Rare kudos are in order for the majority of Denver’s school board, which is holding its ground on implementing a policy to hire outside, independent counsel — a non-staff lawyer to lean on when necessary. 

The board has good reason. Last spring, when the previous board prematurely extended Superintendent Alex Marrero’s contract — locking in a $346,529 salary with added job protections before the board even conducted his performance review — the negotiations were funneled through a two-member board committee with General Counsel Aaron Thompson, the go-between for everyone else. 

Legal experts told The Denver Gazette that the process likely violated open meetings laws. Moreover, Thompson reports to Marrero, not the board. That means one lawyer effectively represented both sides in a contract negotiation. This wasn’t just shady. It was indefensible. 

Enter Governance Policy 18. The initial idea for a board counsel was proposed by Director Kimberlee Sia in Spring 2025. It was ultimately passed by the previous board last October. 

Sochi Gaytán, the board’s current president, was the only vote against GP18. 

Now, as the board considers the request-for-proposal process to actually hire an independent counsel, history seems to be repeating itself. 

As The Denver Gazette reported, the March 19 board meeting was the first time Marrero had publicly criticized the policy — months after it passed. Did he simply not expect it would actually happen? 

The policy lists key duties of the board counsel that are “not limited to” legal services related to the superintendent’s contract and evaluation and when there may be a conflict of interest involving the general counsel or the district. 

The words “not limited to” are a “major concern” for Marrero. 

“If it’s independent, I see it as a dedicated, parallel track, which constitutes an advisory structure where the board can, whether it’s intentional or unintentional, create another supervisory role, which is a violation of policy in the contract,” Marrero asserted. “It can be perceived as another supervisory relationship that you’re establishing.” 

Director John Youngquist asked how this is different from hiring outside firms, like Caplan and Earnest, for specific purposes. 

“Most importantly, that contract is through the general counsel’s office,” Marrero responded. “This would be from the board, without the general counsel, which to me creates a parallel track.” 

Nonsense. The policy simply guarantees the board’s discretion to decide other instances where unbiased, outside counsel is called for — discretion they have. Just because the board follows a “policy governance” model doesn’t change the fact that they can modify their own governance structure at any time. It doesn’t have the force of law.  

Even newcomers to the board seem supportive. Director DJ Torres pointed out “this is already a policy that’s in place.” 

Director Amy Klein Molk rejected Marrero’s contention they’re hiring an employee. “We’re hiring outside independent counsel,” she told The Denver Gazette. “I don’t think that argument holds up.” 

Yet Gaytán — again on an island of her own — insisted the policy “fractures the district’s legal voice and undermines the governance of this board.” 

More nonsense. Other school districts have followed the independent-counsel model, including District 11 in Colorado Springs right now. There’s nothing radical about it. 

Gaytán also claimed hiring an independent counsel sends “the wrong message to our staff, our DPS staff, our DPS community, by stripping away the duties from our very first Black general counsel.” 

Let’s be clear: Aaron Thompson is not DPS’ first Black general counsel. Former Colorado House Speaker Terrance Carrol received that distinction in 2018. Yet for some reason, Gaytán keeps discounting Carrol’s place in DPS history. 

Based purely on Thompson’s track record, the previous board was wise to approve GP18. Now, the current board is equally wise to move forward with finding an independent lawyer they trust — who doesn’t have a troubling track record and isn’t beholden to district administration. 

Thompson is the lawyer who allowed a backroom executive session to proceed in late 2022 even after then-Director Scott Baldermann announced he had “no idea what is gonna be discussed.” Months later, he greenlit an illegal March 2023 executive session after the East High shooting. A judge ordered the release of the recording of that meeting. 

In 2022, then-board member Tay Anderson demanded $3,500 in legal fee reimbursements following his censure for “unbecoming behavior” with minors. It was Thompson who instructed staff to bury the embarrassing payout in financial records as a “Settlement Payment” without even informing the board.  

In 2025, then-member Michelle Quattlebaum claimed $13,000 in taxpayer money was spent probing a request from Director John Youngquist about his pay. It turned out the figure was merely an off-the-cuff “estimate” — generated by Thompson. 

No wonder the school board would like to have its own counsel at the ready. 

Let’s be real: It would be tantamount to malpractice if the board disregards its policy and declines to hire independent counsel. The case is grounded in a pattern of legal missteps by a fox-in-the-henhouse lawyer — one determined to carry the superintendent’s water, not responsibly advise the elected board. 

For too long, Marrero and Thompson have operated without accountability, enabled by compliant boards and shielded by Gaytán, now the president. 

The majority of the current board isn’t having it, asserting its role as elected supervisors of the district — not subordinates to unelected bureaucrats. It’s about time. 

Jimmy Sengenberger is an investigative journalist, public speaker, and longtime local talk-radio host. Reach Jimmy online at Jimmysengenberger.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @SengCenter.