Teacher discipline in Colorado spiked over the last five years, with the revocation, suspension and surrender of teachers’ licenses reaching a record high in 2022 with 31 lost licenses and remaining elevated in the following years, according to a Denver Post analysis of disciplinary records kept by the .

Incidents that led to educators losing their teaching licenses increased by 77% between 2021 and 2025 when compared to the previous five years, The Post found. Sexual offenses by teachers also went up along with the overall jump in disciplinary cases, though not as sharply: 29 teachers lost their licenses for sexual offenses between 2016 and 2020, compared to 45 between 2021 and 2025, a 55% increase, The Post found.

The uptick in the most serious type of educator discipline, which reflects a tiny fraction of the state’s teachers, comes after the COVID-19 pandemic threw schools into turmoil and follows a handful of high-profile cases of teacher abuse that have cost Colorado schools millions of dollars in legal settlements. The increased discipline also follows legislative changes that strengthened the state’s mandatory reporting laws and comes as the state faces a shortage of teachers.

Each of those factors might be influencing the increased levels of discipline, experts told The Post. They generally felt the higher number of disciplinary actions reflected better training and reporting, rather than an actual increase in bad behavior.

“As a society, our community has done a much better job of making it possible for people to come forward and feel safe,” said George Brauchler, who has handled a number of teacher sex assault cases as the elected district attorney for the 23rd Judicial District, which includes Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties.

“What I don’t want to believe — and I’m not convinced is true — is we are seeing an increased number of teachers who are going to prey on our kids,” he said. “My hope and thought is that because we are looking harder, we are taking it more seriously, the outcry is increased, and we are able to investigate and hold more people accountable for this.”

Colorado has about 54,000 teachers at the kindergarten through 12th-grade levels, according to the state Department of Education.

The Post examined 341 cases in which teachers surrendered their licenses or state authorities revoked or suspended licenses between 2000 and 2025 and sifted through thousands of pages of to build a complete picture of the state’s teacher disciplinary history during the last quarter century.

That analysis showed that sexual offenses by teachers led to nearly half — 44% — of lost teaching licenses in Colorado over the last 25 years.

The most common reason for teachers to lose their licenses was sexual contact with students, accounting for 76 cases, according to The Post’s review. The second most frequent reason was a non-sexual criminal conviction, seen in 52 cases, followed by sexual contact with minors who weren’t students, noted in 20 cases.

Theft, excessive physical force on students, possession of child sexual abuse material and domestic violence were also common reasons for teachers to lose their licenses.

Colorado’s upswing not reflected nationally

The disciplinary cases included a Morgan County wrestling coach who taped a boy to a bench as punishment for misbehaving in 2006, including taping over his hands and mouth, as well as a Pueblo middle school teacher who watched pornography and masturbated in his classroom in 2012 — an act that was observed by two 13-year-old girls who peered into the classroom through a partially covered window.

A Montrose teacher sent sexually explicit text messages to a teenage student and tried to arrange to have sex with him in 2024. A Douglas County middle school teacher sexually assaulted a 14-year-old boy for more than a year beginning in 2023, then stalked the student, creating fake phone numbers to try to reach him by text.

The Post’s analysis is based on the date the offenses occurred, not the year the teachers’ licenses were revoked, as the license actions routinely trail incidents by months or years. In some cases, teachers lost their licenses occurred because an adult victim came forward about prior childhood abuse, the records showed.

That pattern suggests that lost licenses for incidents that occurred in 2025 are likely to rise over the next year.

The upswing in Colorado’s discipline wasn’t seen to the same degree nationwide, said Jimmy Adams, executive director of the , can organization that maintains a nationwide database of teacher license actions. Prior to 2020, the agency received, on average, records of 6,000 teacher license actions annually from all 50 states, Adams said.

That nudged up to an average of 6,100 actions annually beginning in 2020 and has remained around that average since, he said, noting that each state sets its own standards for discipline, which makes it difficult to draw comparisons across state lines. The vast majority of teachers never face license-level discipline, Adams said.

Until 2022, Colorado saw 18 or fewer lost teaching licenses annually, the records reviewed by The Post show. That jumped to 31 in 2022, then 24 in 2023 and 28 in 2024. So far, 16 teachers have lost licenses for incidents in 2025, according to the records.

“When you are driving down the road somewhere, the vast majority of other cars are doing exactly what they are supposed to do,” Adams said. “When you go to the doctor, the vast majority of doctors do exactly what you want them to do. And the same is true for teachers.”

Shifts in discipline are often caused by changes to the state’s approach to enforcement, improved training and education, or shifts in state law, Adams said.

Colorado Department of Education spokesman Jeremy Meyer said the state agency has not changed the way it handles discipline in recent years. He declined to make anyone available to speak with The Post about the shifts in discipline, saying agency staff — who do not track how many teachers are disciplined annually or why — could not comment on The Post’s findings without doing their own additional research.

Spotlight on teacher sexual abuse

The jump in Colorado teacher discipline came soon after a handful of high-profile cases put a spotlight on teacher sexual abuse and the responsibility of administrators and colleagues to report such allegations to outside authorities.

In 2018, Denver prosecutors brought criminal charges against five East High School staff members for failing to report an alleged sexual assault by one student on another. The charges were all dropped in 2019.

Also in 2018, three staff members at Aurora’s Prairie Middle School were charged with failure to report child abuse after they pressured a 14-year-old student to recant her claims that a teacher sexually abused her, ultimately forcing the student to apologize to the teacher and hug him before suspending the girl for making a false report. The teacher later confessed to sexually assaulting five students at the school.

The Cherry Creek School District paid $11.5 million to settle a lawsuit from the five victims. The failure-to-report charges were dismissed against the staffers in that case as well, because they fell outside the statute of limitations. In 2019, Colorado lawmakers extended the statute of limitations on failure to report child abuse from 18 months to three years.

As part of that $11.5 million settlement, the school district agreed to put together a comprehensive training on mandatory reporting, said attorney Siddhartha Rathod, whose law firm represented the five victims. The district went on to put together a “phenomenal” program that reached beyond just the Cherry Creek district, he said.

“So when teachers do see something, they are starting to realize, ‘Hey, we really do need to say something,’ ” he said, adding that he thinks the license actions show just “the tip of the iceberg.”

Similarly, more people have attended trainings offered by the in recent years, with annual attendees climbing from about 8,000 in 2018 to nearly 12,000 in 2025, according to the .

Those trainings cover topics like child sexual abuse prevention, mandatory reporting and cyber safety, said Gianna De Fries, a spokeswoman for the , which houses the office.

State lawmakers reformed Colorado’s mandatory reporting laws in 2025 in an attempt to clarify the often-misunderstood law, which requires certain professionals to report suspected child abuse to state authorities. Across the state, 27 people were charged with failure to report child abuse between 2018 and 2025, according to the . The highest annual count was six cases in 2022.

The district’s statement came after the Education Department again threatened to pull its federal funding over policies the Trump administration says discriminate against girls by allowing transgender students to compete in female sports and use women’s bathrooms.

The warning marks the second time this year that the agency’s has accused the district of violating .

The department issued its initial warning in March, giving the district 10 days to agree to a resolution, which would have reversed any policies that permit transgender students to play sports or access facilities, including overnight accommodations.

“The department����ap interpretation has no basis in the Title IX regulations and is not supported by any binding court decision,” Jeffco Public Schools said in an unsigned statement Wednesday. “At least one federal court of appeals has held that (President Donald Trump’s) executive order does not have the force of law and that it did not amend Title IX.  Prior federal administrations have taken the direct opposite view — that Title IX protects transgender students’ access to school programs and facilities.”

In their statement, Jeffco officials said they believe the Education Department’s renewed threat came in response to a letter the district sent Tuesday, informing agency officials that the Office of Civil Rights’ findings were based “on a fundamental misunderstanding of the data we provided in July of 2025.”

The federal government has said more than 60 male students are competing on girls’ sports teams in the district. The statement, which the Education Department cited in accusing Jeffco Public Schools of discrimination in March, is false, according to the district’s letter.

“To be clear, the data did not show any male student occupied a girls’ athletics competition role,” district officials said in their statement. “Jeffco also suggested that OCR direct its demands to the State of Colorado, since Jeffco lacks authority to deviate from or disregard the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act.”

The Education Department said in a statement Wednesday that Jeffco Public Schools hasn’t taken any action — including changing its policies — since the March letter and, as such, the department sent the district a warning letter that says federal funding could be pulled if changes aren’t made within 10 days.

But Jeffco Public Schools said district officials do not believe the two sides are at an impasse because they are still within the 90-day period given for good faith negotiations.

The federal government has targeted K-12 districts with policies supporting transgender students since Donald Trump returned to office last year.

The Education Department also accused Denver Public Schools of discriminating against girls in violation of Title IX by creating gender-neutral bathrooms at East High School. DPS defied the agency’s deadline to convert restrooms back into single-sex facilities last year, but the district never heard back from the Education Department.

Attorneys specializing in Title IX have said that Trump is misusing the law — which was created to ensure girls and women can participate in school activities without sexual harassment — in targeting districts for pro-transgender policies.

The Education Department launched its investigation into Jeffco Public Schools last year after a family sued the district in 2024, alleging their daughter went on an overnight trip and had to share a bed with a transgender girl.

“Not only did the district trample on females’ sex-based protections by allowing males to compete in their sports, intrude in their bathrooms, and sleep in their overnight accommodations, but now it refuses to fix the problem after being given the chance,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said in a statement. “It is indifferent to the law and to the safety, privacy and dignity of women and girls. Its behavior here is unconscionable.”

Friday. Colorado’s own Pam Grier — she of legendary titles such as the Blaxploitation classic “Coffy” and Quentin Tarantino’s “Jackie Brown” — is getting her due this weekend as Alamo Drafthouse Cinema’s Littleton location renames itself in her honor.

The Pam Grier Cinema, as it will now be known, joins other filmmakers and performers “whose names adorn Alamo Drafthouse locations, a group that includes Spike Lee, John Hughes, Ivan Reitman and Bong Joon Ho,” according to the Austin, Texas-based chain. The opening event on Friday, May 15, features a rare 35mm double feature of 1974’s “Foxy Brown” and 1997’s “Jackie Brown,” with East High School graduate Grier in person talking about her career.

It’s sold out, but you can but check out the theater any time at 7301 S. Santa Fe Drive in Littleton. Call 720-588-4107 or visit for showtimes and more details.

Food truck carnival

Friday-Sunday. A tasty merry-go-round of flavors will set up at Northglenn’s Food Truck Carnival from Friday, May 15, through Sunday, May 17, with more than 20 food trucks, a Friday celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander cuisine, Sunday’s Kids Market — “where young entrepreneurs create and sell their own goods,” organizers said — live music and craft pours from Prost Brewing Co., Satire Brewing Co. and Bruz Beers. Oh, and carnival rides! Because it wouldn’t be one without them.

The showcase of BBQ, tacos, global street food and treats (as organizers put it) takes place 4-9 p.m. Friday, noon-9 p.m. on Saturday, and noon-5 p.m. on Sunday at E.B. Rains Jr. Memorial Park at 11701 Community Center Drive in Northglenn. Admission is free and all ages. Visit for more details.

The Denver Brass + America’s birthday

Sunday. Amid so many America’s 250th-birthday events this season, The Denver Brass arrives with a universally relatable show that just happens to be told through a highly personal voice. Stirring emotions in its Sunday, May 17, “Pulse of America” show is the piece “Sketches of Courage” —  “a symphonic poem created by Denver-based composer Sean Shaffer Hennessy inspired by the WWII sketchbook full of drawings by his grandfather, Francis Xavier Hennessy II,” organizers wrote.

The respected ensemble’s show closes out its 2025-2026 season, and tickets are on sale now for $47.73 via . Kids 12 and under are free. It takes place 2:30-4:30 p.m. at Bethany Lutheran Church, 4500 E. Hampden Ave. in Cherry Hills Village. With host Kabin Thomas of CPR Classical. Visit for more details.

PlatteForum’s big moves

Opens Friday. The excellent, nonprofit gallery and incubator known as PlatteForum has moved around a bit over the years, and will reopen in the Art District on Santa Fe starting June 5. Just before then, you can see artist-in-residence Drew Austin’s “Make Yourself, At Home” exhibition, which opens on Friday, May 15, at PlatteForum’s  A.I.R. Annex Gallery, at 3575 Ringsby Court in Denver. (All future exhibits, beginning June 5, will be held in the new space at 910 Galapago St. in Denver.)

The interdisciplinary exhibition, which also includes the work of PlatteForum’s ArtLab interns, presents bold silhouettes and slices of organic shapes (in nature, physiology and elsewhere) that contrast with the colors and environments around them, challenging the distinction between natural and artificial. The artists will be on hand for the free reception starting at 6 p.m. Friday, with remarks at 7. Regular gallery hours are 3-6 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, through June 4. Visit for more details.

Nine years ago, he bought a yellow eyesore from 1953 that always stood out on Seventh Avenue.

“As a kid, I always dreamed of tearing it down for my grandmother,” Sumners said of 1650 E. Seventh Ave.

He bought the property for $900,000 and designed and built the 7,400-square-foot Mediterranean-style villa, now listed for $5.4 million.

He grew up and still lives in the historic Denver neighborhood, two houses down. And his grandmother lived nearby on the 700 block of Humboldt Street.

“My intention was to build something appropriate for Seventh Avenue. All the homes here have character. I wanted to stitch the neighborhood fabric back together,” he said.

Sumners, 59, who graduated from East High School and Hobart College, earned a Master of Architecture degree at the University of Maryland. He’s spent most of his career working for himself, developing projects in Mexico and Denver.

He started by designing and overseeing the construction of a family home in Puerto Vallarta and has since designed and built homes, restaurants and small hotels in Mexico.

In Colorado, he’s designed home renovation plans for friends and family and designed and developed the Townhouses at Cherry Creek North.

He said he prefers being his own boss rather than having clients and typically works on one or two projects at a time that take two or more years to complete.

“I found a niche that works for me,” he said.

The seven-bedroom, seven-bath home reflects his love for handcrafted materials and modernist influences, especially from Frank Lloyd Wright and Mexican architect Luis Barragán.

There’s a custom iron shield front door, 8-foot blond mahogany interior doors, and a custom garage door, all imported from Mexico, along with handmade white oak cabinets.

The house has a New Hampshire slate roof.

“I love slate roofs,” Sumners said. “They’re 100-year roofs and I think they look beautiful.”

Slate roofs also protect against hail and fire, and they match the neighborhood’s character.

Inside, the home features 10-foot coffered ceilings, white oak floors, and a kitchen with a La Cornue range and light leathered marble countertops.

The outdoor areas have two patios, a fireplace and a chef’s outdoor kitchen.

Building in the East 7th Avenue Historic District meant working closely with the Denver Landmark Preservation Commission, which reviews all changes and new construction to protect the area’s historic character.

The commission’s strict review meant every exterior detail had to be approved before construction could start. Once approved, no changes to the exterior design were allowed.

“When you design this way, you design from the outside in,” he said. “Usually, the outside grows as the inside resolves itself, but I had to fit everything within an envelope that wasn’t budging.”

Sumners credits Denver architect Aaron Hodgin for helping to shape his vision and manage the bureaucracy.

“We spent countless hours walking the neighborhood, studying the houses we loved, and collaborating on ideas that would both respect the historic context and push the design forward,” Sumners said.

“Aaron deserves immense credit for his contributions; when we presented our first design to the landmark commission, I leaned over to him and admitted, ‘I hate that.’”

So Sumners changed the mansion’s design to its current layout.

He made flexibility a top priority in the home’s design. It can suit many types of residents, from couples who want comfort without feeling overwhelmed by space, to multigenerational families with grandchildren, or even a large family with 10 children.

Sumners remembers when the neighborhood was full of kids. Now, as older residents move out, he’s seeing more young families return.

“It����ap wonderful to see the neighborhood come alive with children again,” he said. “Whoever buys this home, I hope they fill it with life.”

Listing broker Ann Atkinson with LIV Sotheby’s International Realty said the home offers great flexibility and quality.

“It easily entertains 500 in an afternoon, but it����ap also beautiful and comfortable with just two people,” she said.

“I hope whoever buys it enjoys it and makes it their forever home. It����ap a masterpiece.”

Read more from our partner, .

The agency’s said Jeffco Public Schools violated and gave Colorado’s second-largest K-12 system 10 days to agree to a proposed resolution — including reversing any policies that allow transgender students to play sports — or “risk imminent enforcement action.” 

Jeffco Public Schools pushed back Friday afternoon, saying the Education Department’s “conclusion is erroneous” and conflicts with Colorado law.

“Providing equal access to programs and services for all Jeffco students, including those who are transgender, does not violate Title IX,” district leaders said in a statement. “The department’s interpretation has no basis in the Title IX regulations and is not supported by any binding court decision.”

The Education Department has targeted K-12 districts nationwide for their policies supporting transgender students since President Donald Trump returned to office last year, threatening to pull their federal funding for what the administration calls discriminatory policies.

Attorneys specializing in Title IX have previously told The Denver Post that the Trump administration is misapplying the landmark civil rights law, which was created to ensure girls and women can participate in school activities without sexual harassment.

Last year, the Office of Civil Rights issued a similar determination that Denver Public Schools had discriminated against girls in violation of Title IX by creating gender-neutral bathrooms at East High School and enacting policies that allow students to use facilities that correspond with their gender identities.

In September, DPS defied the Education Department’s deadline to convert the restrooms back into single-sex facilities or face unspecified “enforcement action.” But the district never heard back from the agency about the Title IX investigation, DPS spokesman Bill Good said Friday.

The Trump administration launched its investigation into Jeffco Public Schools last year after a family sued the district in 2024, alleging their daughter went on an overnight trip and was assigned to share a bed with a transgender girl.

“Today’s findings reveal sweeping Title IX violations by Jefferson County Public Schools — denying fairness and equality to female students by allowing males into their private facilities, overnight accommodations and athletics,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said . “The district����ap decision to prioritize ‘gender identity’ over ensuring equal access for its female students is unconscionable.”

The federal government has requested that Jeffco Public Schools agree to a settlement that includes rescinding any policies that allow transgender students to access girls’ facilities — including overnight accommodations — and to play on female sports teams, according to the civil rights office.

The Department of Education’s proposed settlement also would require Jeffco Public Schools to issue a public statement that says the district will use “biology-based definitions of the words ‘male’ and ‘female,'” the agency said.

“The statement shall specify that Title IX applies irrespective of state law or regulation and the policies of sports governing bodies, and provide instructions for how to report or file a complaint of sex discrimination under the district����ap grievance policies,” the Education Department said.

Jeffco Public Schools officials did not say directly whether they plan to comply with the Education Department’s proposed settlement.

“As we consider next steps in partnership with our community and state and local officials, two things remain certain: (1) Jeffco will continue to maintain its compliance with the law, and (2) we will center decisions on providing exemplary, equitable educational opportunities for all students,” the district said in its statement.

The Department of Education said it received athletic rosters that showed “male students occupy 61 roster positions on girls sports teams” at Jeffco schools, according to an agency news release. The Post could not immediately verify the department’s claims.

Transgender students’ participation in sports has become a flashpoint for conservatives and schools. The has for years recognized the right of transgender athletes to participate on sports teams that match their gender identities, but agreed last year not to penalize districts’ transgender athlete bans.

The heard arguments in January regarding bans on transgender girls and women playing school sports and appeared from participating.

Jeffco Public Schools said the federal government’s stance, including its proposed agreement, conflicts with state law. District officials said in their statement that Jeffco’s policies are in alignment with the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, previous federal guidance on Title IX and CHSAA policy.

“Prior federal administrations have taken the direct opposite view — that Title IX protects transgender students’ access to school programs and facilities,” Jeffco Public Schools officials said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The potential breakup comes as leaders of Colorado’s largest K-12 district have asked the Board of Education to approve a plan to remove Kaiser Permanente as a provider available to employees who purchase health insurance via DPS and instead require staff to get coverage from either or .

The seven-member board is scheduled to vote on the plan next week, but directors could decide during the Feb.19 meeting to extend DPS’s current health insurance contracts  — including with Kaiser, MotivHealth and UnitedHealthcare — for a year and restart the bidding process. That proposal was added after the teachers union raised concerns about educators losing access to their doctors.

About 5,800 people — DPS employees and their family members — receive their health care via Kaiser, said Rob Gould, president of the . Kaiser is the insurer that DCTA members use most.

“This is a significant disruption in the system,” Gould said. “I’m not really sure why they want to get rid of it other than cost and trying to push us to a lower cost system.”

The relationship between DPS and Kaiser soured after district officials said the provider was outbid last year by three other insurers on a three-year contract. Kaiser submitted a revised proposal for DPS last year, an action that drew criticism from the district and, ultimately, spurred an outside investigation into the bidding process as DPS officials placed the district’s human resources director on administrative leave.

The feud escalated this week in response to The Denver Post����ap questions about potential changes to the district����ap health care plans.

In the middle of the potential breakup is the teachers union, which alleges employees were unaware they would lose access to their doctors until Kaiser sent a notice in December alerting them that coverage for DPS staff would end on July 1.

“I was shocked I learned, not from DPS, but directly from Kaiser, that it would no longer be an option during enrollment,” Susan Fortney, an occupational therapist with the district, told the school board last week.

In a statement, DPS spokesman Scott Pribble accused Kaiser leaders of repeatedly violating the district����ap bidding process, including by speaking during the school board’s public comment session last week — an attempt, he alleged, to “improperly influence the decision that had been made during a legal and appropriate process.”

Amy Whited, a spokeswoman for Kaiser Permanente Colorado, disputed DPS’s claims

“Kaiser Permanente has carefully followed the DPS procurement process,” she said in a statement.

Health care expenses are increasing

At the crux of the DPS-Kaiser dispute are rising health care costs.

K-12 districts across Colorado are facing significant financial constraints as enrollment, and therefore state per-pupil funding, declines. Uncertainty swirls around the future of state and federal funding amid a nearly $1 billion shortfall in the Colorado budget and the Trump administration’s threats to cut K-12 money.

At the same time, costs, including health insurance, are going up. School districts spend most of their money on employees, and districts such as DPS have begun reducing their budgets by placing raises and unfilled positions on the chopping block.

DPS’s budget for employee health insurance has increased 20% — or by about $12 million — since the 2023-24 fiscal year, from $60.2 million to more than $72 million for 2025-26.

Unlike some of its peers in metro Denver, DPS is expected to balance its $1.5 billion budget this year without having to use any money set aside in reserves. In fact, DPS officials project the district will have a $4.4 million surplus for the 2025-26 year, according to its

But that may not always be the case. DPS is projected to run a deficit starting in the 2027-28 fiscal year. Such projections can always change, but DPS could find itself in — and sooner — if the Trump administration pulls K-12 funding.

Four providers placed bids to offer health insurance for DPS employees last year, including Kaiser, MotivHealth, UnitedHealthcare and . A fifth company, , was non-compliant, so the company’s bid was not reviewed, according to a posted to the agenda for the school board’s Feb. 19 meeting.

The insurers competed for a three-year contract that will run from July 1 through June 30, 2029, with the option for renewals.

A team of nine people, including representatives from DPS’s human resources and finance departments, evaluated the insurers’ bids and gave them scores out of 100, based on costs, technology and other criteria.

MotivHealth and UnitedHealthcare received the highest scores, 77.7 and 76, respectively. Kaiser received the lowest score, 69.3, mostly because the review team gave the insurer such a low score — 8.9 out of 20 — for costs, the document showed.

“Denver Public Schools is accountable to the Denver taxpayers and good stewards of money that is provided to the district,” Pribble said. “…(W)ith health care costs rising across the country, employers and employees will see higher costs no matter which vendor or vendors are selected.”

Kaiser officials defended the nonprofit����ap costs.

“…(W)e believe there is a fundamental mistake or misunderstanding related to the total cost of our Kaiser Permanente health plan coverage,” Whited said in a statement.

Kaiser officials have contacted DPS’s team three times in an effort “to clear up this misunderstanding and have received zero responses,” she added.

An investigation and a top administrator on leave

DPS officials criticized actions they said Kaiser took after it became apparent the district no longer wanted to include the nonprofit as a health insurance option for employees.

Pribble said Kaiser “violated” the proposal process by reaching out to , a third-party consultant retained by DPS, “to ascertain the validity of their bid.”

“Once they learned that they were not competitive, they then submitted an additional proposal after the (bidding) process had closed,” he said. “Once they learned they had not been selected, they directly contacted DPS staff, calling out the district for not choosing them as an insurance provider.”

Whited pushed back on DPS’s allegations, saying that a Moreton representative contacted the insurer rather than the other way around. A broker for the consulting firm reached out a second time on Nov. 18, 2025, asking “explicitly” on behalf of DPS Chief of Talent Edwin Hudson for Kaiser to reduce an administrative fee in its proposal, which the insurer agreed to do that same day, she said.

“Kaiser Permanente did not initiate contact with a Moreton broker,” she said. “We have nothing to hide and would welcome transparency about this process. We have done nothing but dutifully follow DPS’s direction and that of its authorized agents throughout this process.”

Whited copied the DPS school board on her response to The Post’s questions, adding at the end of her email that Kaiser officials “are troubled by these accusations and believe transparency is essential and would welcome the opportunity to speak to the Board of Education, share documentation such as call logs, text messages and emails to verify this version of events.”

DPS officials, after seeing Kaiser’s email to The Post, responded by revealing that the district had conducted an outside investigation after “questions were raised by a Denver Public Schools administrator” about the health insurance proposal process.

DPS leaders also placed Hudson, the chief human resources officer, on administrative leave on Nov. 21, 2025 — three days after Kaiser said it was asked to revise its proposal, according to a memo obtained by The Post.

“The investigation found that the (proposal) process was run with integrity and that Mr. Hudson did not have inappropriate communication with Kaiser Permanente or any other vendor,” Pribble said.

DPS hired to conduct the investigation, which ran from Dec. 1 to Jan 26, Pribble said.

He declined to share the findings of the investigation with The Post, saying the results are “privileged.” DPS does not know the total cost of the investigation because the district has not yet received the bill, Pribble said.

Hudson’s leave was lifted by DPS on Jan. 27, but district officials declined to say whether he has returned to work.

“Our (proposal) selection process for medical provider vendors was conducted diligently, resulting in the selection of the most cost-effective providers for all employees and the district,” Hudson said in a statement to The Post. “Throughout the process, committee members refrained from engaging in any direct or indirect communication, except for a reminder to a vendor that DPS would not accept any communication during the silent period of the selection process.”

Hudson did not respond to a question asking whether he was still on administrative leave.

A Moreton representative could not be reached for comment.

‘…(E)rodes employee trust’

DPS administrators sent an email to employees on Dec. 8 — the same day Kaiser alerted staff that their coverage would end — apologizing for not telling them first. District officials, in the letter reviewed by The Post, said Kaiser sent its notice out “prematurely.”

“Please know that we will do everything we can to ensure a smooth transition,” district officials wrote. “…This means if you are pregnant, are undergoing cancer treatments or have another significant medical need, we will work with you and our other providers to develop a plan to transition at the appropriate time.”

But the damage was done. DCTA filed a grievance with DPS, alleging administrators violated the teachers union’s contract by bypassing the district����ap benefits board in deciding not to move forward with Kaiser.

Two other employee unions — the and the — also filed grievances, DCTA spokewoman Angelina Reed said.

Pribble declined to comment on the unions’ claims, saying that DPS doesn’t comment on grievances.

“A final decision hasn’t been made,” he said. “…(T)he district has a plan in place for continuity of care for critical cases.”

At last week’s board meeting, DPS employees asked the school board to extend Kaiser’s contract.

“Canceling Kaiser would force educators to change providers mid-care, disrupt prescriptions and delay critical services,” East High School educator Tyler Knauer told the school board last week. “That����ap not a small inconvenience. It����ap a real health risk.”

He said that not only will his children have to change providers, but East High employees, who are receiving mental health services from Kaiser after shootings at or near the campus in 2023, will have to find new therapists.

DPS teacher Rhys Conly’s partner, who has multiple sclerosis, is now facing the possibility of losing her entire medical care team — which consists of seven providers — in a matter of months, the educator told the board.

The discontinuation of Kaiser’s contract means Conly’s partner will have to “rapidly schedule a highly time-sensitive infusion designed to prevent her from prematurely losing the use of her legs within two weeks,” the teacher said.

“The way the district handled the decision erodes employee trust,” Knauer added.

The went to a Green Valley Ranch home just before 1 a.m. on Sept. 20 to meet a girl for what he thought was going to be a date. Instead, he was shot to death in what police allege was a set-up.

“I want it to be known that this was murder,” said Jade Toko, Caleb’s mother. “He wasn’t just a dumb(expletive) kid in the wrong place. He was intentionally where he was supposed to be and somebody maliciously shot him.”

Caleb was one of just two children killed in Denver during 2025 as homicides plunged to an 11-year-low. Thirty-seven people were slain in the city in 2025, a nearly 50% drop from the 70 homicides the city recorded in 2024. The drop continues a years-long trend as violence declines from pandemic-era peaks.

Caleb was athletic, goofy, sarcastic, Jade Toko said. He thought about being a chef. She and Caleb talked about everything, even her penchant for conspiracy theories. (They disagreed on the existence of aliens: she believes, he did not.)

When Caleb died, Jade Toko put the ashes of his middle finger into a necklace, so they could flip off the world together.

“He just was, and then he wasn’t,” she said. “I don’t really know how to accept that.”

The first 911 call came in at 12:58 a.m., with a resident reporting they heard seven gunshots. Then, two bystanders driving by spotted Caleb on the ground at the corner of Argonne Street and East 50th Place. They hollered out their car window to see if he was OK, and called 911 when the boy didn’t answer.

Police didn’t know who he was at first, and it was not until the next morning, when Jade and her family reported Caleb missing, that investigators pieced it together, according to a police affidavit.

“My husband and I went to look for him, and that is when the detective called us and said, ‘Go home, we’ll meet you at home,'” Jade Toko said. “…They said, ‘Sit down.’ And then they said our son was murdered.”

Prosecutors charged 20-year-old Ka’Vyell Anderson with first-degree murder in Caleb’s killing. Denver police tied him to the crime through surveillance video, witness accounts, cellphone records, fake social media accounts used in the setup, and his own statements after the killing.

Anderson thought that Caleb arranged a fight between girls at an East High School football game the day before the shooting and targeted him in retaliation for that fight, according to the police affidavit.

Investigators believe Anderson worked with at least one other person to lure Caleb out to the home in Green Valley Ranch, where Anderson then ambushed the teenager. Anderson texted someone that he was “on some hot (expletive) and had to stay low” in the days after Caleb’s killing, and moved across town for a few days.

He is being held in jail without bond and is scheduled to appear in Denver District Court for a preliminary hearing in March.

Jade Toko hasn’t been to court yet for the case, but she plans to attend.

She’s been stuck in place since her son died, she said.

“I haven’t done anything since,” she said. “I haven’t done anything.”

Steen was seemingly always illuminating Denver area stages with his formidable keyboard skills and graceful wisdom. His website lists a show with one of his bands, Purnell Steen & The Five Points Ambassadors, at Dazzle earlier this month. Despite increasing health issues, he made the gig.

Born on April 15, 1941, at Denver’s Mercy Hospital, Steen was attracted to music as a young child, that he was given a toy piano at the age of 3.

“The black keys were painted on,” he said.

Steen studied music at Denver’s East High School and the University of Colorado Boulder before establishing himself on the local music scene.

Several of his relatives were also music luminaries: Colorado bassist Charles Burrell, who broke the color barrier in the Denver Symphony and died earlier this year at 104; influential jazz fusion keyboardist George Duke; fabled saxophonist-blues singer Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson; and vocalist and multiple Grammy recipient Dianne Reeves were all his cousins.

Bassist Andrew Hudson, who worked with Steen for years, told The Denver Post the pianist had a rigorous work schedule up until the end.

“He was the kind of guy who would play two church services on a Sunday, a funeral on Tuesday, a jazz gig on Thursday and Friday, then he’d go perform with the Symphony on Saturday. And he might have a wedding in between there as well. He told me many times he was put on this Earth to make music, and that����ap certainly what he did,” said Hudson, who is also a former spokesman for politicians, companies and agencies.

Steen was committed to civil rights, dating back to the 1960s, as a member of the NAACP National Board of Youth and the Congress of Racial Equality. And he was a lifetime booster of the creative culture that was fostered in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood, which dated back to before he was born.

His groups, The Five Points Ambassadors and Le Jazz Machine, often appeared on Denver stages, showcasing the swinging music he loved so deeply. And Steen was always enthusiastic about presenting new local jazz talent.

“Purnell was one of those guys who you just thought was going to last for eternity,” Hudson said. “He’s been around for so long, and he’s been such a staple in not just the jazz community, but the Denver community.”

During an online performance recorded in 2021, Steen said, “One thing that I love about jazz is that it is very intergenerational, and jazz really is one of the greatest art forms because it transcends socioeconomic distinctions; also, it transcends all ethnic distinctions.

“And jazz is what it is – it����ap America’s music, it was invented here. The only art form created in the Western Hemisphere. It is distinctly American.”

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 Youngquist����ap 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.

John Youngquist in an interview alleged the retaliation first began two years ago when the district sent him a cease-and-desist letter regarding the use of the “lamp of knowledge” from the DPS logo in his campaign signs and culminated in Superintendent Alex Marrero accusing the director of wanting his job and asking the school board to censure the former East High principal.

Marrero’s allegations, which were made in an email to board President Carrie Olson earlier this year, spurred the racial discrimination investigation now taking place. The results of the investigation — which the board has spent more than $78,000 on — are expected to be released by the end of next week, Youngquist said.

The Board of Education has scheduled a special meeting for Wednesday to discuss the investigation and Marrero’s letter to the board.

“I don’t have any concerns about the results of the investigation, with the understanding that there’s a much bigger picture here that relates to retaliatory behaviors,” Youngquist said.

DPS spokesman Bill Good denied Youngquist’s allegations.

“The accusations made by Director Youngquist are without merit,” he said in a statement. “…We find it convenient that these accusations are being made when the investigative findings are expected to be released in the coming weeks.”

Good acknowledged DPS leaders requested Youngquist to change his campaign lawn signs during the 2023 election, but said the request was made because they featured the district’s logo without permission and DPS can not favor or endorse candidates.

Youngquist said he sent Marrero five letters in the fall of 2022 about his concerns regarding school safety after the DPS Board of Education removed armed police from schools two years earlier. The letters, he said, went unanswered.

Months later, in March 2023, a student shot and injured two deans inside East High School.

Youngquist was acting as a high school mentor principal when he sent the letters in 2022. He was also commissioned by DPS to author a study about principal perceptions on school safety, according to notes he provided to The Denver Post.

“If DPS were targeting him, why would he be given a contract to support the district after the shooting?” Good asked.

As a result of his work, Youngquist said he has been identified as a potential witness in three lawsuits against DPS related to the shooting and the aftermath. (He has not testified in the cases nor has he been deposed.)

Two of the lawsuits were filed by the deans injured in the East High shooting. The third lawsuit was filed by former McAuliffe International School Principal Kurt Dennis, who alleged DPS retaliated against him for speaking publicly about safety policies after the East High shooting.

Youngquist alleged DPS leaders have retaliated against him in other ways as well since his tenure on the board began, including directing an educational firm called The Impact Team to fire Youngquist in 2024 or risk losing their contract with the district.

The Post was unable to independently verify Youngquist’s employment and termination with The Impact Team. But Youngquist said in his interview that DPS leaders viewed the job as a conflict of interest to his board duties, despite the director working with another district — — instead of DPS.

“It felt like a significant act of retaliation,” Youngquist said.

Good denied that DPS officials asked The Impact Team to fire Youngquist, but confirmed the district viewed his employment with the firm as a conflict of interest.

“…(T)he district informed the Impact Team that it could not renew the contract because Secretary Youngquist was a paid board member,” he said.

DPS, in response to this story, provided The Post with a copy of Youngquist’s resignation letter that Good said showed he was not fired. In the letter, Youngquist notified The Impact Team that he was resigning to “prioritize work within my own consultation organization.”

But Youngquist, who confirmed he sent the document, said the resignation letter was not proof that he was not fired. “That����ap not what I was told by my employers,” he said.

Youngquist said that a January meeting in which board members publicly criticized him was also another form of retaliation by the district. His colleagues scolded him during the meeting after he accused them of violating the state’s open meeting law, but also took him to task for his treatment of DPS employees.

At the time, other board members hinted at conflict between Youngquist and DPS staff but did not specifically say how his behavior was improper. Youngquist said then that he was aware of offending at least two senior administrators.

“..(B)oard members must first have a private conversation with an offending board member,” Good said about the January meeting. “All board members (except the sole Black board member) spoke with Secretary Youngquist regarding his treatment of staff.”

Youngquist said there wasn’t a specific point in time when his relationship with DPS leaders, including Marrero, took a turn for the worse.

“There’s been a tension there,” Youngquist said. “Part of it was because I sent letters (in 2022) that weren’t responded to.”