Two Denver school board members backing an advocacy group’s protest against the lack of Hispanic finalists for a board vacancy did not themselves vote to make any of the three Hispanic candidates finalists, records show.
Tally sheets obtained by EdNews Colorado show that none of six Denver school members, including Arturo Jimenez and Jeannie Kaplan, voted for a Hispanic candidate to be among nine finalists for a vacant northeast Denver board seat. On Monday Kaplan and Jimenez sent an email to other board members urging the selection process be reopened, as has been requested by the Colorado Latino Forum.
DPS board member Arturo Jimenez (left) was among elected officials speaking to the Latino Forum on Feb. 12. At right is Lisa Calderon, co-chair of the Denver chapter of the Latino Forum.
The Denver metro chapter of the forum held a meeting Tuesday to discuss the lack of Hispanic finalists for the seat vacated by the recent resignation of Nate Easley.
“If we can’t be in the boardroom by appointment we will get there by election,” Denver City Councilman Paul Lopez told the group.
He was among of gaggle of elected officials that attended the meeting of about 40 people at Escuela Tlatelolco in north Denver.
Kaplan and Jimenez also addressed the group.
Asked Tuesday evening about why they didn’t vote to make any of the Hispanic candidates finalists, both Jimenez and Kaplan declined to discuss their votes, saying the selection process was a secret ballot. Both said they objected to what they called a “flawed” process. Kaplan claimed that board president Mary Seawell changed the selection process at the last minute.
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During the Feb. 4 meeting the six board members filled out tally sheets that listed the 25 candidates. Each board member was allowed to select three candidates, assigning five points to their first choice, three points to their second and one point to their third choice.
The nine finalists were those who received the highest number of points.
Education News Colorado requested the tally sheets from DPS and examined them. The six sheets were not identified by board member, but no board member selected Hispanic applicants Tim Camarillo, Jesus Escarcega or Barbara Medina. Of the nine finalists, eight are black and one is white. Six are male and three are female. The current board has two Hispanics, one black and three whites.
Also making a cameo appearance at the meeting was board president Mary Seawell. She told the group, “I’m just here to listen” and said she welcomes emails or phone calls from anyone concerned about the process to fill the vacancy.
EdNews later asked Seawell if she would consider reopening the selection process, which must be completed by mid-March. She explained that the board has been taking “baby steps” in that process, deciding what to do at each step along the way. She indicated that the board might discuss reopening the process when it next meets on Feb. 19.
Kaplan told EdNews that she believes the best course would be to select an “interim” board member who wouldn’t run for election in November. If the board doesn’t go for that – which she expects it won’t – Kaplan said she will advocate for reopening the process to look for additional Hispanic candidates.
Also attending the meeting was Denver Council member Debbie Ortega. Her comments were less emphatic than those made by Lopez, and she said, “This is a very important issue” and that community input on board candidates is “a critical part of the process.”
And also making an appearance was unsuccessful applicant Medina, a former administrator at both DPS and the Colorado Department of Education who was greeted with applause. “I was very disappointed that I wasn’t given an interview,” Medina said. “The board’s in a tough place. … I’m not here as a spoilsport. I will support whoever the board selects.”
Hispanic forum first raised the issue
The lack of a Hispanic candidate for the vacant District 4 seat first was raised last week by the Denver chapter of the forum. Chapter leaders Lisa Calderón and Rudy Gonzales sent an open letter to Seawell criticizing the list of nine. Calderon said Tuesday she hadn’t yet received a response.
They wrote that the three Latino applicants on the original list of 25 applicants had “extensive backgrounds as educators in early childhood education and/or bi-lingual education, and had advanced graduate degrees including one Ph.D.”
Jimenez and Kaplan sent an email to other board members on Monday, writing, “community members are asking that the process be extended so there can be serious consideration given to Latino candidates, including interviews with the board of education like those held last Thursday for the other nine candidates.
“We are writing to let you know we support the Colorado Latino Forum’s desire to include Latino candidates in the selection of the representative from District 4. We are asking that we meet expeditiously to see how this can best happen.”
The board originally set Jan. 25 as the application deadline for District 4 residents interested in the seat but later delayed that until Feb. 5. Any interested person who was a registered voter in the district for 12 months could apply. (The residency requirements are set by state law.)
A community forum featuring the nine candidates currently is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 20, at Smiley Middle School, 2540 Holly St.
Under state law the position must be filled within 60 days of Easley’s resignation, which was officially accepted Jan. 18. If the board can’t agree on a replacement, Seawell has the power to name a new member. She has said she’ll pick that person from among the nine finalists. Whoever is selected will have to run in next November’s election if they want to serve a full term.
“Gaggle?” Like geese? Lol, Todd.
For years, Arturo Jimenez and Andrea Merida have claimed to be the great advocates for increased Latino participation in DPS. Yet when the opportunity comes to interview Latino candidates to replace Nate Easley, neither Jimenez nor Merida can be bothered to select a single Latino candidate. Then, Arturo Jimenez has the audacity to participate in a press conference where he righteously criticizes the school board for not interviewing Latino candidates. What an extraordinary example of cynacism.
Let’s hope they select someone based on qualifications and not heritage. Would you want a sub-par brain surgeon operating on you who got the job just because his/her name is “Martinez,” or would you want someone (regardless of name, gender, race) who got straight A’s in med school and who has lots of experience?
Sancho –
Your analogy is flawed. Cultural competency – that which usually, though not always, comes w/ the ethnicity or “heritage” of a given candidate – is a legitimate and vitally important qualification in this case. Making decisions for schools in communities require a pretty intimate and deep understanding of the background and culture of the people in those communities – that which can only come from a kind of life experience beyond reading books, fancy school exchange or residency programs, and/or spending time among another’s culture. So I get the important point the Latino Forum is trying to make. Yes, the board should reflect the background and culture of the communities it serves.
However, as I posted on the earlier story on this same issue – the Latino Forum needs to be careful of what they ask for or demand. Although the board, in general is a bit out of proportion in terms of matching the ethnic makeup of the DPS student population and not that I know much about any of the snubbed Latino candidates but single-minded focus on the race/ethnicity of the appointee alone can be dangerous for two reasons. First, there is a potential of creating needless tension between the African American and Latino Communities that neither can really afford. Easley is a recognized leader in the Black community of Denver – so the fact that most of the candidates are African American only makes some sense. Second, all too many Black and Brown leaders have fallen for a brand of anti-public school, anti-teacher, anti-union reform that is and will prove absolutely disastrous to our vulnerable communities. Our public schools are far from perfect and, like any institutions, require diligent rigorous oversight by the communities they serve. But we need to be very careful not to destroy them in the process. Those with more relative privilege simply move on to the next hip neighborhood while communities of color are often left to crumble and self-destruct.
In short, we need to be careful to have a broader progressive vision to ensure that our public schools are defended and that they are held accountable to equitably serve our communities.
Hey, Marco, we’re still waiting for the records of who is funding Latinos for Education Reform. Remember that $50 you gave to my campaign? And the invitations to fancy society events? Maybe you feel slighted that I don’t believe your strategy for low-income kids is worthwhile. Maybe that’s why you feel like you need to attack me over something I’m not even involved in.
I’m very sorry you couldn’t charm a different viewpoint into me.
Oh, and Marco, it’s c-y-n-i-c-i-s-m. I bet KIPPsters can spell that.
Hi I just wanted to introduce my self, my name is Tim Camarillo and I was an applicant for the Denver School Board Region 4 Vacancy. I am currently finishing a Certificate Program for a GIS Skills at the Emily Griffith Technical College. I was interviewed today for a position as a Community and Parent Engagement Specialist for the Denver Public Schools. I have applied for Graduate School for the Master Degree in Urban and Regional Planning specializing in Community and Economic Development for the Fall 2013.
I grew up in East Los Angeles and attended James A. Garfield High School which had a 55% dropout rate at the time I went to school there. I am a graduate of California State University, Northridge with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Urban Studies and Planning with a specialization in Community Services and Administration. I was given an Academic Award from the American Planning Association-Los Angeles Chapter for my participation in my Field Work class drafting Environmental Impacts on Ackermann Creek and Vocational Training Grants from the Department of Education for the Master Plan for the Pinoleville Pomo Nation.
I have worked in the education field as a Early Childhood Educator working with Children and Families in Head Start and Preschool Programs in Ventura and Los Angeles Counties. I worked in a Violence Prevention Program named Peace Colors that taught peer mediation in Middle and High Schools in Inglewood and Long Beach, California. I worked at Universal Access a Nonprofit that helped people with developmental disabilities go into the workforce. I helped students prepare, train and and retain jobs working at Universal Studios Hollywood from Franklin and Hollywood High Schools. I also served on the Youth Employment Services Board in Simi Valley to help students in summer and post-graduation employment. I served three Years in AmeriCorps, two as an Assistant Team Leader and one year as a Volunteer in Service To America. I worked in Central City and Northeast Los Angeles.
I served in various Boards Including Union Station Foundation in Pasadena California, The City of Simi Valley Neighborhood Council, Citizen’s Election Advisory Board, Youth Employment Service Board and Tree Advisory Board.
I have interned for Governor John W. Hickenlooper’s Citizen Advocate Office, California Assembly Member Pedro Nava, Ventura County Supervisor Judy Mikels, and Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan’s Volunteer Bureau. I have worked for moderate Democrats and Republicans.
I also come from a family of Service. My mother was active in the American Federation of Teachers-Paraprofessionals. My father served three tours of duty in Viet-Nam as a U.S. Marine. I am the Great-Great-Great Grandson of Juan T. Camarillo who served as a Ventura County Supervisor in the 1860′s, Great-Great Grandnephew of Adolfo Camarillo who served as a Ventura County Supervisor in 1914, and the Great Grandnephew of Robert B. Camarillo who served as Assistant U.S. Attorney for Southern California in the 1920′s.
I have received a Personal Thank You Letter from U.S. President Bill Clinton. Commendations from Governor John W. Hickenlooper, Ventura County Supervisor Judy Mikels, and Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan. An Award of Merit from Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Braithwaite-Burke. Certificates of Recognition from California Assembly Members Pedro Nava and Antonio Villaraigosa, The City of Los Angeles Human Relations Commission and Los Angeles City Council Members Rita Walters, Ruth Galantar, Mark Ridley-Thomas, and Mike Hernandez .
Thank you for reading my post.