Education |

Mayors blame “dysfunctional” board for Denver Public Schools superintendent’s resignation

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and former Mayor Federico Peña say the Denver Public Schools Board of Education is to blame for the departure of district Superintendent Susana Cordova and are calling for an independent committee to lead the search process for finding her replacement.

In a scathing letter sent Monday, the mayors said the board undermined Cordova, “which caused her to take her many talents to Dallas.”

“They mistreated her at public board meetings and interfered in the day-to-day management of the school system, rather than collaboratively establishing policies and direction for the district,” Hancock and Peña wrote, adding the board has yet to establish its own vision for the future of DPS beyond the 2020 plan.

The mayors suggested several steps the board should take “to regain some semblance of credibility among the broader community,” including having a committee of residents take the lead on recruiting, screening and recommending potential candidates to fill the superintendent role in addition to a search firm. They also recommended the board immediately develop a strategic plan for the future of DPS to help inform potential candidates for the district’s top job.

“We do not believe that this dysfunctional board can now attract a more capable superintendent than Susana Cordova, the leader who has worked her entire adult career for the students of Denver and for our city,” the letter said.

The letter drew a quick response from school board member Tay Anderson, who called it an overreach of mayoral power.

“Calling us dysfunctional and telling us to cede power to residents is unconstitutional,” Anderson told The Denver Post. “When we’re talking about undermining the will of the electorate and we think this is only coming from the White House, this is coming from a Democratic mayor of the city of Denver.”

Cordova resigned Nov. 13 after a tumultuous two-year tenure as superintendent bookended by a historic teachers strike and the extraordinary challenge of educating students during a global pandemic. Cordova, who is moving to Dallas Independent School District as the deputy superintendent of leading and learning, said she was not actively looking for a new job but was approached about the position by a mentor, DISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa.

“I never was in a position before in my career where I felt I could step away from Denver. But when this opportunity came up this time, I felt like it was the right thing to do,” Cordova said when she announced her resignation.

She is one of three local superintendents to resign since July, along with the heads of Jeffco Public Schools and Douglas County School District.

Hancock and Peña expressed concern specifically about the teachers strike, saying it’s “troubling” that past superintendents, who were white men, were never opposed with such actions.

Denver’s first teachers strike in 25 years lasted three days, and then in November of that year, Denverites voted in new school board members including Anderson who vowed to reform the district. The mayors suggested some board members came in intent on firing Cordova.

Anderson said that notion was inaccurate and called the mayors’ claim “unsubstantiated.”

“Me and her may not have seen eye to eye on every single thing, but we never made it a mission to tear each other down,” he said. Suggesting the teacher strike and subsequent board transition was related to race is offensive, he added.

“As a person of color who’s fought for racial justice all summer, it’s disgusting to see people charge me and other board members of color of the accusation that we would ever push out somebody on the basis of their race,” Anderson said.

The Hancock/Peña letter praised Cordova, the district’s first Latina leader, as “arguably the most qualified and community focused superintendent in decades,” adding that all the progress made in the district toward equity, improved test scores and graduation rates is now at risk of being lost with her departure.

“The board must take action to restore the confidence of the broader community, especially the Latino, African American and other communities of color, and reassure Denver residents that they will act responsibly and only in the best interests of students,” the mayors wrote. “It’s time to put aside personal political agendas and work collaboratively as a board should.”

Anderson said he would not consider any of the mayors’ recommendations until they retracted their statement.

The road to our collective vision of a great city begins with great schools. The Honorable Federico Peña and I have been involved in education for decades and are deeply concerned about the current Board of Education’s undermining of Superintendent Susana Cordova. pic.twitter.com/hmoL4wAQkB

— Michael B. Hancock (@MayorHancock) November 23, 2020