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Unfinished Business
Scott Esserman is running for re-election to continue fighting for safe, equitable, and thriving public schools. Since 2021, he’s delivered on bold promises—protecting undocumented students, raising pay for educators and staff, and prioritizing mental health and academic excellence.
In the face of ongoing challenges like school safety, enrollment declines, and charter expansion, Scott brings principled, community-rooted leadership. He’s not done yet—and with your support, he’ll keep pushing for a DPS that serves every student with dignity, opportunity, and justice.
Standing Up for Undocumented Students & Families
Scott has been a staunch defender of immigrant and undocumented students. In 2024, as talk of renewed federal deportation efforts loomed, Scott doubled down on DPS’s promise to be a safe haven. “We will take care of you,” he vowed to immigrant families during a board meeting, reaffirming that every child’s right to an education will be protected regardless of immigration status. He has called the threat of tearing families apart through deportation a “violation of human rights” and pushed for policies to ensure schools remain sanctuaries from ICE enforcement. Scott’s advocacy is backed by action. Denver Public Schools became the first U.S. district to sue the Trump Administration’s Department of Homeland Security to stop immigration raids at or near schools. The district took this step after noticing students staying home out of fear following changes in federal policy. Scott fully supported this bold legal action, which sought to reinstate rules treating schools as “sensitive locations” off-limits to ICE. He will continue championing strong “Safe and Welcoming Schools” policies – from prohibiting cooperation with federal immigration raids on DPS campuses to ensuring staff are trained to support immigrant students. Families can trust Scott to keep DPS a place where “All students deserve a secure and nurturing environment” free from fear. Promises made, promises kept: Scott promised to stand up for undocumented families, and he has never wavered in that commitment.
Fighting for Fair Pay & Respect for Educators and Staff
Scott believes educators and school staff deserve professional pay – and since taking office in 2021, he’s worked to make that a reality. Under his tenure, DPS teachers secured significant raises. In fact, for the current school year teachers received an average 11.5% pay increase (an 8% cost-of-living raise on top of step increases). This builds on progress made since the 2019 teacher strike – average Denver teacher salaries have risen about 47% since 2018. But Scott knows we must keep pushing to stay competitive. “We did our part… We advocated,” he says of fighting for better school funding, yet starting salaries in some nearby districts now outpace Denver. He is committed to further boosting teacher pay so DPS can attract and retain the best educators and ensure they can afford to live in our community. (Colorado’s average teacher salary ranks only 29th nationally at about $60,775, and Scott is determined to move Denver to the top tier of large urban districts.) Just as importantly, Scott has championed raising wages for underpaid hourly staff – the paraprofessionals, custodians, food service workers, bus drivers and others who are the backbone of our schools. In 2022, Scott supported a groundbreaking agreement to increase the DPS minimum wage to $20/hour. This was a 26% jump for many staff (paraprofessionals went from $15.87 to $20). Thanks to this effort, over 1,700 employees saw raises, and DPS now leads the metro area – compare Jeffco Schools’ $18/hour minimum by 2023. Scott calls this a “good start” and is already focused on the next step: he’s advocating for a $27/hour living wage floor in DPS. That level would ensure full-time school employees aren’t forced to juggle multiple jobs or rely on public assistance. It’s about basic dignity and showing we value every role in our education system. Scott’s fight for fair pay isn’t just moral – it’s practical. Higher wages have reduced turnover and staffing shortages in critical support positions. “Make sure we retain people,” has been his rallying cry. By prioritizing historically overlooked groups – from classroom aides to cafeteria crews – Scott is building a school system that rewards service and experience, not one that treats some employees as disposable. Promises made, promises kept: he promised to lift up the voices of educators and staff, and in his first term he’s delivered raises and respect for those who need it most.
School Safety & Student Well-Being
School safety is top of mind for everyone, and Scott Esserman approaches it with a comprehensive lens. He knows safety means both protecting students from external threats and fostering a supportive environment within schools. In the wake of incidents of gun violence – including the tragic shooting at East High – Scott has engaged deeply with how to keep schools secure. He supports common-sense security measures and collaboration with law enforcement when necessary, but he has also been cautious about reverting to old models that didn’t serve all kids well. Scott opposed a blanket return of permanent police in schools, favoring a plan to have on-call “community resource officers” available when truly needed rather than stationed in hallways every day. He and like-minded board members proposed that any police engagement be accompanied by counselors or restorative justice staff to defuse situations without criminalizing students. “The police system in America is designed to oppress,” Scott noted during board deliberations, urging DPS not to slide back into punitive approaches that disproportionately hurt students of color. Ultimately, the board’s majority decided to bring back School Resource Officers, but Scott is ensuring there are guardrails: DPS will track tickets and arrests to prevent biased enforcement, and officers who don’t follow the district’s safety and equity policies can be removed. More broadly, Scott’s focus is on preventive safety – he pushed for increased mental health supports, expanded after-school programs, and stronger relationships between adults and students so issues can be addressed before they escalate. His stance is clear: schools should be safe places. Scott will continue working toward that balance – secure campuses with locked doors and emergency plans, coupled with counselors, nurses, and restorative practices that address the root causes of conflict. Every DPS student and teacher has the right to a safe, nurturing learning environment, and Scott is determined to deliver just that.
Declining Enrollment & School Closures
Like many urban districts, Denver Public Schools faces enrollment declines in certain neighborhoods. Lower birth rates, soaring housing costs driving families out, and growth of school choice options have all led to fewer students in many DPS schools. This poses a serious challenge: some schools are now severely under-enrolled, straining budgets and resources. Scott has tackled this issue head-on with a students-first approach. In 2021-22, when DPS initially floated closing 10 small schools, Scott heard loud and clear from communities that the process was too rushed and top-down. He joined the board in rejecting that closure plan in 2022, citing poor community engagement – a promise kept to listen to families. Instead, he pushed for better criteria and more input. By late 2024, with enrollment still falling (DPS projects a loss of 6,000 students by 2028, an 8% drop from the 2019 peak), tough decisions could no longer be postponed. Scott and the board unanimously voted to consolidate seven under-enrolled schools and restructure three others, but this time with far greater community involvement. He understands that closing a school is emotional – it’s not just a building, but a family. That’s why he insisted on meeting with parents, teachers, and students face-to-face before any vote. Schools like Castro Elementary, for example, were operating at only 30-40% of building capacity, which meant students there lacked access to the full slate of enrichment and services larger schools can offer. Scott’s priority is protecting educational quality: combining small schools can pool resources so kids get art, music, libraries, counseling – opportunities they might miss in a half-empty school. Going forward, Scott’s approach to declining enrollment is centered on equity and transparency. He will push for DPS to support affected students and staff through any transitions – whether that means ensuring receiving schools are ready with open arms, or providing extra counseling for students anxious about a school change. Importantly, Scott sees school closure as a last resort, not a quick fix. He is actively exploring creative alternatives such as expanding preschool or community services in under-utilized space, and lobbying for housing policies that keep families in Denver. When consolidation is unavoidable, he’ll make sure it’s done with compassion and community voice at the table every step of the way.
Our Family of Schools
Denver has long been known for a mix of traditional public schools, magnet programs, innovation schools, and charter schools. Scott firmly believes in one unified school district that serves all kids, and he has worked to reduce unproductive tensions between charter and district-run schools. With DPS facing financial strains from enrollment declines, Scott has prioritized stabilizing existing schools over opening new ones. In June 2022, he voted with the board majority to deny three new charter school applications. The superintendent and Scott agreed that adding new schools while others sit half-empty would only deepen the problem. Their message was clear: DPS must support its current schools and the families invested in them. Scott supports any school that is truly serving students well – but he insists on holding charter schools to the same high standards and transparency that we expect of district schools. He has advocated for stronger oversight of charter performance and finances. When a charter school wanted to move into a building vacated by a closed DPS school, Scott backed the decision to pause and involve the community rather than automatically handing over the public facility. In January 2025, the board (Scott included) unanimously rejected a charter’s request to occupy Castro Elementary’s building, noting that DPS has a process to determine the best use for closed school sites with input from local families. Scott’s platform calls for collaboration rather than conflict. He encourages charter and traditional schools to share best practices and learn from each other and supports equitable enrollment policies so all schools serve a fair share of high-needs students. But he will also speak out when outside interests push “dark money” agendas in Denver’s school board politics. Scott is proudly independent and focused on what Denver’s students need – not on ideological battles. By managing the growth of charter schools and investing in our neighborhood schools, Scott aims to ensure every family has a great public school option in their community.
Academic Excellence & Equity for All Students
At the end of the day, student success is the core mission – and Scott has been a tireless advocate for raising the bar in DPS while closing opportunity gaps. Coming off the disruptions of the pandemic, Scott understood the urgency of accelerating learning recovery. He supported DPS’s adoption of a new evidence-based reading curriculum aligned with the science of reading, replacing older programs that hadn’t gotten results. In the 2022-23 school year, DPS rolled out this curriculum in early grades and saw encouraging gains – the percentage of K-3 students reading on grade level rose to 61% in 2024, up from 58% the year before. While there is still ground to make up to reach pre-pandemic levels, Scott considers this a positive step and has pushed for additional literacy interventions for struggling readers. He will continue championing investments in proven strategies like early phonics instruction, tutoring, and summer learning programs to ensure every child is proficient in reading by third grade – a key predictor of future success. Scott is equally passionate about closing achievement gaps that have persisted for too long. He has advocated for directing more resources to schools serving higher numbers of English language learners, students with disabilities, and low-income families. For example, he proudly supported a new weighted student funding formula (enabled by the state’s decision to fully fund K-12 this year) that directs extra dollars to schools with greater needs. Under Scott’s watch, DPS has also expanded bilingual education programs and compliance with the federal court order to better serve English learners. He frequently says, “Equity isn’t a talking point, it’s a commitment.” That commitment shows in initiatives like universal free lunch (so no child is too hungry to learn) and the growth of mental health staffing – DPS has added counselors and social workers with Scott’s full support, recognizing that healthy students are better learners. From improving school curriculum to modernizing career and technical education pathways, Scott is focused on preparing Denver’s students for success in college, career, and life. He knows we must not only recover from the pandemic, but emerge stronger. That means continuing to reduce class sizes, attract high-quality teachers (with the pay and professional respect mentioned above), and engaging families as partners in education. Scott’s vision is that “Every Learner Thrives” (the DPS motto) – not just some. Whether it’s pushing for more STEAM (science, tech, engineering, arts, math) offerings or supporting programs for gifted & talented learners alongside those for kids who need extra help, Scott is committed to excellence for all. He’s kept his promises on focusing on academics, and Denver’s students are starting to see the benefits.
