After months of speculation — and repeated assurances that he wasn’t looking to leave — Denver Public Schools (DPS) Superintendent Alex Marrero is now one of two finalists for the top job at Chicago Public Schools (CPS).

Marrero did not deny or confirm he is seeking the job.

“While I have great respect for Chicago Public Schools and appreciate the professional recognition implied by recent speculation about my potential candidacy for superintendent, I want to be clear that my dedication remains firmly with Denver Public Schools where I am proud to continue serving as superintendent,” Marrero said in a statement.

The Chicago Sun Times and other outlets reported the tightly-held secret, also noting that CPS school board members signed non-disclosure agreements to keep the process confidential.

During a public comment Monday, former CPS board member Dwayne Truss criticized the lack of transparency around the selection process.

“President Harden, we know each other somewhat, but please don’t say the word ‘transparent’ because I might start laughing for the rest of my time on the microphone – because this process of electing a CEO has been nothing but good old Chicago politics and backroom dealing,” Truss said.

The finalist list, reported last week by Chicago news organizations, purportedly included Marrero and Meisha Ross Porter, who led public schools in New York City in 2021.

In Denver, news of Marrero’s possible departure comes as the district faces mounting scrutiny over transparency and board governance. His leadership has been a point of contention for months, particularly around the board’s early contract extension and the district’s response to violence at East High School.

Rumors have swirled around Marrero for months that he is planning to leave the district.

Last month, Diario Digital reported that Marrero was poised to accept a job as chancellor of the largest school district in the nation, New York City Public Schools.

With nearly 1,700 school and more than 900,000 students, New York City Public Schools is the largest district in the country. Melissa Aviles-Ramos was appointed to that role in January.

If Marrero is planning to leave Denver for Chicago, he would confront many of the same problems there that he is facing here.

The Chicago district has been roiled by leadership turnover, falling enrollment and ongoing tensions with the teachers’ union over school closures and transparency — challenges that mirror those Marrero has navigated in Denver.

Before coming to Denver, Marrero served as interim superintendent for the City School District of New Rochelle, which is outside New York City and serves fewer than 10,000 students, according to the district’s website.

Marrero joined DPS in July 2021.

Under his leadership, the district has touted a return to pre-pandemic academic performance levels — progress Marrero and his team have publicly praised. Critics, meanwhile, noted that most DPS students still fall short of meeting state expectations in math and English, raising questions about how the district defines success.

During his tenure, Marrero has faced a string of questionable decisions that included his handling of the East High School shooting two years ago, school closures, a nearly $100,000 corner office upgrade and annual cost-of-living increases he received while initially denying the same to teachers.

In a decision in May, the Denver school board extended Marrero’s contract early, adding significant changes — including a requirement that a 5–2 supermajority vote is needed to remove the superintendent without cause (previously a simple majority) and a 90-day notice period, up from 60 days.

Marrero’s base salary — $305,000 — remained unchanged.

Last month, in his annual review, Marrero received 73.5 points (out of 100), narrowly missing the district’s 75% benchmark for meeting goals.

His new contract is set to expire in 2028.

Those who supported the move and those who urged the board to wait until his annual review said the early renewal was driven by the November election, which saw two of the three incumbents lose their seats. The shift gave critics hope that the board’s new majority might reconsider Marrero’s leadership and the direction of the district.

With four new board members elected last week, the Denver school board could chart a different course were Marrero to leave. Some community members have called for fresh leadership in order to rebuild trust and improve communication with families, while others say stability at the top remains critical, as the district continues to recover from woes arising out of the pandemic era, when school and government leaders shut down classrooms and shifted to a remote environment.