Denver’s faculty board is negotiating a brand new contract with Superintendent Alex Marrero and is anticipated to vote on it this week, whilst two years stay on his present take care of the district.
The negotiations come as Marrero has been within the highlight in current months, notably with the college board rejecting his preliminary plan to shut faculties due to low enrollment in November and Denver Public Faculties’ response to 2 shootings this spring at East Excessive College.
The Board of Training is scheduled to vote on whether or not to approve the superintendent’s contract throughout a gathering Thursday, in keeping with the agenda.
It’s unclear what modifications can be made to Marrero’s present contract. District officers mentioned they couldn’t launch the brand new doc Tuesday as a result of it’s nonetheless being negotiated.
When requested whether or not the superintendent — who at the moment makes $260,000 a 12 months — will obtain a pay elevate, board spokesman Invoice Good mentioned DPS couldn’t but touch upon that as a result of the contract hasn’t been permitted and “we have no idea what the ultimate phrases could be.”
Board members contacted by JHB on Monday in regards to the new contract both declined to remark or didn’t instantly reply.
The college board has met with Marrero a number of instances in govt periods — that are closed to the general public — since final 12 months to debate his contract.
“The Board of Training and Superintendent have had ongoing dialog concerning his contract since his final analysis in October 2022,” Good mentioned in an e-mail.
The college board employed Marrero in 2021 to interchange Susana Cordova, who resigned from DPS’s high publish after about two years.
Marrero had been on the job for lower than a 12 months when the college board voted to increase his employment by two years in order that it might run by way of June 30, 2025. On the time, group organizations criticized the board’s vote, saying it lacked transparency.
Marrero’s tenure with DPS has confronted challenges as metropolis leaders and group members have criticized the district’s plans to shut faculties amid declining enrollment and its response to high school security.
When Marrero launched his preliminary plan to shut 10 faculties final fall, he caught faculty board members off guard by altering the proposal for a second time and narrowing the plan down to 2 faculties proper earlier than the vote. The board voted in opposition to the plan. Nonetheless, the board has since determined to shut three faculties within the coming months.
Earlier this 12 months, DPS and the Denver mayor’s workplace had been at odds following the March 22 incident at East by which a scholar shot two directors.
Vice President Auon’tai Anderson alleged Marrero instructed the board that if members didn’t act, there was a plan for Mayor Michael Hancock to make use of govt motion to place armed police again into town’s highschool.
Administrators voted in March to — not less than quickly — put faculty useful resource officers again into excessive faculties after the taking pictures, a call that got here virtually three years after the board determined to take away them.
The mayor’s workplace has repeatedly denied the allegations, together with that there was ever a dialog about such a use of govt energy. However Marrero instructed The Submit that he and Hancock did talk about such an order by the mayor.
In April, Marrero additionally was criticized by Denver Metropolis Council members for not attending a gathering with them about faculty security and sending his employees as an alternative, Axios Denver reported.
When the college board evaluated Marrero’s efficiency in October, it concluded that “all baseline measures have been completed and progress has been made in direction of reaching the Board’s (insurance policies).”
The analysis famous that the superintendent’s strengths included recruiting and retaining Latino educators and constructing “a extra affirming setting” for college students and employees, notably amongst folks within the LGBTQ group.
However on the similar time, the analysis famous there was nonetheless extra work to do to rent further Black academics at DPS. The college board additionally requested that Marrero enhance the district’s public picture and implement “a extra assertive public messaging technique,” in keeping with the analysis.
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