Denver Public Schools board President Xóchitl Gaytán has accused board member Monica Hunter of making an antisemitic comment about a fellow director, detailing the allegation in emails that accuse Hunter and board member Donald “D.J.” Torres of not fulfilling their duties as elected officials.
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Gaytán sent the emails to Hunter and Torres on Friday, accusing them of numerous policy violations, and marking the latest escalation in the conflict that has plagued the governing body of Colorado’s largest K-12 district in recent months.
The emails, obtained by The Denver Post under the Colorado Open Records Act, showed that Gaytán’s allegations ranged from Hunter’s use of an unspecified antisemitic term to Torres’ absence from recent meetings. The school board is expected to discuss the allegations during a meeting scheduled for Wednesday morning.
In both emails, Gaytán alleged Torres and Hunter refused to communicate with her directly.
“Your reported refusal to engage directly with the board president and a board colleague, including declining reasonable requests for telephone communication, raises serious concerns regarding your fulfillment of your duties and responsibilities as an elected official,” Gaytán told Hunter in an email.
She levied more allegations of policy violations against Hunter than Torres. District staff and community members have accused Hunter, the board vice president, of using a derogatory term to refer to a colleague’s “Jewish identity and/or perceived political identity,” Gaytán wrote.
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“I have been informed that the antisemitic language was used in connection with your stated opposition to supporting the board colleague for an officer position and your stated refusal to sit next to that colleague on the board dais,” she wrote.
Gaytán did not name the colleague who Hunter allegedly referenced nor what phrase she deemed antisemitic. The only new member of the board who did not receive an officer title when they were elected last year was Amy Klein Molk, who is Jewish.
Gaytán, Hunter, Torres and Molk could not immediately be reached for comment.
Hunter also faces allegations that she contacted two DPS staffers in order to advocate on behalf of a parent in an enrollment and school choice matter as well as to discuss the potential transfer of her own son to a different school. Hunter should have addressed these types of concerns with DPS Superintendent Alex Marrero instead, Gaytán said.
Gaytán primarily accused Torres of violating board policy by not regularly attending meetings and carrying out his role as treasurer. Torres has missed a regular meeting, several work sessions, meetings of the finance and audit committee, and cancelled or failed to attend virtual meetings with district employees, she wrote in her email.
“Further, repeated cancellations or failures to attend scheduled 1:1 meetings with me as board president and with the superintendent raise concerns regarding your ability to consistently fulfill your governance responsibilities and maintain the communication necessary for the effective functioning of the board,” Gaytán wrote.
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This is a developing story that will be updated.
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