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“Independent” yet “collaborative” was a common way the 12 applicants to fill a vacancy on the Denver school board described themselves at a forum Wednesday night.
The board has long been plagued by infighting, personality differences, and accusations, and applicants sought to prove they are willing to work with their colleagues to avoid future drama.
The overarching theme of the evening was the need to rebuild trust.
“Nobody sitting up here applied for this job thinking it was going to be easy, or that they were going to get along with everybody, or that there were going to be a lot of flowers,” said Scott Esserman, a former board member who lost a re-election bid and applied to fill the vacancy.
The vacancy was created by the resignation of DJ Torres, who was elected last November to represent central-east Denver’s District 3. Torres left the board last month after repeatedly clashing with President Xóchitl Gaytán, who accused him of several policy violations. In resigning, Torres said too much of his time had been “consumed by internal conflict.”
Thirteen people applied to fill the vacancy. One applicant, James A. Foglio, was disqualified because he doesn’t live in District 3, a district spokesperson said.
The board is set to choose three finalists on Nov. 16 and appoint a new member on Nov. 19.
The six remaining board members debated on Thursday the criteria they’ll use to do that and decided to remove a standard about whether applicants have the time and capacity to serve.
“There’s no way to get to that without a level of classism and without getting into people’s personal lives, which is not necessarily appropriate,” Vice President Monica Hunter said.
The board members sat in the front row at Wednesday’s forum, which was the first opportunity for the public to hear from the applicants. High school students acted as moderators and asked the applicants three questions each.
Some applicants touted their experience as involved Denver Public Schools parents.
“My kids, who both use they/them pronouns, are in the heart of their school-age years,” said applicant Erin Phelan. She said she has navigated many district systems, including disability accommodations, gifted and talented identification, and bullying policies, which “has shown me firsthand where our systems succeed and where they fall short.”
Other applicants are former or current DPS employees who said their knowledge of the district makes them well suited for the seat.
“DPS means so much to me,” said applicant Sean Precious, who worked for eight years as a principal supervisor. He ticked off several of DPS’ accomplishments, including increased graduation rates and improving reading scores. But, like other applicants, he noted that the district faces several hard decisions, including what to do about declining enrollment.
“I’m hungry to serve because I know what’s possible when we get this work right,” Precious said. “But challenges remain.”
Several applicants described themselves as independent actors who aren’t beholden to special interest groups. In the last Denver school board election in 2025, one outside group spent nearly $1.5 million to back its chosen candidates. Teachers unions spent more than $500,000 to back a different slate of candidates.
“I would bring an independent voice, willingness to listen, and a commitment to finding common ground wherever possible,” said applicant Mike DeGuire, a retired DPS principal who ran unsuccessfully for the District 3 seat in 2021.
The student moderators also asked the applicants about limiting in-school screen time, test score gaps between students of color and white students, and school closures. Two years ago, the board voted to close or partially close 10 schools due to declining enrollment. The students asked how the applicants would “ensure that school closures will not happen.”
“I’m not gonna dodge your question,” said applicant Patrick Donovan, who recently retired from a local advocacy organization that supports charter schools and other causes. “I don’t think it’s possible for the district to move forward without some degree of school closures.”
Other applicants gave similar answers.
“How you avoid school closures is getting enough kids and money so that we can keep every school open,” said applicant Shannon Carson, an attorney and mom of two DPS students. “Is that realistic? I think I’ll join the people sitting next to me (in saying) probably not.”
Meet the 12 applicants
The information below was gathered from applications and resumes, which Chalkbeat obtained in a public records request.
Caron Blanke is a mom of one student at Denver School of the Arts and two DPS graduates. She ran unsuccessfully for the District 3 seat last year. Blanke is a leadership consultant whose clients include Jewish early childhood centers. She was formerly the chief program officer for the Jewish Community Center in Denver, where she oversaw the preschool and day camp. She also previously volunteered as the chair of the collaborative school committee, or CSC, at Denver School of the Arts. A CSC is an advisory board that works with the school principal.
Emily Bussey is a mom of two DPS students who attend East High School and Denver School of the Arts. Currently a stay-at-home parent, Bussey previously worked in finance, including as an investment banker for JPMorgan Chase. Bussey previously volunteered as president of the PTA and chair of the CSC at Carson Elementary School.
Shannon Carson is a mom of two DPS students who attend the Girls Athletic Leadership School, known as GALS, and McKinley-Thatcher Elementary School. Carson is a lawyer who focuses on criminal defense and tenants’ rights. She volunteers as chair of the McKinley-Thatcher CSC and serves on the districtwide District Accountability Committee. She also serves on the board of directors of GALS, which is a charter school.
Mike DeGuire is a retired DPS principal whose youngest grandchild is a student at Skinner Middle School and whose daughter is a counselor at a different DPS middle school. DeGuire ran unsuccessfully for the District 3 seat in 2021. He currently works as a realtor. In addition to working as a principal in several districts, he was an executive coach in DPS and an educator effectiveness specialist for the Colorado Department of Education. He is the vice chair of an organization called Advocates for Public Education Policy.
Patrick Donovan is a dad of three DPS graduates and a founding board member of charter school network Rocky Mountain Prep. He recently retired from a job as president of Denver Families for Public Schools, an advocacy organization that has often faced off against the Denver teachers union in school board elections. He still serves on the organization’s board. He previously served as an elected school board member in the Eagle County School District.
Scott Esserman is a former Denver school board member and a dad of two DPS graduates. Esserman served as an at-large board member representing the entire city from 2021 to 2025. He ran unsuccessfully for the District 3 seat last year. Esserman is a former teacher who now works as a consultant for school administrators, boards, and parent groups. He previously served on the District Accountability Committee and held volunteer parent leadership positions at Manual High School and Montclair School of Academics and Enrichment.
Pete Fey works as a library services coordinator for DPS. His job duties include ordering library materials and training library staff. He’s also a founding member of a Washington Park soccer league. (Board policy prohibits board members from working for DPS. If he were appointed, Fey would have to resign from his job with DPS.)
Veronica Figoli Fleischer is a former DPS employee whose children attended DPS schools. Figoli Fleischer worked as the chief officer of DPS’ Family and Community Engagement team from 2012 to 2016 and as president and CEO of the Denver Public Schools Foundation, which raises money for DPS, from 2016 to 2021. She currently works as the chief advancement officer for a nonprofit organization called LiftFund that provides small business loans.
P. Barclay Jones is a dad of two DPS graduates. Jones attended DPS schools himself from kindergarten through eighth grade, and his mother and grandmother were DPS teachers. He works as a program manager for the Chinook Fund, a social justice-focused grantmaking organization in Denver, and also as a consultant for nonprofit and for-profit companies.
Erin Phelan is a mom of two DPS students who attend Manual Middle School and Morey Middle School. Currently a stay-at-home parent, Phelan previously worked in the nonprofit sector in operations and fundraising. She is a past chair of the District Accountability Committee and has served on the PTAs of Dora Moore ECE-8 and Bromwell Elementary School, and the CSCs at Manual Middle, Morey, Dora Moore, and Bromwell.
Sean Precious is a former DPS employee who worked as a regional superintendent supervising district principals from 2013 to 2021. He has also worked for Chicago Public Schools and Brockton Public Schools in Massachusetts. He is currently a K-12 education consultant. His nephew is a kindergartener at a DPS school.
D. David Scudamore is a dad of three DPS graduates who attended district-run, magnet, and charter schools. For more than a decade, Scudamore has volunteered as an assistant cross country and track coach at East High School. He is a doctor at Children’s Hospital Colorado and also serves as the section head of pediatric hospital medicine. Scudamore is also an associate professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org.
