An incumbent, a teacher and a social worker are facing off to represent southeastern Denver on the seven-member school board in the Nov. 6 election.
Bruce Hoyt, 49, has held the District 1 seat since 2003 and wants to continue on the belief that “continuity of leadership is key to achievement in urban schools.”
Hoyt, an investment banker, has two daughters in Denver Public Schools and wants to continue the reforms that have been put in place.
“This is an important election,” said Hoyt, a graduate of Manual High. “We have a dynamic visionary superintendent being supported by a reform-oriented board. It’s about fully implementing the Denver plan to drive student achievement.”
Hoyt says he has learned a lot in four years, and wants to continue working on bettering the district’s financial situation, improving middle schools and increasing the number of early childhood educational offerings.
Laurence Botnick, 44, is a social worker who for two decades has worked with troubled youth. He is director of the Denver chapter of the National Association of Social Workers and a graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School. He has two children attending DPS.
Botnick said he wants to find out if the district is using its money wisely, hoping to get more funds into the classroom to keep good teachers from leaving and provide children access to necessary materials.
“My kids are sharing textbooks,” he said. “They are not allowed to bring books home. My youngest, who is going to Morey (Middle School) has a great geography program, but the teacher had to buy the maps.”
Botnick, who has been endorsed by the Denver Classroom Teachers Association, would like to see board members have more interaction with the schools in their districts and work to implement the parts of the Denver Plan he believes are working.
Frank Deserino, 46, has been a DPS teacher for seven years. He teaches American history at South High. He is running to bring oversight over the district’s curriculum department – saying he would like to see kids being taught more subjects than what appears on the Colorado Student Assessment Program tests.
“The second reason I am running is to bring back community cooperation, honor between the board and its teachers,” he said. “The last reason I am running is to make education academically challenging again by bringing back the choice, the electives, the arts, all the things that have been taken away because of CSAP.”
Deserino believes there is no conflict of interest and he would be able to participate in most board votes, despite his being a teacher.
Jeremy P. Meyer: 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com
DPS forum remains on
A League of Women Voters school board candidate forum scheduled weeks ago for tonight will go on despite the World Series.
The forum will begin at 6 p.m. at 900 Grant St., about the same time as the first pitch for Game 1 between the Rockies and the Boston Red Sox.
“I’m sorry to say, where are your priorities?” said Nancy Ulrich, board member with the League of Women Voter’s Denver chapter. “It’s more important than Game 1 of the World Series.”
