Teacher Weekly
Jan. 19, 2019
Outcome of Negotiations with DCTA
Dear Educators,

After nearly 15 months of negotiations with the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA), I am disappointed to share that we did not reach an agreement on an improved salary system for our teachers and specialized service providers (SSPs) before tonight’s deadline. 

In the span of these negotiations, we have made significant progress. When we started negotiating, we did not have a salary schedule and we were only negotiating the $33 million we receive from the ProComp mill levy every year. Since then, we have come forth with a salary schedule that has six lanes and we reopened our financial agreement in order to negotiate the full budget for educator compensation. DCTA has reduced their proposal by $2.6 million (of their requested $30 million). 

All in, we have proposed adding $26.5 million of new money into teacher and SSP compensation -- $20.5 million for base pay and $6 million for the cost of ensuring all educators are placed on our new salary schedule. We are making deep cuts – over $10 million in central administration (which was increased from $7 million after a recalculation of costs) – in order to invest those dollars into educator compensation. This is in addition to other cuts for other employee group compensation.

I wish it were more. I agree that teachers deserve more compensation. The fact is, Colorado is a wealthy state that doesn’t fund our schools very well, and we know that we need to work arm-in-arm with our educators to fix this state issue.

We came to the table today ready to negotiate and address the critical items DCTA identified, such as more money in base pay and a structure that resembles other districts. We shared a proposal with the DCTA that incorporated their feedback, stayed within our budget and honored the ProComp ballot language. Unfortunately, DCTA did not want to continue negotiating.
Our proposal:

  • Adds more money in base pay. We have $20.5 million new money in our offer, plus $6 million to ensure all educators transition to the new salary schedule. With the latest proposal we shared and previous agreements, our educators will have some of the highest salaries in the state in their base pay and an average 10% increase in teacher pay for the 2019-20 school year. Click here to see how the lifetime earnings under our proposal compare to other districts. 

  • Has a simple structure that resembles other districts. We created a salary table with six lanes and labels for education levels, increments to grow your salary and teacher-friendly ways to grow base salary, such as serving in DPS classrooms for 10 years and earning an advanced license. 

  • Honors our commitment to incentives for educators working in our highest poverty schools. One of the things we heard loud and clear from our community is the importance of closing opportunity gaps, and we are committed to ensuring that teachers are rewarded for coming and staying in high poverty schools.

  • Recognizes work invested in PDUs. Educators who have “banked” PDUs would receive a lump sum payout for all of their PDUs around November 2019, as long as they remain educators in DPS. Each PDU will be valued at $1,700 (more than 200% of current value). 

What Happens Next

DCTA is planning strike votes on Jan. 19 and Jan. 22. Only 60% of teachers and SSPs are members of the union, yet the outcome of this negotiation will affect all of our educators. If you are not a union member but want to share your voice, you have the option to register as a member on the day of the vote and participate in the vote. 

We are actively updating our salary finder with our new proposal so all of our educators can see what their salary would look like under our proposal. We strongly encourage you to use the finder to see what your salary would be under our proposal, see how it compares to other metro-area districts here , and consider that information before casting your vote.

In the event a strike vote passes on Jan. 22, all DPS team members are expected to report to work on Jan. 23. The earliest a strike can legally begin is Jan. 28, depending on whether the state government chooses to intervene. During a strike, those teachers and SSPs not reporting for work, not crossing picket lines to report to work or refusing to perform assigned duties will lose their full salary, benefit credits and pension fund contribution for all time not worked. However, they will not face corrective action. 

I recognize this has been a challenging process and a time of uncertainty for many of our educators. I want to be clear that we are open to continuing this dialogue and reaching an agreement that honors the incredible work our educators do every day. We will be sharing additional information in the coming days, so please stay tuned to Teacher Weekly and greatteachers.dpsk12.org for additional information. 

Warm Regards,
Susana
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