The Denver Public Colleges Board of Training on Thursday formally reprimanded director John Youngquist for his habits towards district employees, which an outdoor investigation discovered was “belittling, dismissive and condescending.”
The varsity board voted 5 to 1 to censure Youngquist, a uncommon transfer that got here on the request of Superintendent Alex Marrero and after administrators already publicly scolded their colleague twice this yr for his habits towards DPS staff.
Kimberlee Sia was the one director to vote in opposition to the censure; Youngquist abstained from the vote.
“The choice to impose censure on a fellow board member isn’t taken flippantly,” board Vice President Marlene De La Rosa mentioned. “It’s important that each member of this board uphold the values of fairness, professionalism, accountability and respect that our district stands for.”
Youngquist has remained defiant within the face of the investigation’s outcomes, accusing DPS leaders of retaliating in opposition to him and refusing to challenge a blanket apology.
“I used to be appalled by the allegations of Superintendent Marrero, sure members of his management crew, in addition to how sure members of the board selected to deal with them,” Youngquist mentioned in a press release after the vote.
Thursday’s vote was the second time in 4 years {that a} DPS college board has censured a member, which is the strongest step administrators can take to rebuke a colleague. The board doesn’t have the authority to take away a member.
A earlier board censured former director Auon’tai Anderson in 2021 after a third-party investigation discovered he flirted on-line with a teenage scholar and made intimidating social media posts.
Anderson was among the many members of the neighborhood who spoke throughout public remark concerning the censure vote. “At present, the allegations made in opposition to you — you weren’t cleared,” he instructed Youngquist. “You should be censured.”
Others spoke in help of Youngquist, saying they’ve identified him for many years.
“(Youngquist) has spent many years championing numerous communities,” mentioned Selene Arca, one of many audio system. “…Any person didn’t like being held accountable, so he was vilified.”
The board launched the investigation into Youngquist after Marrero, in an electronic mail to board President Carrie Olson, accused Youngquist of hostile habits towards district staffers — particularly staff of shade — and of wanting his job.
The investigation, the outcomes of which have been launched final month, discovered that Youngquist confirmed biases in his interplay with staff of shade, however was inconclusive on whether or not that bias was deliberate, because the director didn’t present overt racism, corresponding to the usage of slurs.
“Our college students, employees and neighborhood are watching us, colleagues,” director Michelle Quattlebaum mentioned earlier than the vote. “They should see that this board dares to confront bias, to study from it and to develop via it.”
DPS staff, most of whom are individuals of shade, instructed investigators that Youngquist cuts them off in conversations, has refused to shake palms and declines to satisfy with them. Employees mentioned the director questions them in a approach that it seems Youngquist believes they’re mendacity or unable to do their jobs, in keeping with the report.
Attorneys with the Denver-based agency Garnett Powell Maximon Barlow and Farbes carried out the investigation.
Board member Xóchitl Gaytán mentioned she needed Youngquist to attend coverage governance and anti-bias coaching — and requested the board to limit Youngquist’s interactions with district employees, which it in the end didn’t do.
“The scenario calls for decisive board motion to uphold skilled requirements and defend district employees,” she mentioned.
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