A newly appointed Denver school board member who pleaded guilty to a minor case of child abuse says she won't take the job because she doesn't want to be a distraction.
MiDian Holmes announced her decision Thursday night after explaining how she pleaded guilty to child abuse without injury in 2006 after her toddler got out of their apartment while she was taking a shower.
In her statement, she also says she left her three children at home alone while she went to work when she was a single mother a decade ago. One of them called 911 and police responded.
When I ran for the school board appointment, my intentions were pure. I did so not thinking that my past would be the focus…I did so with my eyes and ambition on the future. The reality is clear that my past has the media and several members of the community mystified and I would be doing a great disservice to the 90,000 students of Denver Public Schools if I continued to allow this to be a distraction. Additionally, the work that our board has accomplished should not be tarnished, but it should be celebrated and I fully support that! Reluctantly, I am not going to accept the board’s appointment and will not take the seat for District 4.
School board president Anne Rowe says that although the board doesn't condone some of Holmes' decisions, she noted that Holmes faced some of the same challenges that district families struggle with.
