Candidates and outside groups spent $2.2 million in November’s Denver school board election, according to final campaign finance reports.

That total surpasses spending in the last board election in 2021 and nearly ties the all-time record of $2.3 million spent in 2019.

The cost of Denver school board races has increased over the years as outside groups have poured more money into helping elect candidates that align with their views.

Groups and donors supportive of education reform and charter schools outspent the Denver teachers union 5 to 1 for the 2023 election. It’s a familiar strategy that hasn’t always paid off. But this year, it did.

This year’s election result was a mandate for change on a board that has been criticized as dysfunctional in a year when Denver schools experienced a spike in gun violence.

Read the full report from our partners at Chalkbeat Colorado.

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.

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