Metro Denver School Board Election Recap

In Denver, three incumbent school board members were all re-elected in the face of teacher's union sponsored challenges emphasizing "neighborhood schools" as opposed to charter schools and magnet programs.  But, Board President Happy Haynes won by only about 800 votes out of well over 100,000 votes cast, just enough to avoid an automatic recount.

In first ring western suburb Jefferson County, in a race that captured national attention, all five far right conservative members of the school board were ousted in one decisive fell sweep - three in recall elections and two to challengers in the ordinary general election.

In exurban Douglas County, there was no recall election, but all three of the seven school board members facing regular election challenges were replaced.  Ideological conservatives sponsored by the Republican party controlled all seven seats on the school board prior to the election (whose energies among other things supported a religious school voucher program held to violate the state constitution and state education funding statutes).  Now, the ideological Republicans have a 4-3 majority on the board.