Denver Public Schools board members on Thursday raised concerns over a decision to give their superintendent a raise, citing poor "timing" and lack of transparency over the matter.
Denver Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Alex Marrero will see his salary increase of 10%, which will raise his base pay to $305,000 beginning May 18. The pay raise comes after a split 4-3 vote by the board, according to The Denver Post. The new contract also includes performance pay of up to 12.5% of his base salary if he achieves all of his goals.
"This was primarily through email and phone calls, and we were being told, 'You know, these four board members already support it. This is where we're moving forward,'" school board Vice President Auon’tai Anderson said.
Anderson added, "I just don't believe that's good governance. However, I support the will of the majority, even if I was in the dissenting opinion."
In the wake of parents raising concerns over student safety, Anderson suggested that the timing of the evaluation period was off.
"After the event at East High School, the Denver School Board told the superintendent, 'We want you to come up with a long-term safety plan.' So right now, that should be the only thing our attention is dedicated to. It should only be about the safety and well-being of our students, both physical, emotional, and mental," said Anderson.
Anderson was referring to a shooting at East High School in Denver in March. The incident prompted a group of parents to start a petition that calls for the removal of the DPS board members over decisions that were made in response to the matter. The leader of the petition also cited concerns about declining test scores and low enrollment.
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In response to the petition, the Denver Public Schools Board of Education told Fox News Digital back in March that none of the Board members will resign amid parents' effort to recall several board members.
Board member Michelle Quattlebaum said during the meeting that Marrero’s contract was already negotiated without full board input.
"I find it difficult to vote on something I was not authentically or transparently involved in. Yet, denying an employee a right to seek a change in the compensation, that doesn't sit right with me," Quattlebaum said.
"I do believe that the superintendent deserves a fair compensation. He should not be leading the largest district in the state with having the 12th-ranked pay in the state. But this wasn't the time," Anderson said.
Board of Education President Xóchitl "Sochi" Gaytán defended the salary boost by comparing it to other superintendent salaries across the state.
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"I'm looking at this through the lens of equities, and that being one of the most important values for DPS as an Afro-Latino superintendent in this state and the leader of the district's most students of color," Gaytán said during Wednesday's meeting.
Gaytán also sent a local news outlet a statement listing Marrero’s accomplishments.
"Dr. Marrero is a nationally recognized, and sought-after educational thought leader who has been invited to speak at the White House, Harvard University, Columbia University, Boston University, and other prestigious settings about wide-ranging topics," Gaytán said.
She also cited that Marrero met 96.9% of the metrics he was evaluated on in the fall semester and was selected by his peers as President-Elect of the Association for Latino Administrators and Superintendents.
Furthermore, Marrero "successfully launched a new Strategic Road Map, in collaboration with the community. This ambitious road map commits to accelerating the trajectory of our most marginalized students in Denver."
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Denver Public Schools operates 205 schools and presides over 89,081 students.
Gaytán and Marrero did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
