Denver School Board won’t resign amid parents petition to have them removed after school shooting

The petition claims that the Board 'failed to deliver' solutions to school violence and blasted the Board's school safety policies

Denver Public Schools Board of Education told Fox News Digital that none of the Board members will resign amid parents' effort to recall several board members.

A group of parents started a petition that calls for the removal of the DPS board members following a shooting at East High School in Denver.

DPS Board of Education President Xochitl Gaytan told Fox News Digital that there are no resignations at this moment.

"No Board of Education members are resigning at this time. The Board looks forward to engaging with our community as part of the development of the Long-term Safety Operational Plan that the Board directed Dr. Marrero to develop last week," Gaytan said in a statement.

NASHVILLE SCHOOL SHOOTING: 6 KILLED INCLUDING 3 STUDENTS, SHOOTER DEAD

A student, right, hugs a man after a school shooting at East High School Wednesday, March 22, 2023, in Denver.  (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Since the next election is coming up in November this year, three out of the seven members on the board, are not subject to recall. 

One of the parents leading the effort, Danny Foster told CBS News that DPS is running the district into the ground. 

"Let's get some adults in the room, and let's take back our Denver Public Schools because the seven that are running the school board right now are running it into the ground," Foster, an alum of DPS and a father of three, told CBS.

Foster claimed that parents are fed up with declining test scores and the Board considering which schools to close.

"They really have put their political ideology over practicality, and it has damaged these children, and we've seen it," Foster said. "Test scores have gone down. There is low enrollment. They're trying to figure out what schools to close."

TENNESSEE SHOOTING: NASHVILLE POLICE RELEASE SECURITY CAMERA FOOTAGE OF COVENANT SCHOOL ATTACK THAT KILLED 6

A parent group started a petition that calls for the removal of seven Denver Public School [DPS] board members following the latest shooting at East High School in Denver.

The petition, which reportedly has over 1,000 signatures, reads, "We the undersigned ask that each of the seven current members of the DPS Board resign and that a special election be scheduled to replace the entire DPS Board of Education."

"A critical role of the School Board is to develop effective policies and review them periodically. The Board has failed to deliver - with the ongoing violence in and around our schools, the Boards’ reversal, incoherence and uncertainty on school safety policies, and the continued tension and misalignment with current and past Superintendents - Denver’s students, teachers and families deserve a new start," the petition states. 

On March 23rd, DPS voted unanimously to put police back in schools after Austin Lyle, 17, allegedly shot two faculty members at East High School in Denver, Colorado, last week while he was being searched for weapons.

The board requested that superintendent Alex Marrero fund at least two on-site police officers and two mental health workers at all high schools for the remainder of the school year.

The decision came just a few years after voting to remove officers from campus in the wake of the 2020 racial justice protests against the killing of George Floyd.

NASHVILLE SCHOOL SHOOTER AUDREY HALE: WHO IS 28-YEAR-OLD TRANSGENDER WOMAN WHO OPENED FIRE AT COVENANT SCHOOL

After the shooting, the student then allegedly killed himself while on the run from police.

A student, rear, hugs a woman as they reunite following a shooting at East High School, Wednesday, March 22, 2023, in Denver. Authorities say two school administrators were shot and wounded after a handgun was found during a daily search of a student at the Denver high school.  (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

According to Denver police, Lyle’s body was found in the Colorado woods near the abandoned car that belonged to Lyle.

Denver Public Schools operates 205 schools and presides over 89,081 students.

Load more..