Readers don’t always know what it takes to break a story.
So, here’s what it took.
Most reporting — not all (sometimes it’s just stupid luck) — starts with a hunch. Back in May, when the Denver Public Schools Board of Education extended Superintendent Alex Marrero’s contract, it wasn’t clear where the new language came from.
The board had met only once in executive session. And yet, they managed to draft fresh contract language that sailed through with a 5-2 vote.
My Spidey senses were tingling.
Then came the email — dropped into my inbox like a breadcrumb on the trail. As is my practice, I filed a CORA request for the email to make sure it was legit. It was from Board President Carrie Olson to an open-records expert, asking if a two-member committee to collect input from their colleagues would break Colorado’s open-meeting law.
Spoiler: the short answer was “yes.”
I thought I had a scoop. Until I didn’t. And then, during a public meeting, Director Xóchitl Gaytán said the quiet part out loud.
Because executive sessions are secretive (for good reason) it’s difficult, if not impossible, to disprove what is purported to have taken place behind closed doors. The trail went cold when Director Michelle Quattlebaum told me the proposed contract language was discussed in the March 20 executive session.
Fast forward to June.
In a workshop meeting discussing committee policies, Gaytán was confused about the type of committee. One board members sit on for other agencies? Or one created by the board, like the committee to “move forward the superintendent’s contract extension work,” she asked.
It was the first public acknowledgment that such a committee even existed.
And there it was: the admission that revived my story.
Sometimes reporting is about chasing a lead, sometimes it’s about luck. But more often, it’s about being patient and not letting go of the thread.
That’s how the thread unraveled. You can read the full story in The Denver Gazette.
Nico Brambila 