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Xóchitl Gaytán, a Denver Public Schools parent who works as a real estate agent, was elected to a second nonconsecutive term as president of the Denver school board Tuesday.
Gaytán’s election by secret ballot means an experienced member will helm the seven-member board of Colorado’s largest school district at a time when it faces declining enrollment, the possibility of more school closures, and ultimatums from the Trump administration.
The other nominee for board president was Marlene De La Rosa, who served for the past two years as board vice president. The vote tally — determined by slips of paper filled out by board members and collected in a blue DPS baseball cap — was not made public.
Gaytán was reelected to the board last month, the only incumbent on the ballot to win a second term. First elected in November 2021, she previously served as board president from the time she was sworn in until November 2023. Her first term as president was marked by personality conflicts, power struggles, and tense debates among members.
A majority of Denver school board members are backed by the Denver teachers union, and Gaytán is the longest-serving union-backed member. Three other members backed by the teachers union — Amy Klein Molk, Monica Hunter, and DJ Torres — won election on Nov. 4 and were sworn in during a rare Saturday ceremony on Nov. 21 along with Gaytán.
Hunter, a former DPS teacher and current DPS parent, was elected vice president of the board Tuesday by a secret ballot. De La Rosa was also nominated for vice president.
The board was scheduled to elect a new president on Nov. 21. But after pushback from the community, the board moved the officers election to Tuesday.
Gaytán will take over as president from Carrie Olson, whose tenure on the board ended last month after eight years. Like Gaytán, Olson served two nonconsecutive terms as president, with Gaytán’s first term as president in the middle.
State law allows the use of a secret ballot to elect a school board president and vice president. Not all Colorado school boards use secret ballots, but Denver does. The president and vice president have significant power to set the agenda for the board, and they meet with the superintendent more often than other board members.
Torres was elected board treasurer and De La Rosa was elected board secretary. The secretary and treasurer votes were public and unanimous.
Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org.
