An independent investigation found Board of Education member John Youngquist exhibited “belittling, dismissive and condescending behavior” toward employees, and that he showed biases when interacting with staff of color, according to a .
Despite those findings, the report stated that the investigation was unable to determine whether Youngquist deliberately discriminated against DPS employees, stating that there was no evidence that the school board member showed overt racism toward staff, such as the use of slurs.
“We are unable to reach a conclusion as to whether Mr. Youngquist deliberately acted in a biased manner towards some district leaders of color based on the available evidence,” wrote attorneys David D. Powell Jr. and Sara R. Bodner with the Denver-based firm .
The attorneys were hired by the school board in June to investigate Superintendent Alex Marrero’s allegations against Younguist, a probe that cost at least $78,045 as of Oct. 10, according to invoices reviewed by The Denver Post.
Youngquist said in a statement Monday that his attorney sent a letter to the investigators “articulating our concerns about the investigation and the context on why it was being conducted.”
“The letter also stated that based on the totality of the circumstances, both the context and the report suggest a retaliatory motive for which I intend to take legal action at the appropriate time,” Youngquist said in the statement.
The school board launched the investigation after Marrero asked directors to censure Youngquist, whom he accused of hostile behavior toward staff, especially employees of color. The elected body is scheduled to hold a public meeting Wednesday to discuss Marrero’s request.
“I want to state clearly that I am not surprised by these findings, though I remain deeply disappointed,” Marrero wrote in an email to the school board. “The details outlined in the report confirm what many have experienced firsthand: a sustained pattern of behavior that is both damaging and unacceptable in any professional environment. No one should be expected to work under such conditions.”
Marrero added in his email, “I strongly urge the board to address this matter with the seriousness it demands. Our credibility as a governing body and the well-being of our staff depend on a transparent and decisive response.”
Board President Carrie Olson said she will review the investigation findings before Wednesday’s meeting.
“This is a difficult and consequential moment for our board,” she said in a statement. “My focus remains on upholding our governance process and ensuring that due process is afforded to all individuals involved.”
Youngquist, a former East High School principal, has found himself at odds with district staff and other school board members since his election to the governing body in 2023.
Most recently, Youngquist accused DPS leaders, including Marrero, of repeatedly retaliating against him because he attempted to sound the alarm about school safety before the 2023 East High shooting.
The report released on Monday said attorneys did not investigate any claims of retaliation that were made by Youngquist against other board members and vice versa.
The attorneys interviewed at least 18 DPS employees, school board members, Marrero and Youngquist.
The report did not name DPS staff or elected school board members interviewed during the investigation, except for Marrero and Youngquist. (It did name directors when quoting comments they have made during past public meetings.)
In the report, employees described Youngquist cutting them off in conversations, not shaking their hands and often declining to meet with them. They said he also questioned them at times to the point that it appeared Youngquist thought that they were lying, according to the report.
One employee told investigators that he “believes Mr. Youngquist thinks he and his colleagues do not know how to do their jobs,” the report stated.
Employees said Youngquistap behavior was going beyond attempts to hold Marrero accountable in his role as superintendent, especially when compared to another board member who is considered “critical” and sets a “high bar,” according to the report.
Multiple employees also told the attorneys that their difficult relationships with Youngquist predated his time on the school board and extended back to his time working for the district as a principal or in another capacity.
“We conclude it is more likely than not that Mr. Youngquist exhibited bias in interactions with some district leaders of color,” the attorneys wrote in their findings.
The investigators noted that most senior staff at DPS are people of color, but said they could not conclude that Youngquist’s bias was deliberate.
Tension between district staffers and Youngquist “came to a head” in March 2024 after an email exchange in which the director described a DPS employee as being deceptive in his communications and manipulative, according to the report.
Now, the employee avoids one-on-one meetings with Youngquist and has noticed that the director avoids asking him for advice, the report stated.
The report did not name the employee involved, but The Post previously reported that an email exchange from that same time period showed Youngquist took issue with how DPS General Counsel Aaron Thompson answered questions, including saying that the attorney’s response “represents as a manipulation in regard to information shared and not shared…”
In response, Thompson, who is a person of color, told Youngquist that, “Historically, stereotypes of deceitfulness and manipulation have been unjustly and harmfully applied to Black individuals and communities.”
Board members took a rare step and publicly criticized Youngquist in a January meeting after he accused them of violating the state’s open meeting law — which the report noted didn’t change Youngquist’s behavior.
During the meeting, his colleagues scolded Youngquist for his treatment of DPS employees, but didn’t specifically divulge how his behavior was improper beyond noting he was persistent in trying to receive full compensation for his official duties.
Three directors — Xóchitl “Sochi” Gaytán, Michelle Quattlebaum and Scott Esserman — specifically accused Youngquist of “behavior unbecoming of a board member toward DPS staff” in 2024.
Youngquist told The Post earlier this year that he was aware of offending at least two senior district staff members: Thompson and DPS Chief of Staff Deborah Staten.
Tensions between Youngquist and DPS staff reached new heights — at least publicly — this spring after Marrero sent a scathing email to board President Carrie Olson, which laid out numerous grievances against Youngquist.
In the email, Marrero accused Youngquist of wanting his job, creating a toxic work environment, undermining DPS leaders, and showing racial insensitivity toward staff. (Youngquist has denied wanting the superintendency and called Marrero’s email a “personal attack, which I do not understand.”)
Youngquist’s behavior “constitutes a serious threat to the health, functionality and integrity of our school district,” Marrero wrote in the email.
The school board rarely censures its members, which is the strongest step it can take to formally rebuke a director. The board does not have the authority to remove a member.
A DPS board last censured a member in 2021 after an outside investigation found former director Auon’tai Anderson flirted online with a teenage student and made intimidating social media posts.
The school board spent more than $190,000 on the Anderson investigation, which did not substantiate the most serious allegations, of sexual assault, made against the former board vice president.
