Latest News and Comment from Education

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Big Win for Denver Public Schools | tultican

Big Win for Denver Public Schools | tultican

Big Win for Denver Public Schools

By Thomas Ultican 11/7/2019
Denver voters rejected the portfolio model of school management on Tuesday. Candidates endorsed by the teachers union were the victors and the “corporate school reform” candidates lost. Leading up to the election, the education focused publication Chalkbeat pointed out,
“If candidates backed by the Denver teachers union win at least two of the three seats, union-backed members will have a majority on the board for the first time in recent history. That could set the stage for a shift away from encouraging school choice and school autonomy to more heavily investing in traditional schools.”
The teachers union endorsed candidates won all three of the seats up for election.

Big Money No Longer Enough

The board of directors’ at-large seat is voted on by the entire city. There were three candidates vying for the at-large seat: Tay Anderson, Alexis Menocal Harrigan and Natela Alexandrovna Manuntseva. Anna DeWitt filed for the seat and raised some money but was not on the ballot. Manuntseva did not have enough resources or organizational support to compete. The race was essentially between Anderson and Harrigan.
Harrigan was the most politically connected of the nine school board candidates. A Denver Post biography noted,
“Menocal Harrigan currently works in advocacy for expanding computer science education. She previously was an education adviser to then-Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Denver City Council aide and a staff member for Sen. Michael Bennet, who helped launch DPS’s current reform agenda during his time as superintendent.”
Anderson’s biography on the other hand looks anything but formidable. The Denver Post reported,
“Anderson, a Manual High School graduate, ran unsuccessfully for the District 4 seat in 2017, when he was 18. He currently works as restorative practices coordinator at North High School.”
Tay is now 21-years-old.
Harrigan received large contributions from Colorado billionaire, Phillip CONTINUE READING: Big Win for Denver Public Schools | tultican