As we enter into open enrollment season and as we await the final budget from the state legislature that will help determine compensation for next year, we wanted to provide you with a high-level overview of our total rewards system.
Teacher compensation in DPS is rooted in several key principles. First, we are now and we will continue to be in the top three among all Denver metro-area school districts for teacher compensation. Second, our salary system must be balanced to both recruit and retain our great teachers. It must be competitive enough to convince you to choose DPS and to reward you for committing your entire career to DPS students. Third, our compensation system, ProComp, was designed with the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (and approved by voters) to provide for differentiated pay rather than the traditional lock-step salary schedule. The purpose of ProComp's differentiated pay is to recognize teachers' service in high-poverty schools and hard-to-staff positions, individual and school-based performance, and advances in skills and learning.
Teacher Salary: Thanks to the $30+ million we receive from Denver voters every year, teachers in DPS receive an average of $8,000 per year in ProComp incentives.
ProComp enables us to offer teachers the highest level of compensation in the metro area across most seniority levels. Nevertheless, given the rapidly escalating cost of living in Denver, we know how important it is that we increase compensation for all our professionals. Towards that end, we will continue to advocate for additional legislative funding that would support higher teacher salaries (see last week's Teacher Weekly).
We remain committed to our work with DCTA to follow the recommendations of the joint teacher-principal task force to improve and simplify ProComp. These recommendations include increasing the amount of compensation for teachers in more high-poverty schools and providing more dollars in base-building for teachers for longer in their careers. We are also continuing our work with DCTA on the ProComp 3.0 Exploration Taskforce and should see final results from that work group soon. If you have questions about our current ProComp system, we encourage you to take a look at our materials on the DPS website and watch this short video explaining how ProComp works.
Benefits for Teachers:
DPS recognizes that benefits are an important element of total compensation. We offer a robust package of benefits focused on affordability, choice and providing comprehensive supports for employee well-being. Compared to other districts in Colorado, DPS is in the top three most affordable across all plans and coverage levels. To offset the cost of benefits, teachers receive $5,814 per year ($484.50/month) in DPS health benefit contributions. We are the only district with a sizable cash payment ($4
22/month) for teachers who do not enroll in benefits.
(See our
March 1 Teacher Weekly
on what we're doing to control the cost of benefits, especially the cost of family benefits.) With these health benefit contributions, four of the DPS medical plans cost nothing in premiums for teachers who elect single coverage. DPS is also one of the few districts in Colorado that provide additional subsidies for covering children.
Retirement:
As participants in PERA, our teachers have access to one of the most generous retirement plans available. Because DPS has paid more into retirement than other Colorado districts over the last decade, the DPS division is significantly better funded than PERA's School Division. By law, DPS' contributions to PERA are two-and-a-half times the 8% of salary that teachers contribute individually. Under PERA, teachers who retire with 30 years of service will earn approximately 75% of their highest average salary in retirement for the rest of their lives.
Wellness Programs:
In addition, DPS offers wellness programming and supports for the whole educator that span the gamut from physical assessments and challenges to social events to a Financial Fitness Academy to our Employee Assistance Program to discount programs for fitness, food and fun.
