A Denver mayoral candidate on Monday called on Auon’tai Anderson to resign from the Denver Public Schools board, where he serves as vice president.

In a statement, Andy Rougeot, one of 16 aspirants to the mayor’s seat, argued that Anderson put students and staffers in “harm’s way” by leading the successful efforts two years ago to remove school resource officers from Denver schools.

“Denver Public School Board Vice President Tay Anderson led the dangerous charge to remove SROs from our schools,” Rougeot said, “and he should resign immediately for jeopardizing the safety of our schools and placing our children in harm’s way.”     

He added: “Leadership requires accountability, and the parents and children of Denver Public Schools deserve to see someone held accountable for kicking School Resource Officers out of our schools.”

Speaking broadly at a news conference this morning, Anderson rejected any calls for him to step down as DPS board director.

“Take your anger out on us at the ballot box,” Anderson said.

Anderson said he understands parents are fearful, but he does not intend to resign.

Anderson said the board received more than 1,000 emails requesting the return of armed police officers to Denver schools and some demanding a recall of board members.

In 2020, Denver Public Schools voted to end all school resource officer contracts with the Denver Police Department amid protests nationwide following the death of George Floyd after he was handcuffed and pinned to the ground by police officers in Minneapolis. One of the officers was convicted of murder, while three others received prison sentences.

Anderson, who co-sponsored the SRO termination resolution with now state Rep. Jennifer Bacon, then argued that students shouldn’t be greeted by law enforcement officers but by nurses, school counselors and mental health support workers, and that the $750,000 contract with DPD should be redirected to these efforts.  

The 2020 resolution approved by DPS said multiple resources and pathways exist to ensure school safety other than reliance on law enforcement officers and, by passing the resolution, the board would “fulfill its responsibility for undoing the systemic racism that black children and children of color face.”

In a statement, Rougeot, the only Republican candidate in the race to succeed Mayor Michael Hancock, said it’s “time for the Denver Public School Board to be led by responsible adults and parents from the community, not politicians more concerned with scoring dangerous political points than they are about our kids.”

Rougeot said DPS also needs to implement “common-sense reforms” to make schools safer, notably permanently placing SROs back in schools beyond the 2023 school year. 

He said law enforcement officials — not school administrators or teachers — should conduct searches of students under a safety plan or if they are suspected of carrying a weapon, and students charged with “serious crimes” should be offered alternate schooling, such as remote learning, instead of physically attending school. 

“Parents should be notified immediately of violent incidents that occur at the school their child is attending or when students are caught in possession of a weapon,” Rougeot said. “Increased transparency with parents will allow them to hold administrators or elected officials accountable when their child’s safety is put in jeopardy.”

Critics view police presence at schools as problematic, arguing students of color frequently report encountering a negative experience with law enforcement — one of the rationales for ending SRO contracts that DPS offered. SRO supporters counter that they serve as a deterrent to violence and, most importantly, they can immediately respond in case of a crisis. 

DPS has not had SROs — sworn peace officers who work in a school setting — since June 2021.

In the wake of the shooting of two East High School administrators on Wednesday, the board reversed course on Thursday and decided to place armed police officers on high school campuses for the remainder of the school year.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Denver mayoral candidate Andy Rougeot’s comments on whether students charged with “serious crimes” should be offered alternate schooling. Rougeot said he believes they should be offered alternate schooling. We regret the error.