personality conflict or a matter of difference in opinion,” Marrero wrote. “I have tried to work beyond this behavior and even tried coaching members of my team who have been on the receiving end of his attacks — all for the betterment of the district.
“Despite my attempts, it is clear that Mr. Youngquist’s behavior is destructive.”
Three other board members accused Youngquist in December of “behavior unbecoming of a board member towards DPS staff,” though they did not disclose details.
In January, the board discussed Youngquist’s behavior in a similarly vague manner during a public meeting. Other board members told Youngquist his behavior was disappointing and questioned whether he was taking accountability. Youngquist said he appreciated hearing their feedback and committed to following district policy on board member conduct.
Youngquist on Tuesday said that he knew of three instances in which DPS staff of color said they took offense at something he said or did. But he said his conduct wasn’t deliberate.
“I’ve worked in diverse communities of color over the course of 30-plus years in Denver and beyond,” Youngquist said. “I know and understand the importance of listening to people.”
Deep Badhesha, the district’s government political liaison, recalled an April meeting with Youngquist about DPS’ position on bills in the state legislature. Badhesha told Chalkbeat that Youngquist became aggressive when asking about a bill to require Colorado students to learn about financial literacy. When Badhesha told him DPS already has standards for teaching financial literacy, he said Youngquist questioned the truth of that.
“I’m fine with the pushback,” Badhesha said. But he said “the hostility, the condescension, and rudeness of it … was so off-putting” that he wrote an email to Marrero documenting the experience. A day later, Marrero sent his letter to Olson.
Badhesha, who is Indian American, said it wasn’t clear to him why Youngquist acted the way he did.
“I can’t read into it if it’s racially motivated or if it’s just how he treats people,” Badhesha said.
Youngquist said he did push back on the assertion that DPS already teaches financial literacy. But he said he didn’t hear until recently that Badhesha was offended by his conduct.
School board hasn’t responded to Marrero’s claims
Marrero urged the board in his letter to censure Youngquist for “repeated violations of Board policy, inappropriate conduct, and unethical behavior.” The board has only censured a member once in recent history. In 2021, the board censured member Auon’tai Anderson after an investigation found he flirted with a student on social media and made social media posts that could be perceived as intimidating to witnesses in the investigation.
Olson said in a statement that the board “has not taken any action or made any decisions in response to the complaint.” Board members voted against holding a closed-door executive session last week to discuss what was listed on the agenda as “a complaint of discrimination.”
“The Board did not have sufficient votes to convene in executive session, so it did not take place,” Olson said. “I am working on rescheduling one for next week.”
Marrero also urged the board to prohibit Youngquist from engaging with district staff “outside of official channels,” require him to take anti-bias training, and review potential conflicts of interest “if his intent is to seek leadership within the district.”
The letter includes a bulleted list of accusations against Youngquist, including that he challenged the validity of the district’s test scores and implied that its high school graduation data is “manipulated and dishonest.”
Youngquist said he questioned whether interim early literacy test scores, which went up last year, are a good measure of academic success. As for the district’s highest-ever graduation rate of 80% last year, Youngquist said he requested that the board discuss whether a 2020 “no Fs” policy during the early days of the pandemic might have boosted the 2024 graduation rate.
“It was not an accusation on any level of the superintendent, but a questioning of, how did a decision we made four years ago affect our current data here?” said Youngquist, who added that he supported the “no Fs” policy. The board never discussed his question because not enough members agreed to put it on a meeting agenda, he said.
Marrero also said in the letter that Youngquist “suggested the possibility of a buyout of my contract.” Marrero’s contract says that the district would have to pay him 12 months of his salary, which is $346,529 this year, if the board were to fire him without cause.
Youngquist said buying out Marrero’s contract is “not something I’ve ever heard or said or thought about.” He said he voted against extending Marrero’s contract last week because he disagreed with the timeline. Under the contract, the board had until Jan. 1, 2026 to decide whether to extend it. Youngquist said he supported making the decision later in the year.
Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org.
