Denver Public Schools‘ Board of Education on Thursday promised to publicly address dueling allegations of open meetings law violations and misconduct by one of its members. Board member John Youngquist was prevented from speaking after his colleagues said his behavior threatened the integrity of the board, with board President Carrie Olson telling him to wait for the Jan. 9 work session where the group plans to address unspecified policy violations by Youngquist as well as his accusation that the group violated Colorado’s Open Meetings Law. “Several board members have addressed board policy violations with director Youngquist in private settings, including a conversation with president Olson, regarding behavior unbecoming of a board member toward DPS staff,” board member Michelle Quattlebaum said. “We have been accused of violating the law. We have been accused of (a) lack of transparency as well as violating the Colorado Open Meetings Law.” Board member Xóchitl Gaytán said the allegations by Youngquist were “unfounded” and that the board had also been threatened with a lawsuit. Related Articles Education | Parents group sues DPS to halt closure of 7 schools in Denver next year Education | Denver school board limits monthly public comment Education | Denver school board considers restricting monthly public comment as it adds community listening sessions Education | Denver Public Schools reaffirms support for immigrant students, vows protection against “unlawful federal overreach” Education | Douglas County school board weighs addition of AP African American studies course Youngquist later said the claim that he behaved inappropriately toward DPS staff came as a “total and complete shock.” He also said he had not been approached about the alleged violation of board policy prior to the meeting. “I was surprised, and embarrassed, and didn’t know what to think,” he said. Youngquist acknowledged sending a letter to Olson outlining concerns about the board’s conduct of closed-door meetings and said he alone had been excluded from such meetings on Dec. 12 and Dec. 19. He argued that, if his behavior was the subject of the meetings, that fact should have been announced and the meetings should have been open to the public. “The real interest that I have is that the public has access to the work of the board that they legally are able to have access to,” he said. “I believe that open meetings are the way to go, and that seems to be a representation that is pretty consistent with (the Colorado Association of School Boards) and other organizations’ guidelines.” The former DPS principal and teacher was elected in 2023 to an at-large seat on the board. Gaytán said Thursday that she, Quattlebaum and board member Scott Esserman had emailed Olson asking that policy violations by Youngquist be discussed during a work session, which is the second step in the process of publicly censuring a board member. The board’s Jan. 9 work session will start at 4:30 p.m. Get more Colorado news by signing up for our Mile High Roundup email newsletter.