Denver Public Schools administrators reached a tentative agreement with teachers union leaders late Wednesday, union officials said.
Details of the tentative agreement will be unveiled at 10 a.m. today. Denver Classroom Teachers Association president Becky Wissink said that after four long days of bargaining, the two sides struck an accord.
“We have it,’ Wissink said after 10 p.m. Wednesday. The tentative agreement must still be ratified by the approximately 4,000 Denver teachers.
Earlier in the day, union representatives had said that an additional $3 million the district added to their compensation package during mediation talks probably wasn’t enough, according to a vote taken at an evening meeting at Place Middle School.
Wissink said the district was offering a 4.7 percent increase in teachers’ total compensation package, which includes regular step increases for eligible teachers, a 0.1 percent cost-of-living boost and more money toward the retirement plan.
Also on the table was an option to form teachers committees to talk about the “art of teaching,’ Wissink said.
District officials had no additional comment about the talks Wednesday evening, said spokesman Mark Stevens.
Those bargaining for the district offered the union an additional $3 million. That money came from the legislature after an adjustment to the School Finance Act, Wissink said.
That money could be used however the union wanted, Wissink said.
But Wissink said the teachers told her during the closed portion of the meeting that the money isn’t enough. Health insurance benefits are going up by roughly $30 a month for many teachers, and a 0.1 percent cost-of-living raise only gives teachers a few dollars more a month, she said.
Teachers say they’re angry at the district’s unwillingness to slim down administrative costs.
“Now is the time for the district to realize that there would be no school district without us, or without the students,’ said Frank Deserino, a social studies teacher at South High School.
“I’m just mad at how many administrators there are,’ said Susan Carey, an English teacher at Thomas Jefferson High School.
Teachers said they didn’t want to walk out if talks failed.
“We’re here for the kids, but we’re frustrated,’ said Lori Netzly, a physical education teacher at Remington Elementary. “The district is making us look greedy when we’re not.’
Staff writer Allison Sherry can be reached at 303-820-1377 or asherry@denverpost.com.
