The Denver Post talks about the Denver School Board misfiring again and demonstrating to our children how to abuse the public trust. It is shameful the editorial board has failed to see the underhanded and unethical abuse of power by the superintendent and old members of the board for the past year.
Isn’t this the school board that appointed Tom Boasberg without community input? Isn’t this the school board that proposed radical changes without community input? Didn’t the old school board and superintendent misfire again by trying to close a public meeting?
The Denver Post editorial board unfairly singled out new member Andrea Merida for what it called “bullying behavior,” and her “embarrassing and unprofessional display.” In fact, you can replace Andrea’s name with Boasberg or any other member of the “old board,” and find that those labels can adequately apply to them as well.
Merida took a courageous step in seeking a court order allowing her to be seated as a board member. She clearly demonstrated the seriousness many parents and community members of West and North Denver felt about the radical changes being forced on the community. By using the law to challenge the board’s pending agenda, Merida forced the old school board to play fair.
That the proposals were being voted on without community input was an “embarrassing and unprofessional display” of arrogance by the old board.
Perhaps Merida’s alleged bullying did not change the outcome of the vote on the reforms, but forcing the old school board to debate and discuss the proposed reform agenda in an open forum was success in itself.
It is a shame the editorial board immediately labeled “Merida and her camp” as being anti-reform. This is absurd! Merida’s courageous stand was proof that many parents and families only want to improve education for their children. This alone is the guiding principle for Lake parents, and only shows that the editorial board does not understand the parents’ commitment to see true reforms take place.
Let there be no doubt: Merida, Arturo Jimenez and Jeannie Kaplan stand for reform with due process and respect for the parents, teachers, community members and the students who may be impacted by the reforms.
Counseling Boasberg to “play hardball” with the new board members will only increase the rancor and mean-spirited behavior shown by members of the old board. If Boasberg learned anything from the Monday meeting, it should be that his data-based reforms will be challenged, questioned and reviewed so we do not make the same mistakes made in New York City or Chicago.
Reform without representation is dictatorial and shows that Boasberg and the old board will have to learn to change their bullying behavior and shameful display of abuse of leadership and allow parents and community members a role in determining the scope of the reforms for DPS.
Fidel “Butch” Montoya is director of H.S. Power and Light Ministries. Contributing to this commentary were Nick Weiser, founder of the Denver Education Advocacy Network; human resources consultant Wendy Silveira- Steinway; and Guerin Green, publisher of the North Denver News.
