$2.2 million spent within the 2023 Denver faculty board election

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Candidates and outdoors teams spent $2.2 million in November’s Denver faculty board election, in accordance with closing marketing campaign finance studies.

That whole surpasses spending in the final board election in 2021 and almost ties the all-time document of $2.3 million spent in 2019.

The price of Denver faculty board races has elevated over time as exterior teams have poured extra money into serving to elect candidates that align with their views.

Teams and donors supportive of schooling reform and constitution colleges outspent the Denver academics union 5 to 1 for the 2023 election. It’s a well-recognized technique that hasn’t all the time paid off. However this 12 months, it did.

This 12 months’s election end result was a mandate for change on a board that has been criticized as dysfunctional in a 12 months when Denver colleges skilled a spike in gun violence.

With three board seats up for grabs, voters ousted two incumbents who had been backed by the Denver academics union, as an alternative selecting challengers endorsed by a pro-charter group. In a 3rd race that didn’t have an incumbent, voters selected the candidate aligned with the challengers.

The end result was a complete loss for the union-backed candidates, ending a two-year streak the place all seven Denver faculty board members had been endorsed by the academics union.

Although issues over faculty security and criticism of the board’s infighting dominated the rhetoric this election, the spending fell alongside the acquainted strains of union versus reform.

As regular, the majority of the spending was by unbiased expenditure committees, which can not coordinate with the candidates. Solely two committees spent cash in Denver this 12 months: one union-funded and one funded by reform teams and donors. That’s a change from previous elections, when completely different reform organizations every arrange their very own committees.

The streamlined method on the reform facet resulted in a single deep-pocketed committee — Higher Leaders, Stronger Faculties — that spent a whopping $1.4 million in assist of the three successful candidates: John Youngquist, Marlene De La Rosa, and Kimberlee Sia.

A lot of the funding for Higher Leaders, Stronger Faculties got here from a gaggle referred to as Denver Households Motion, which is the political arm of a comparatively new group referred to as Denver Households for Public Faculties. Its board is made up of native constitution faculty leaders.

However particular person donors gave to the committee, too. Kent Thiry, the previous CEO of dialysis supplier DaVita, contributed $350,000 to Higher Leaders, Stronger Faculties.

Higher Leaders, Stronger Faculties spent huge on digital adverts and mailers, together with one that was decried as racist. It additionally ran TV adverts, which was a primary for a Denver faculty board race.

By comparability, a union-funded committee referred to as College students Deserve Higher spent about $155,000 on digital adverts and mailers for candidates Kwame Spearman, Charmaine Lindsay, and Scott Baldermann, all of whom misplaced. The Denver and Colorado academics unions additionally gave cash on to the candidates for a complete funding of about $286,000.

The candidates themselves spent far lower than the committees. The candidate who spent essentially the most was Baldermann, who misplaced his bid for reelection to a seat representing southeast Denver’s District 1. Baldermann spent about $156,000, a lot of it his personal cash.

The candidate who spent the least was Adam Slutzker, who ran unsuccessfully to characterize northwest Denver’s District 5. Slutzker was not endorsed by both the academics union or by Denver Households Motion. He spent a complete of $117.

Youngquist, De La Rosa, and Sia had been sworn in to the board on Dec. 1.

Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org.