Members of the Denver Public Schools’ Board of Education scolded colleague John Youngquist on Thursday for a letter he sent last month that accused them of violating the state’s open meeting law and for his treatment of staffers.
But in doing so, directors still did not reveal how Youngquist behaved improperly toward staff members beyond his persistent effort to receive full compensation for his public duties.
“I’m deeply disappointed in the problematic comportment that I have seen from you this past year,” said board member Xóchitl “Sochi” Gaytán during the meeting. “I’m disappointed and hurt that it continued and continues. I feel that it’s unfair and unjust to the employees in how you behave toward them.”
Gaytán, along with Michelle Quattlebaum and Scott Esserman, accused Youngquist of “behavior unbecoming of a board member toward DPS staff” last month. Carrie Olson added the discussion to Thursday’s board agenda at their request but expressed her own frustrations at Youngquist’s allegations against his colleagues, saying that they affect the “reputation” of the board.
During the meeting, school board members focused their rebukes on a Dec. 17 letter Youngquist sent accusing them of violating state statute after he was excluded from an executive session in December.
Youngquist sent the email to Olson, accusing the board of violating state statute by not properly stating the subject of a Dec. 12 executive session that dealt with his board compensation and how it relates to rules set by the Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association, or PERA.
He has said he was told to leave the meeting and could not participate.
The executive session came as Youngquist sought to receive the full $33,000 compensation he is allowed to receive from the district for performing his official duties. Board members aren’t paid automatically but are able to request compensation based on the hours they’ve worked.
But Youngquist, who has been paid more than $20,000 since being elected to the board, was unable to receive his full compensation because he’s a retired educator and receives a pension from PERA, which limits the hours that retirees can work to up to 110 days or 720 hours per year.
PERA penalizes anyone who surpasses that threshold by cutting their pension by 5% in a future month for each day they work over the limit.
Youngquist requested the board allow DPS to reimburse him for the PERA penalties and costs he would incur if he received his full compensation for his board service. But the board decided to forgo a vote completely during the Dec. 12 meeting.
Youngquist said in an interview before Thursday’s meeting that he decided to not request his full compensation because of the potential PERA penalties.
Youngquist, who was stoic as he listened to his colleagues, acknowledged that he was frustrated when he sent the Dec. 17 letter, saying that he had wanted the board to reflect on its use of executive sessions, which are closed to the public.
“I appreciate … the conversation around the letter that I had written,” he said. “I’ve learned some things over the last couple of weeks.”
Youngquist told The Denver Post this week that he was aware that he offended two senior DPS staff members last year, including Chief of Staff Deborah Staten, although he was unclear how he did so.
He also had a tense exchange with Aaron Thompson, the district’s general counsel, in which Thompson accused the school board member of repeatedly questioning his legal advice and suggesting the director did so because of racial biases, according to emails obtained by The Post.
Youngquist, a former East High School principal who was elected to the board in 2023, said in an interview that he didn’t know Thompson well enough at the time of the exchange and said that he felt like he wasn’t receiving all the information he sought during an earlier executive session.
Youngquist said during the meeting that he has listened to Thompson’s concerns and that “they helped me to change my understanding.”
But Youngquist’s response to his colleagues appeared to fall short for Quattlebaum, who questioned whether he was taking accountability for his actions.
Earlier in the meeting, Quattlebaum revealed that she had met privately with Youngquist about his behavior last year. She did not say why she had raised such concerns with Youngquist previously, but she noted that more than 120 district staff hours — the equivalent of $13,000 — was spent trying to come to a resolution regarding his compensation.
“This action is not only a violation of the trust placed in us by the community, but it’s also disrupted the focus of multiple departments and individuals who worked tirelessly for our students, employees and families,” Quattlebaum told Youngquist.
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