{"id":3862,"date":"2026-08-18T13:36:58","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T13:36:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3862"},"modified":"2026-08-18T13:36:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T13:36:58","slug":"denver-school-board-gets-vulnerable-works-to-restore-trust-during-daylong-retreat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3862","title":{"rendered":"Denver school board gets vulnerable, works to restore trust during daylong retreat"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Members of Denver Public Schools\u2019 elected board broached concerns about a lack of trust among directors at a daylong retreat Monday, a conversation that\u00a0started prickly but ended with signs of momentum toward better working together.<\/p>\n

Read more Mission Foods shuttering its Pueblo tortilla plant<\/a><\/p>\n

The seven directors and Superintendent Alex Marrero gathered as tensions have mounted this summer over relations between the school board and the DPS leader, leading to questions about his future with the district.<\/p>\n

At the Denver Police Protective Association Event Center on Monday, the school board members got vulnerable, aired grievances and brainstormed solutions for better board dynamics with the help of a conversation facilitator.<\/p>\n

After a morning of ice-breaking activities in which directors divulged truths about themselves \u2014 family dynamics, notable concerts, cultural norms, class barriers, favorite childhood meals \u2014 school board members reached a level of vulnerability that led to more frank conversations about trust, respect and frustrations with the bureaucracy of the board.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel very strongly that we lack trust, and I don\u2019t think we can move forward until we figure out a way to move past that, move through it,\u201d said Amy Klein Molk, an at-large director elected in November.<\/p>\n

With facilitator Keith Gruen, the board broke down what trust was \u2014 consistency, willingness to engage, integrity. The board could not have trust without respect, Gruen said, before discussing \u201cradical candor,\u201d or being honest in a caring way.<\/p>\n

Board members used the public retreat to practice honesty while maintaining civility.<\/p>\n

The three newest directors \u2014 Klein Molk, vice president Monica Hunter and treasurer DJ Torres \u2014 shared frustrations about board bureaucracy.<\/p>\n

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Torres said it wasn\u2019t clear how to get an item on the school board\u2019s agenda and it felt like his attempts to put forth agenda items had been thwarted. Klein Molk said it was difficult to obtain data she wanted from the district. Hunter said she felt like some board members had irreparably violated her trust.<\/p>\n

In recent months, Marrero has described his relationship with the school board as \u201cincreasingly untenable,\u201d as he accuses the directors of overstepping their duties and board members have raised concerns about the superintendent\u2019s job-hunting.<\/p>\n

The board met behind closed doors late last month to discuss Marrero\u2019s contract, and Hunter attempted to schedule a follow-up meeting about the superintendent earlier this month, but that fell apart over a lack of board majority for the move.<\/p>\n

The superintendent\u2019s employment was not a topic of conversation during the nearly eight-hour retreat Monday, although Hunter noted some board members want things to change while others don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Read more Woman impaled by seat at Folsom Field concert in Boulder sues seating company<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u201cIn the absence of trust, we still have a job to do,\u201d Torres said, adding that he didn\u2019t get elected by promising to get along with everyone.<\/p>\n

The retreat conversations highlighted tensions between the newer board members and the veteran. The most recently elected directors said they wanted their constituents\u2019 priorities heard and sometimes felt stymied by board policies and procedures. Longer-serving members acknowledged incoming board directors face a tough transition plopped into the middle of board business and adopting a past board\u2019s visions and tasks.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do we get to where we need to go?\u201d asked director Kimberlee Sia,.<\/p>\n

Klein Molk said the board had no choice but to figure out how to get along and move forward because the work \u2014 bettering Denver kids\u2019 futures \u2014 needed to get done, regardless.<\/p>\n

The conversation \u2014 which Gruen praised for the board\u2019s willingness to share and Marrero called \u201cone of the most robust conversations we\u2019ve had\u201d \u2014 evolved throughout the day from reticent replies to the facilitator\u2019s prompts into lively discussions about in-depth board policies and processes.<\/p>\n

By mid-afternoon, board members were knee-deep in talks about making the agenda-setting process more collaborative and efficient.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the most collaborative I\u2019ve ever seen the board,\u201d Klein Monk said toward the latter half of the meeting. \u201cI am so proud to be here right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Board president X\u00f3chitl Gayt\u00e1n largely took a listening role during the retreat, saying she sought clarity around what her fellow board members wanted.\u00a0She said she remembered being a new board member dropped in the middle of ongoing business and struggling to feel heard.<\/p>\n

By the end of the retreat, Gayt\u00e1n said she found \u201csome clarity\u201d on moving forward with improved agenda-setting.<\/p>\n

Gruen, the facilitator, left the board with a homework assignment: go have coffee with a fellow director and get to know them on a more personal level.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this was a good day,\u201d Gruen said. \u201cThe more willing you are to be vulnerable about things you care about, the easier these conversations get.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Denver police arrest suspect in quadruple shooting at nightclub<\/a><\/p>\n

Get more Colorado news by signing up for our Mile High Roundup email newsletter.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Members of Denver Public Schools\u2019 elected board broached concerns about a lack of trust among directors at a daylong retreat Monday, a conversation that started prickly but ended with signs of momentum toward better working together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3861,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nDenver school board gets vulnerable, works to restore trust during daylong retreat - Colorado Springs Moverss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3862\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Denver school board gets vulnerable, works to restore trust during daylong retreat - 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