Carrie Olson elected to second stint as president of Denver college board

Leer en español

Join Chalkbeat Colorado’s free every day publication to get the newest reporting from us, plus curated information from different Colorado shops, delivered to your inbox.

Former Denver trainer Carrie Olson was elected Friday to a second stint as president of the Denver college board. Her election, by secret poll, places an skilled chief on the helm of a college board that had a status for dysfunction and infighting.

New board members Marlene De La Rosa, John Youngquist, and Kimberlee Sia had been sworn in Friday morning and elected shortly thereafter to the opposite three officer roles of vice chairman, secretary, and treasurer, respectively.

The board president and vice chairman had been nominated and chosen by secret poll. Board member Michelle Quattlebaum was additionally nominated for president, and board member Scott Esserman was nominated for vice chairman. The vote totals weren’t made public.

The board secretary and treasurer had been elected publicly by a voice vote. Youngquist was elected secretary unanimously. Sia was elected treasurer on a 4-3 vote. Esserman, who served as treasurer for the previous two years, bought the opposite three votes.

De La Rosa, Youngquist, and Sia had been elected to the board Nov. 7 in a sweep for candidates backed by teams supportive of training reform and constitution faculties — and a rebuke of the 2 incumbents working for reelection.

Board members backed by the Denver academics union maintain the opposite 4 seats on the seven-member board, sustaining a majority however now holding just one management place.

Olson was first elected to the board in 2017 and beforehand served as president from 2019 to 2021. She was reelected in 2021 to a different four-year board time period.

In her six years on the board, she has been a relaxed determine recognized for taking her time to make selections. When the board is split on a problem, Olson is usually the swing vote.

Olson will take over as president from board member Xóchitl “Sochi” Gaytán, who typically clashed with Esserman and former member Auon’tai Anderson, who didn’t run for reelection. Anderson was the one former board member to attend Friday’s swearing in.

“I needed to be president once more as a result of that is, for me, 12 months 39 in Denver Public Faculties and it’s my life,” stated Olson, who was a bilingual trainer in DPS for greater than 30 years and is now an adjunct professor within the Morgridge Faculty of Schooling on the College of Denver.

“I believe this board goes to be very collaborative,” Olson added. “I actually assume we’re at some extent the place the board can enhance our public profile in all sectors of Denver.”

The brand new board will face a number of challenges, together with declining enrollment and the potential closure of small faculties, fierce debates over college autonomy, and the necessity to tackle college security amid rising gun violence.

The three newly elected board members promised on the marketing campaign path to revive a way of collaboration to the board. Infighting and energy struggles amongst some board members have marked the previous two years, tanking confidence within the board and incomes it a status for dysfunction that probably contributed to the incumbents dropping their seats.

“With out evaluating to the previous, I’d like to maneuver ahead eager about what are issues that every one of us convey to the board that we wish to see change,” Olson stated. “All of us maintain a chunk of that, and I actually sit up for bringing that out in all people and listening to what their concepts are.”

Melanie Asmar is a senior reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado, overlaying Denver Public Faculties. Contact Melanie at [email protected].