The irony isn’t lost on Eliot Lewis, president of the Beacon Zone Board.

In a split vote last week, the Denver Public Schools (DPS) Board of Education voted to revoke the innovation status of the zone, setting up what could be a test of a new state law designed to give recourse when disagreements arise with district decisions.

Alex Magaña, executive principal and executive director of the Beacon Network Schools, supported the law.

DPS Superintendent Alex Marrero did not.

DPS recommendation faces public backlash for ending innovation zone

Under provisions in the new law, the Beacon Zone may appeal to the State Board of Education to review and comment on the DPS board’s decision.

The Beacon Zone Board is expected to meet Wednesday to discuss next steps.

If the Beacon Zone Board opts for a state review, each side would be able to present their arguments before the state in a public hearing.

State law does not permit the state to override the DPS board.

The DPS board would then have to put the state decision on its next agenda for discussion, said Bill Kottenstette, executive director of the Schools of Choice Office for the Colorado Department of Education.

Kottenstette said a state review is still valuable.

“It does create a check,” Kottenstette said. “It creates conditions for a second set of eyes to look at it. It strengthens public confidence.”

Marrero did not respond to a request for comment.

‘It is personal’

In Colorado, there are only a handful of innovation zones, none with the alternate governance like Beacon, which has a separate board.

Formed in 2012, the Beacon Zone Board is comprised of six members, originally appointed by the ad hoc innovation committee, the driving force behind the zone application.

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Because of the even number of voting members, Lewis was quick to point out that the board must work toward finding a consensus.

Vacancies are filled now by the board.

Parents have said they fear eliminating the innovation zone will be the first step to getting rid of the schools’ individual innovation status.

The Innovation Schools Act, passed by the Colorado legislature in 2008, creates a way for schools and school districts to implement innovative practices by providing flexibility to meet student needs.

Policymakers approved the program partly in response to public school and district leaders who sought autonomy structures similar to charter schools, arguing the latter enjoys certain advantages not available to traditional schools.

Under the law, any public school could ask its local school board to become an innovation school, and groups of public schools may apply to become innovation schools operating in an “Innovation School Zone.” These zones offer schools greater autonomy and managerial flexibility so they can pursue diverse approaches to learning. An innovation school, for example, has greater control over educational programming and budgeting.  

DPS has about 50 innovation schools.

Innovation schools exist throughout the state. But innovation zones, or iZones — such as Beacon, with a separate governing board — are unique to Denver.

Marrero, in part, recommended revoking Beacon’s innovation zone status because of low test scores and concerns over its organizational health.

But iZone supporters have said they believe the move by Marrero was reprisal for publicly supporting last year the legislation that will allow Magaña and his board to appeal to the state.

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Marrero’s thinly veiled threat to terminate Magaña last week if the board did not act on his recommendation to revoke the zone status appears to support their claim.

“It is personal,” Magaña said. “And it is ironic.”

DPS Board President Xóchitl Gaytán disputed that claim.

“Last year, all three innovation zones within Denver Public Schools advocated for the Innovation Schools Act,” Gaytán said in a statement to The Denver Gazette.

Noting Beacon is the only zone to be revoked, Gaytán added, “Accusations that Board action was taken against the Beacon Zone as a result of their advocacy are false, and not reflective of recent decisions the Board has made in response to all three zones.”

‘They can’t be judge and jury’

The group with a bullhorn outside the board meeting on Monday suggests public confidence is sorely needed.

More than two dozen parents and children chanted in Spanish: “We are here and not going anywhere.” 

And dozens more last month before the vote — such as Amelia Federico — spoke out against Marrero’s recommendation.

Federico, 21, knew as a fifth grader at McKinley-Thatcher Elementary School that she wanted to go to Beacon Grant Middle School. It was Magaña’s enthusiasm for education and the fact he looked like her that drew Federico to Grant, Federico said. 

“The beauty of Denver Public Schools is that not every student is the same, so, not every school should be the same,” said Federico, a poli-sci major at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

While the zone revocation does not alter the innovation schools’ status, Federico and others said that it was Magaña’s leadership and those of his team that made the difference in students’ lives.

A shake in of leadership, with DPS at the helm, will change the very character of the schools, supporters argued.

“He’s worked there for as long as I’ve been alive,” Federico said of Magaña. “I think it’s disrespectful that the board is saying that they can do the same thing overnight.”

Neither Magaña nor the Beacon Zone Board has made any decision on what, if anything, the next steps might be.

But Lewis, the zone board president, said the procedure isn’t equitable and lacked due process.

“Our belief is that the DPS board shouldn’t be the decision maker,” Lewis said. “They can’t be judge and jury at the same time.”