School Safety, Once Again Front & Center for Denver’s 2025 School Board Elections

Colorado’s tragic history with school gun violence continues to cast a long shadow over education policy, and in Denver, it's now a defining issue for the 2025 school board elections. From the 1999 Columbine High School massacre to more recent incidents at Denver’s East High School, these events have left communities traumatized and galvanized many to demand stronger, smarter safety policies in schools.

Most recently, the 2023 shooting at East High—where a student shot and wounded two administrators before taking his own life—reignited fierce public debate around the district’s 2020 decision to remove School Resource Officers (SROs) from campuses. That decision, spearheaded by then-board member Auon'tai (Tay) Anderson and supported unanimously by the board (at that time), was part of a broader push for racial equity and a shift away from punitive discipline models. However, critics argue that the removal of SROs without viable alternatives left a security gap, and the East High tragedy brought that concern to the forefront.

The fallout was swift: Anderson, once a rising political figure, did not seek re-election and has since stepped away from public office. His tenure and the controversial SRO removal are now central topics in conversations about school safety, trust, and leadership.

In contrast, the 2023 school board election heavily focused on safety. Then school board candidate Paul Ballenger ran on a platform explicitly focused on restoring order and safety to Denver Public Schools. A parent, military veteran, and security professional, Ballenger openly criticized the board's previous decisions, particularly the removal of SROs. “That decision was made without enough community input or safety planning,” he said in a campaign interview. He pushed for empowering principals to determine what safety looks like at their campuses, rather than applying a one-size-fits-all policy across the district.

Also shaping this year’s school safety conversation is the grassroots Parent Safety Advocacy Group (P-SAG), formed by East High parents in the wake of the 2023 shooting. The group has grown to include hundreds of active members and has been instrumental in keeping safety concerns in the public eye. P-SAG has called for greater transparency, better threat assessment protocols, and a reevaluation of DPS’s disciplinary matrix. Their vocal advocacy has helped push safety to the top of voter priorities heading into the 2025 elections.

At the same time, many of Denver’s private and charter schools are taking safety into their own hands by increasingly turning to private security contractors. With fewer bureaucratic hurdles, these schools have quickly implemented armed and unarmed guard services, upgraded surveillance, and introduced controlled-access entry systems. For parents who can afford private education, enhanced security is becoming part of the value proposition. This growing trend highlights a widening gap in how school safety is handled across the public and private education sectors—and it’s fueling even more urgency among public school parents who expect comparable levels of protection in district schools.

Ballot initiatives reflect this shift as well. In 2024 Denver voters weighed in on Measure 4A—a $975 million bond proposal that included $28 million earmarked for school safety upgrades like weapons detection systems and secure entrances.

As candidates prepare for November, there’s little doubt that voters will be looking for more than promises. They want accountability, comprehensive plans, and leaders willing to learn from Colorado’s painful past. The 2025 election is shaping up to be more than just a contest for control of the school board—it’s a referendum on how to move forward from a history of tragedy with policies that protect all students and their teachers.