| 3.A. Do you believe that preserving strong public neighborhood schools in each of our communities is important to the future viability and strength of our neighborhoods? Yes/No | 3.B. Please explain | |
| MAYORAL CANDIDATES | ||
| Matt Brady | Yes | Children should have as short a distance as possible to travel to their schools for their safety and convenience. Then parents could be more involved with their child’s education and be in closer touch with the school’s teachers. |
| Jim Walsh | Yes | Yes, It’s vital that neighborhood schools be strengthened and not starved through choice programs. Children can learn in any school in any neighborhood. I support a renewed emphasis on |
| Trinidad Rodriguez | No | This depends on the vision for neighborhood and school designs and should not be a one-size fits all approach. The diversity of academic programming desired by parents, together with choice about it, make this practically an impossible model. |
| Mike Johnston | Yes | As a former educator and school principal in the Denver Metro area, I strongly believe that preserving strong public neighborhood schools is essential for the future viability and strength of our communities. Neighborhood schools are an important cornerstone of our communities, bringing families, teachers, and community members together to support our children’s education and well-being. By investing in and supporting our neighborhood schools, we can create a strong foundation for our communities to thrive, both socially and economically. As mayor, I would prioritize working with our school district and community partners to ensure that every child in Denver has access to high-quality neighborhood schools that meet their unique needs and prepare them for success in college, career, and life. |
| Chris Hansen | Yes | As a state legislator and DPS parent–my teenage boys attend GW and McAuliffe–I have both a professional and personal interest in the success of the school system. As Mayor, I will do everything in my power to help make our public schools the best they can be for the students, the teachers, and for our city. Part of making Denver a city that works, is making sure that our public schools are functioning at a competitive, high level. While Denver’s Mayor does not have the ability to make decisions for DPS, as a city it must be a priority for us to have a strong public education system. Without one we won’t be able to attract the businesses and workers we need to reach our full potential. I will use the Mayor’s bully pulpit to continually call for the leadership and changes necessary to ensure that Denver Public Schools is a strong urban district that gives all students equitable access to a high-quality education that prepares them for life after graduation whether that be 4-year college, 2-year college, the military, trade school, or entering the workforce. |
| Lisa Calderón | Yes | As a graduate of Denver Public Schools, and a 4th generation Denverite, I recognize the critical role that strong public neighborhood schools and unionized teachers play in communities. As mayor, I will work to make sure the mayor’s office and city departments develop partnership programs with DPS, providing resources and supporting positive initiatives. Public schools are pivotal hubs of community services, extending far beyond simply offering an education, but often playing a vital role in the health and wellbeing of the surrounding communities. For example I would work with DPS to support and expand before/after school child care that supports working families, business community internships that create pathways to success for Denver’s youth, and support the increase of nonprofit wrap-around services that help students and their families connect to critical support services. Particularly in communities of color that historically are denied access to public and private resources, public schools can fill that gap. With sufficient investment in public schools, schools can help alleviate long-standing inequities, and help alleviate poverty, community safety issues, public health challenges, and environmental justice in surrounding communities. |
| Kelly Brough | Yes | I think the DPS open-enrollment or “choice” policy is the right policy and enables parents to find the school that best meets the need of their student. For my daughter, Denver School of the Arts was a tremendous benefit and I believe that we must continue to support a portfolio approach that provides parents with many good school options. That said, a school choice system can only succeed when there are strong neighborhood school options. It is not and cannot be a matter of pitting neighborhood schools against schools that draw from across the city – a thriving, successful public school system needs both. |
| Renate Behrens | Yes | makes communities complete. Schools belong to the neighborhood |
| Deborah “Debbie” Ortega | Yes | While DPS and the Mayor’s Office are separate entities, I will prioritize returning the City-School Coordinating Committee, adopted by ordinance to forge partnerships to address challenging issues such as school safety, school closures, and what that means to the neighborhoods, and ensuring our students have adequate resources to set them up for success inside and outside the classroom. |
| Paul Noel Fiorino (write-in) | Yes | Schools may need to be transformed to housing with wrapped services, or Denverites need to get busy. Schools hold our Neighborhood and serve the community with hopes for each student. We all have a champion in Education with Fiorino for Denver Mayor. |
| Thomas Wolf | Yes | This is why ending encampments is my focus, aside from them being a humanitarian crisis, they are destroying commercial property values in our central business district. Property tax revenue will be equally decreased and it provides 50% of DPS’s budget. This decline can and must be halted. |
| Dr. Abass Yaya Bamba | Yes | The preservation of strong public neighborhood schools is the backbone of mentally and morally healthy communities. |
| Terrance Roberts | Yes | Strong Public Schools are needed to make sure every child has equal access to learn regardless of income status or their immigration status. |
| AUDITOR | ||
| Timothy M. O’Brien | Yes | Strong schools are an important foundation for the future of our families and communities. They provide safe and meaningful opportunities for children. As my grandchildren grow into the school system, I want to see them and every child in Denver receive the best possible education without having to go far from home. |
| Erik Clarke | Yes | Education is a part of the framework of a strong neighborhood, just as much as access to quality, attainable food or medical providers. Neighborhoods should have access to well-funded and supported schools. Academic achievement investments in our young people will also help shape our city and our neighborhoods for the better going forward. |
