Minutes after Denver Public Schools board member Tay Anderson was censured by his fellow board members on Friday, he told a group of his supporters outside the district’s headquarter that he is ready to put this chapter of his life behind him and move forward.

DPS board votes to censure Director Tay Anderson

“We have two more years on this board and we have more work to do, and the only people who will take me away from doing the work of the students will be the electorate,” Anderson said “Today is just a day for us to close this chapter and be able to move forward together. The board has spoken. They’ve censured me, which means they disapprove of my actions. Now it’s time to get back to work for our children.”

The board voted 6-1 to censure Anderson, with his own being the lone no vote. A censure is a formal statement of disapproval. 

Anderson said he “whole heartedly believes” Friday’s vote was a lynching and accused his fellow board members of holding “personal vendettas” that clouded their judgement, despite the most serious claims of sexual assault being declared unsubstantiated earlier this week after an investigation.

Before the meeting, the scene outside the DPS headquarters was boisterous as Anderson, who refused to answer reporters’ questions, set the stage for an angry, defiant defense amid cheers and a few angry boos.

Three people spoke: Anderson, Jerry Demmer, president of the Greater Metro Denver ministerial alliance; and Tony Henderson, religious affairs director for NAACP of Colorado.

During their speeches, some supporters of Anderson and several opponents faced off in verbal confrontations. Interrupting the speakers.

Parents say Tay Anderson showed no contrition for online behavior

Once the shouting matches had lessened, Anderson said he wanted to make one thing clear: he’s here to stay. 

“I want to make sure that we put to end any speculation. I will not resign.,” Anderson said while the small crowd cheered.

“Let me say that one more time. Let me just say that one more time. I will not resign! I will stay on the board until 2023 and we will continue the work we started in 2019. And on that note, I think it’s time for us to head up to a censure vote to watch the high-tech lynching that has occurred over the last six months.” 

Political reaction on Tay Anderson muted, but some parents already pushing back

People cheered and sang “We Shall Overcome” while they headed inside the building at 1860 Lincoln St. for the vote. Meanwhile a small group of protesters described by Anderson as the “Fantastic Five” yelled “Please, resign!”

Many of the nearly two dozen people who showed up to support Anderson accused the board predetermining their vote prior to the release of the report, including one who identified herself as Katye. She declined to provide her last name to The Denver Gazette. 

“We need to have policies that are equal for all people involved,” she said while waiting in-line to enter the board meeting. “We don’t understand how we came to this decision to censure Tay.”

Anderson shared Katye’s sentiment and claimed none of his colleagues came to the meeting with an open mind. 

However, others like Jeanna Hoch, a DPS parent and leader of the small group calling for Anderson’s resignation said she believes he’s unfit to serve on the board and will continue protesting until he’s gone. 

“I will not sit down and be intimidated by this crowd,” Hoch said while holding a white sign reading ‘Mr. Anderson Please Resign.’ “They are effective at intimidating most parents and the community members around them, but I will not sit down.”

Anderson said he will not ignore his critics and will host a town hall next month to initiate conversations, so he can make decisions to improve education for Denver students. 

“I welcome a conversations,” he said. “If anyone wants to come and have a dialogue with me, let’s have the dialogue, because I’m not resigning and we must continue our work for our students.” 

Seconds before walking into the school district’s headquarters, Anderson posted a statement online headlined “Is it 1955 or 2021?” that he read during the board meeting.

In part the statement said:

“On March 26, 2021 false allegations led to my life changing forever. That was the day I became known as a rapist to our community, does anyone listening know how that feels? To know you didn’t commit an act you’re being accused of, but having people believe it and call for your career, your freedom and your life to be over. Does anyone listening know how it feels to get a call from your parent saying they were attacked in a grocery store by an individual who believed what they had seen on social media, does anyone listening know how it feels to have your child separated from you because of false allegations, does anyone listening know how it feels to have your grandparents death mocked on social media due to false allegations, does anyone listening know how it feels to learn that your 13 year old sibling was threatened to be raped due to false allegations against you, does anyone listening know how it feels to have messages about how your four month old child would be shot in their head due to false allegations against you. All because of the words of one white woman. None of you in this room have ever lived a day in my shoes as a Black man in America.”

Anderson said he “foolishly believed” the investigation was intended to get to the truth but that the decision by the board to take a censure vote showed his “colleagues had decided that they needed something to show for this six month and costly investigation and the best solution was to continue to persecute me.”

The DPS vote comes after an independent investigation into sexual assault allegations against Anderson.

The 96-page report by Investigations Law Group, who led the investigation, was released to the public this week.

The report found the serious accusations against Anderson unsubstantiated. However, the school board said in a statement following its release that the report indicated Anderson engaged in “behavior unbecoming of a board member.”

Allegations of sexual assault against an anonymous woman and allegations that Anderson sexually assaulted, raped and/or committed sexual misconduct against 62 Denver Public School students were found to be unsubstantiated, according to the report. 

However, investigators found that Anderson engaged in “flirtatious” behavior with a 16-year-old Denver Public Schools student while being a member of the school board. The report also uncovered a 2018 incident when Anderson was running for the board, he communicated with a 17-year-old Douglas County high school girl, inviting her to go stargazing or have a sleep over, she told investigators.

The unnamed girl said the advances made her “feel extremely uncomfortable and scared to go places in case I would see him.” 

The report also revealed Anderson made sexual comments or advances and/or engaged in unwelcome sexual contact with members and associated of the Never Again Colorado Board of Directors in 2018. This incident was not connected to DPS, but the allegation was “admitted/substantiated that most behaviors occurred as alleged,” according to the report.

Since the report’s release on Wednesday, Anderson has continuously stressed his innocence. 

“I believe the most important message that can be conveyed at this time is that the finding of unsubstantiated claims against me is in no way a victory over survivors, but rather an opportunity to reconsider how we view and create not only restorative but also transformative justice, for survivors, falsely accused and correctly convicted,” the statement read.

Anderson said following Friday’s vote that he is “exploring all options” in regard to legal action and he’s retained a lawyer. 

But despite being censured, Anderson said in order to continue the schools boards responsibilities, they need to work and move forward together. 

“I asked for restorative justice in July. It was denied,” Anderson said. “So I’m hoping the board is willing to have restorative justice, transformative justice because we have a board meeting on Thursday.”