In wake of report, John Youngquist accuses DPS staff of trying to ‘intimidate and diminish me’

For the second time this year Denver Populace Schools board members on Wednesday took John Youngquist to task for his behavior toward district staff but the director was defiant in the face of his colleagues criticism as he reiterated his belief that district employees are retaliating against him Youngquist called the assertions of racism and creating a hostile work surroundings made by Superintendent Alex Marrero and other district staff in current months an attempt to intimidate and diminish me It has become clear certain members of the board and district leadership have attempted to impeach my credibility he revealed during Wednesday s board meeting School board members called the meeting to discuss the results of a third-party inquiry that revealed Youngquist displayed belittling dismissive and condescending behavior toward DPS staff As directors weighed in on the findings which were published Monday they called for a moment of reflection but did not say what action they might take in response to the document John Youngquist right looks at Superintendent Alex Marrero as he speaks with the board during a special Denver Populace Schools board meeting on Oct Photo by RJ Sangosti The Denver Post Directors are considering whether to censure or formally rebuke Youngquist and plan to continue the conversation during a Nov meeting which could effect in such a vote There s definitely something that s not working well in board interactions with staff so we would want to talk about what would be next initiatives board President Carrie Olson revealed This is something we don t want to rush The study was conducted by attorneys with the Denver-based firm Garnett Powell Maximon Barlow and Farbes which the board hired to look into Marrero s accusations In the spring Marrero accused Youngquist of hostile behavior toward DPS employees especially staff of color and of wanting his job in an email sent to Olson Marrero in his email requested that the board take the rare step of censuring Youngquist for his actions A censure is the strongest step the school board can take to formally reprimand a colleague The board does not have the authority to remove a member A DPS board last censured a member in after a third-party scrutiny exposed former director Auon tai Anderson flirted online with a teenage novice and made intimidating social media posts Wednesday s meeting was the second time in months that school board members have publicly scolded Youngquist for his behavior toward staff While new DPS boards have become known for infighting in fresh years they rarely air grievances openly as they did during the meeting This is concerning repetitive behavior that may or may not change board member X chitl Gayt n commented of the examination s findings I m still working through the findings of the document Thinking about how I want to deconstruct the white privilege that I read in it and how it is playing out Youngquist who last week accused DPS leaders of retaliating against him has repeatedly unveiled himself in conflict with district employees Staff bulk of whom are people of color reported investigators that Youngquist cuts them off in conversations has refused to shake hands and declines to meet with them Employees mentioned Youngquist questions them to such an extent that it appears the director believes they are lying or incapable of doing their jobs according to the document We conclude it is more likely than not that Mr Youngquist exhibited bias in interactions with particular district leaders of color investigators wrote in their findings Director Michelle Quattlebaum right speaks during a special Denver Population Schools board meeting to discuss a third-party assessment into Superintendent Alex Marrero's charges against Director John Youngquist in Denver on Oct Photo by RJ Sangosti The Denver Post In his declaration to the board Youngquist a white man emphasized the probe did not determine his behavior was driven by overt racism even as it also determined that his actions were the development of biases including when interacting with employees of color I hold biases as each and every one of us Youngquist commented Our biases may or may not be represented in our behavior Youngquist s comments fell short of the accountability that several of his colleagues revealed they were seeking from him and spurred board member Michelle Quattlebaum who is Black to tears I am heartbroken she noted I have experienced racism discrimination and oppression almost every single day of my life Mr Youngquist as I listen to your message my heart broke Related Articles Denver school board member exhibited belittling dismissive and condescending behavior toward staff document says Denver school board member John Youngquist accuses superintendent district staff of retaliation Superintendent accuses Denver school board member of working against DPS requests censure DPS board members express frustration after John Youngquist accused them of violating open meetings law What breaks my heart is that I didn t hear accountability Quattlebaum added Gayt n and Marlene De La Rosa the other two directors of color on the board pressed Youngquist on what they also disclosed was a lack of accountability in his report I feel disappointed De La Rosa described Youngquist I thought I knew you to be a different person than that If we don t take accountability when we do things that harm people that hurts their feelings that make them feel a certain way we cannot move forward to reach our goals as a collective board Youngquist responded by saying that he has previously reached out individually to district staffers whom he has offended Blanket level of accountability is not something that makes sense to me he explained Get more Colorado news by signing up for our Mile High Roundup email newsletter