Mayor Mike Johnston sounds off on Denver's "dysfunctional" school board

The mayor blasted the current Denver school board for its ongoing infighting and turmoil, saying last week that "we need a functioning board to have a successful city."

Why it matters: Johnston — a Denver Public Schools parent and former principal — wants to see new faces on the board and he took the unusual step of making endorsements for three challengers ahead of Tuesday's election.

State of play: A dark-money campaign organization called Better Leaders, Stronger Schools is prominently featuring Johnston's endorsements and his photo to boost the candidates: Kimberlee Sia in District 1, Marlene De La Rosa in District 5 and John Youngquist for the citywide seat.

• At Axios Denver's event Thursday, Johnston said the current board's behavior is "distracting, dysfunctional" and it "makes it hard for [the superintendent] to do his job — it makes it harder for teachers and principals to do their job."

Yes, but: He objected to the tactics the Better Leaders, Stronger Schools organization is using.

• He told us that a controversial mailer attacking Kwame Spearman — the rival to Youngquist — is "outside the bounds of what was reasonable in a school board race." When he saw it, Johnston said he called the organization to demand they stop using mailer.