The Denver Classroom Teachers Association “walked in” to schools around the district while chanting for proper pay from Denver Public Schools.
DENVER — Educators, dressed in red Denver Classroom Teachers Association t-shirts, gathered outside Denver South High School Tuesday before the bell rang. In their hands were signs reading “DPS: Uphold our Agreement,” referring to its 2022 union-district agreement.
“It’s just our first step in showing DPS, ‘Hey, we’re aware of your shenanigans and we really want you to know we’re not just going to lay back and take it,'” Denver South ninth-grade English teacher and DCTA union representative Matthew Craig said.
Craig said the district isn’t paying educators what he believes they’re owed.
“We negotiated in our last contract that we would get a COLA increase, based on how expensive Denver is, and we know Denver is expensive, if we got DPS the funding and we did,” Craig explained. “We got the state to buy down the Budget Stabilization Factor so we’re finally a fully-funded education system. Now DPS is saying they don’t have the funds to pay us that budget increase?”
Craig said as a Denver district teacher of 17 years, his role has grown beyond the duties of just an educator, but the salary hasn’t matched.
“Now, we’re not just teachers, we’re counselors, social emotional individuals, and those are things I personally enjoy doing,” Craig shared. “But that extra work and having the stress of having not enough money to pay my bills and live in my neighborhood.”
In education across the nation, Colorado ranks low when it comes to starting teacher pay. According to the National Education Association, Colorado is 46th in the country, paying new teachers $5,000 below the national average.
Colorado Education Association president Amie Baca-Oehlert said that statistics are deterring some from teaching in the Centennial State.
“We’re losing educators to other states,” Baca-Oehlert said. “We see it often where people are going to our border states to work and serve students and other states. And so we certainly want to make sure that we are doing what we need to do in Colorado to keep our quality educators in Colorado serving our students who deserve access to the very best educators in our state.”
According to the NEA, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico are all in the top 15 states for starting teacher pay.
“We also hear often from our educators that they can’t afford to live in the communities that they serve,” Baca-Oehlert said. “That has a really big impact on our students, we know that relationships are a significant factor in student achievement. We’re hearing from many of our educators that they have a one, and sometimes, two-hour commute just to get to the community that they serve.”
Craig, a Colorado native, said he feels like money could prevent him from living within Denver city limits, thus hindering his relationships with students and the area.
“There’s such a benefit to living in the community that you teach in,” Craig said. “You’re connected to the community and everything and as they’re not paying us, we’re getting pushed out of the city that so many of us love.”
In a statement to 9NEWS, DPS said it plans to pay the 5.2% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) increase and $1,000:
Denver Public Schools has great respect and admiration for every member of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA). Denver Public Schools is following the August 2022 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) language that aligns teacher pay to increases in state funding for K-12 education. DCTA is disputing the interpretation of the agreement.
The CBA states that when certain funding criteria aren’t met, DCTA members will receive the next pay scale step and lane plus a cost of living adjustment (COLA), not to exceed the COLA total which is 5.2%. DCTA members will also receive a one-time payment of $1,000.
Over the last two negotiated agreements between DCTA and Denver Public Schools, their membership has seen salaries increase by 49.27%. That is higher than the Consumer Price Index (25.52%) and higher than Per Pupil Revenue increases (39.35%). The average salary of a DCTA member was $57,283 in the 2018-19 school year. Next year’s average salary is expected to be $84,375.
The District will continue to honor the negotiated agreement.
Read the DCTA CTE ProTech Instructor Salary Schedule:
>View the agreement and partnership between Denver Public Schools and Denver Classroom Teachers Association below:
In the last school year, DCTA members had been paid COLA and “steps and lanes,” which considers a teacher’s experience and education level. DCTA said the district has enough funding to pay for both, but is not.
“The math doesn’t add up,” Craig said.
Denver Public Schools Superintendent, Dr. Alex Marrero, released a summary of the impact of budget stabilization on teacher compensation for 2024-2025.
Read the statement below:
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