Copyright The Denver Post
An independent investigation found Board of Education member John Youngquist exhibited “belittling, dismissive and condescending behavior” toward Denver Public Schools employees, and that he showed biases when interacting with staff of color, according to a report released Monday evening. Despite those findings, the report stated that the investigation was unable to determine whether Youngquist deliberately discriminated against 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 Garnett Powell Maximon Barlow and Farbes. Youngquist could not immediately be reached Monday evening. The attorneys were hired by the school board in June to conduct the investigation, which cost at least $78,045 as of Oct. 10, according to invoices reviewed by The Denver Post. The school board launched the investigation after Superintendent Alex 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.” 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. On Friday, 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. 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. 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: DPS Chief of Staff Deborah Staten and General Counsel Aaron Thompson. Emails previously reported by The Post showed that Youngquist and Thompson butted heads as the director did not feel that the attorney adequately answered his questions. Thompson, in his responses, implied that Youngquist’s scrutiny stemmed from “unexamined biases” and noted that the director mostly interacts with employees of color, including himself, Staten and Marrero. But 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. This is a developing story and will be updated.
