How can DPS Superintendent Alex Marrero still have a job? | SONDERMANN | Columnists

The kids in Denver are back in school. By my calculations, that's too early since summer is almost over.

As the school year begins, Superintendent Alex Marrero is still in his position at the helm of Denver Public Schools, raising the question of what it means to be fired here.

Marrero's three years in Denver have been marked by significant underperformance. Whatever you consider to be the problem facing Colorado's largest district, it's hard to argue that Marrero is the solution.

The most important job of any district leader is academic performance, and Denver schools continue to fall short of expectations on this overarching goal. More than four years after the COVID pandemic began, academic performance scores have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. Those scores were a low bar in and of themselves.

The achievement gap, the inequality between children from affluent families and those from economically insecure families, many of which are in minority communities, continues to widen under Marrero's watch.

One longtime, keen observer compared DPS's performance numbers in recent years to those in Chicago, which has even more children in poverty. A few weeks ago, former Denver Mayor Federico Peña called the Denver School District the city's most problematic institution, accusing it of “consigning an entire generation of black and brown children to a difficult life without necessary and competitive skills.”

Marrero seems determined to paper over these subgroup differences. A year ago, according to the education publication Chalkbeat, he boasted that DPS students had met the district's minimum goals in math while still lagging in reading and writing. But he refused to release data comparing white students with students of color, even though that has been common practice for years.

Memo to the Superintendent: Hiding the underlying data is unlikely to solve the problem.

As of this writing, the Colorado Department of Education is releasing the CMAS results from last spring's assessment. Those numbers have not yet been aggregated or reported by the district. But does anyone want to bet that they will show DPS hitting a home run? That's what I thought. Heck, we're not even looking for home runs. Could Marrero just hit a solid single on occasion?

Performance is the unyielding commandment. However, this is not the only area in which Marrero falls far short of expectations.

Employee morale is at rock bottom and turnover has skyrocketed. One district official spoke of a “revolving door” in the administration building and among school principals, with about 20 percent of them leaving the company this year alone.

The same official commented, “Marrero struggles to understand the importance of relationships.” Another informed observer described him as “dictatorial” and “extremely uncooperative.” Another accused him of creating a “culture of fear.”

Just this week, Boardhawk, a must-read for anyone who follows DPS, reported a sharp increase in teacher absenteeism over the past three years.

Last year, approximately 68,818 teacher absences were reported at 157 DPS schools, compared to 39,772 absences at 162 schools four years ago – a staggering 73% increase.

Then there is the issue of budget management and a lack of preparation for an impending budget crisis as federal Covid relief funds eventually dry up and the district continues to lose enrollment.

For several years, even during the period when Marrero enjoyed the unanimous support of his board, he has failed to put in place an effective process for closing schools. This is undoubtedly a challenging task that raises public concerns, but with declining student numbers and tighter budgets, there is no way around it.

While Marrero failed, the state's second-largest school district, a little further west in Jefferson County, managed to improve size by closing 21 schools. This can be accomplished by a principal with will, intelligence, and leadership and communication skills.

The “honor for all” programs that Marrero has implemented at various DPS high schools are nothing more than hogwash. Leveling under the guise of false equality is never the answer to achievement gaps.

After the shooting of two East High School principals over a year ago, Marrero promised a new disciplinary matrix. The recently released revised policy, according to 9News, still allows people accused of violent crimes, including attempted murder, to be in DPS classrooms. That alone makes this a completely pointless endeavor.

To top it all off, Marrero, with the connivance of the ever-compliant board that hired him, instituted an annual evaluation that is meaningless. His predecessor's annual evaluations were a 360-degree process in which every principal was asked for their opinion. In contrast, participation in Marrero's evaluations is limited to the few administrators who report directly to him. That's the definition of an inside job.

In addition, Marrero's great salary of currently $329,400 is supplemented by bonuses that he “earns” for marginal performance improvements of just one percent according to this or that metric.

As if to rub his arrogance and entitlement in people's faces, he spent nearly $100,000 of county funds last year to renovate his corner office, claiming it needed to be soundproofed. Hey Alex, Amazon sells a well-reviewed white noise machine for under $22.

Marrero's history clearly justifies a free pass out of town. The strange thing is why this expulsion has not yet been announced.

Yet the Denver School Board is also facing a course correction, particularly the three new members elected a year ago to effect such a turnaround. I understand that these newcomers are still feeling their way and do not want to repeat the outrages of the previous board, including the circus of Auon'tai Anderson, the hysteria of Xochitl Gaytan, and the bullying of Scott Esserman.

But the silent game inside has its limits. At some point, new members Marlene De La Rosa, Kimberlee Sia and John Youngquist must speak out publicly and clearly to hold Marrero's team accountable and encourage those who elected them to make changes.

All of this leads to a final discussion on the bloated, nearly $1 billion bond issue that the district hopes to put to voters in November 2018.

It's likely the motion will pass, as Denver residents are known for opening their wallets for their schools. However, this lone voter will be a resounding no.

Skinner's psychology teaches that when a certain behavior is rewarded, more of that behavior is expected. Why should we induce DPS to give us more of it?

Address successes in a measurable way, resize the district, address the deficiencies in culture and morale, and send this superintendent away to find a new superintendent in Denver… and then leverage the generosity of Denver voters. First things must come first.

Eric Sondermann is an independent political commentator based in Colorado. He writes regularly for ColoradoPolitics and The Gazette. Reach him at [email protected]; follow him at @EricSondermann