For the second time this year, Denver Public Schools board members on Wednesday took John Youngquist to task for his behavior toward district staff, but the director was defiant in the face of his colleagues’ criticism as he reiterated his belief that district employees are retaliating against him.
Youngquist called the allegations of racism and creating a hostile work environment made by Superintendent Alex Marrero and other district staff in recent months an attempt to “intimidate and diminish me.”
“It has become clear certain members of the board and district leadership have attempted to impeach my credibility,” he said during Wednesday’s board meeting.
School board members called the meeting to discuss the results of a third-party investigation that found Youngquist displayed “belittling, dismissive and condescending behavior” toward DPS staff. As directors weighed in on the findings, which were released Monday, they called for a moment of reflection, but did not say what action they might take in response to the report.
John Youngquist, right, looks at Superintendent Alex Marrero as he speaks with the board during a special Denver Public Schools board meeting on Oct. 29, 2025. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)
Directors are considering whether to censure — or formally rebuke — Youngquist and plan to continue the conversation during a Nov. 13 meeting, which could result in such a vote.
“There’s definitely something that’s not working well in board interactions with staff, so we would want to talk about what would be next steps,” board President Carrie Olson said. “…This is something we don’t want to rush.”
The investigation was conducted by attorneys with the Denver-based firm Garnett Powell Maximon Barlow and Farbes, which the board hired to look into Marrero’s allegations.
In the spring, Marrero accused Youngquist of hostile behavior toward DPS employees — especially staff of color — and of wanting his job, in an email sent to Olson. Marrero, in his email, requested that the board take the rare step of censuring Youngquist for his actions.
A censure is the strongest step the school board can take to formally reprimand a colleague. The board does not have the authority to remove a member.
A DPS board last censured a member in 2021 after a third-party investigation found former director Auon’tai Anderson flirted online with a teenage student and made intimidating social media posts.
Wednesday’s meeting was the second time in 10 months that school board members have publicly scolded Youngquist for his behavior toward staff. While recent DPS boards have become known for infighting in recent years, they rarely air grievances openly as they did during the meeting.
“This is concerning repetitive behavior that may or may not change,” board member Xóchitl Gaytán said of the investigation’s findings. “I’m still working through the findings of the report. Thinking about how I want to deconstruct the white privilege that I read in it and how it is playing out.”
Youngquist, who last week accused DPS leaders of retaliating against him, has repeatedly found himself in conflict with district employees.
Staff, most of whom are people of color, told investigators that Youngquist cuts them off in conversations, has refused to shake hands and declines to meet with them. Employees said Youngquist questions them to such an extent that it appears the director believes they are lying or incapable of doing their jobs, according to the report.
“We conclude it is more likely than not that Mr. Youngquist exhibited bias in interactions with some district leaders of color,” investigators wrote in their findings.
Director Michelle Quattlebaum, right, speaks during a special Denver Public Schools board meeting to discuss a third-party investigation into Superintendent Alex Marrero's allegations against Director John Youngquist, in Denver on Oct. 29, 2025. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)
In his statement to the board, Youngquist, a white man, emphasized the investigation did not determine his behavior was driven by overt racism — even as it also found that his actions were the result of biases, including when interacting with employees of color.
“I hold biases as each and every one of us,” Youngquist said. “Our biases may or may not be represented in our behavior.”
Youngquist’s comments fell short of the accountability that several of his colleagues said they were seeking from him, and spurred board member Michelle Quattlebaum, who is Black, to tears.
“I am heartbroken,” she said. “I have experienced racism, discrimination and oppression almost every single day of my life. Mr. Youngquist, as I listen to your statement, my heart broke.”
“What breaks my heart is that I didn’t hear accountability,” Quattlebaum added.
Gaytán and Marlene De La Rosa — the other two directors of color on the board — pressed Youngquist on what they also said was a lack of accountability in his statement.
“I feel disappointed,” De La Rosa told Youngquist. “…I thought I knew you to be a different person than that. If we don’t take accountability when we do things that harm people, that hurts their feelings, that make them feel a certain way, we cannot move forward to reach our goals as a collective board.”
Youngquist responded by saying that he has previously reached out individually to district staffers whom he has offended. “Blanket level of accountability is not something that makes sense to me,” he said.
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