The decision by many of the leaders of the state’s largest school districts to forgo raises and bonuses during the extended economic crisis is laudable.
While much is made of the fact that the public sector hasn’t been hit as hard as the private sector, Colorado’s public schools are being asked to trim budgets by a total of $260 million next year. That’s a small fraction of total K-12 spending, to be sure, but it still means less staff, bigger class sizes and other adjustments.
Recognizing as much, leaders of school districts, including Cherry Creek, Jefferson County and Boulder Valley are declining raises and bonuses, according to The Denver Post’s Jeremy P. Meyer.
And Denver Public Schools superintendent Tom Boasberg is pooling bonuses he already had deferred from prior years and pay raises to donate nearly $50,000 to a charitable education foundation.
Boasberg tells us he opted for the donation in order to draw attention to the Denver Public Schools Foundation, which provides dollar-for- dollar matches to the donations of school employees to fund after- school programs for students from low-income families.
Remarkably, some are criticizing Boasberg’s donation, because it allows him a tax break. But that break is much less than the wealth the superintendent loses by giving away the earnings.
Additionally, some union members are criticizing all of the superintendents, calling their decision to refuse raises and bonuses cynical in light of the size of their base salaries, which range from $187,500 to $220,000.
Please allow us to see it another way.
The superintendents are depriving themselves of real money in order to show solidarity with district employees, and are doing their part to help improve their schools in these difficult economic times.
We think that sets a good example, and appreciate the gesture.
Granted, the sacrifice won’t have much of an impact on the bottom line. But by living with a reduction in an expected salary, the superintendents exhibit an understanding of the difficulty in which they are placing faculty and staff by enforcing needed budget cuts.
We appreciate this kind of stewardship from these public employees.
