Anderson made the announcement today, June 12, telling reporters that he feels his skill set would be more valuable at the state level, where he hopes to represent House District 8. The election for that race will take place in November 2024; the DPS board election is set for this November.
Anderson hopes to bring the progress that he and other school board members have made in DPS to the state as a whole.
"It's time for me to take my talent to the Colorado state legislature," he says.
According to Anderson, the board has made progress on gun safety (citing a safe gun-storage policy passed in early 2020), LGBTQIA+ rights, the school-to-prison pipeline and low wages for district employees. "I was a part of the school board that led the charge to raising our minimum wage to $20 an hour" for DPS employees, he says.
But he adds that as a boardmember, he feels his hands have been tied regarding certain problems that require intervention from people in higher positions of power.
Anderson and the rest of the school board have been in hot water since a March 22 shooting at East High School that left two deans hospitalized after they were shot by a student who later committed suicide. The incident kicked off a wave of advocacy that had already been building momentum after an earlier shooting just outside of East on February 13, which resulted in the death of student Luis Garcia.
Several groups have formed in response to the incidents and have been fiercely critical of the school board, including Parents - Safety Advocacy Group, or P-SAG. The group has held weekly press conferences since March 22 to keep pressure on the school board and Superintendent Alex Marrero to create an effective district plan to address safety concerns. At times, P-SAG members have said that they feel as though their input and concerns have been brushed off by the board.
Another group, Resign DPS Board, wants to see an entire overhaul of school board leadership.
On June 5, its leaders held a gathering to highlight "75 days of inaction" by the school board. The group also announced that its membership had grown to 5,000 people from across the city — all hoping for the current boardmembers to resign.
At a press conference in late March, Anderson told the community members of Resign DPS Board to "take your anger out on us at the ballot box."
Coming out of the spring school semester, the organization says it will now focus its efforts on ousting boardmembers up for election in November. Although he won't be a part of that group, Anderson says, "I want these individuals to really understand that this isn't a victory whatsoever. This isn't anybody persuading me or pushing me one way or another."
Had he not decided to pursue a position in the legislature, he says he's "confident" that he could run for reelection and "win without any issues."
Anderson was first voted onto the school board as an at-large member in 2019 at the age of 21. In addition to his slot, the District 1 and District 5 school board spots will also be on the upcoming ballot; those two positions are currently held by Scott Baldermann and Charmaine Lindsay, neither of whom have announced any plans to seek reelection.
The race for Anderson's at-large school board seat is now down to Kwame Spearman — the former Tattered Cover Book Store CEO and brief candidate for Denver mayor — and security consultant Paul Ballenger. Anderson notes that he will not endorse either Spearman or Ballenger.
"At this time, a candidate has not emerged that I believe will actually be able to build on the progress that I have been able to make in Denver Public Schools," he says, adding that he's still open to making endorsements. "I'm waiting for that candidate to emerge."
Anderson announced his reelection campaign last November. At the time, he wrote in a blog post that he had initially planned to run for an at-large seat on Denver City Council, but he eventually decided there's "more work that needs to be done" on the school board.
"My son Khalil will be a student in Denver Public Schools in the next few years, and I want to be certain that I have done all I can to ensure that he has the best education possible alongside his peers," Anderson wrote. Now, however, he believes his work must take place at the state level to truly be effective.
He made the decision to run for the legislature after grappling with his role and responsibility as a leader in the weeks after the March 22 shooting at East. He recalls having a conversation with a parent and student after that incident in which the student kept asking him for solutions that he felt powerless to implement.
"You know, I hear you, but I can't enact gun control," Anderson claims to have told the pair. "'I hear you, but I can't pass a ban on assault weapons. I hear you, but I can't do this.' And they were hearing a lot of 'I can't.' And then the student turned to me and said, 'Well, what are you going to do about it?'
"That really had me thinking over the last few weeks, like, they're right," he continues. "What am I going to do about this? I could either continue to sit on the sidelines and complain about the inaction happening at the State Capitol, complain about my disappointment in good bills being killed — or I have this opportunity right now to run for the state legislature and to be a champion for the issues that I care deeply about."
District 8, which encompasses much of northeast Denver, is currently represented by Leslie Herod, who is term-limited and recently ran an unsuccessful campaign for Denver mayor. Anderson praises Herod's time in office, saying she has been "an amazing champion for the issues that I care about around police accountability and criminal justice reform."
If elected in that district, Anderson hopes to address issues related to school safety that he currently feels powerless to do anything about as a school board member, including fighting for an assault weapons ban. He would also push for reproductive rights, affordable housing and fair wages.
Anderson says he feels confident about his chance for success: "People know my name in northeast Denver."
