Denver teachers and special service providers like school nurses, counselors and social workers are getting an average 2.61 percent raise in the upcoming school year, the district said Wednesday.
An agreement between Denver Public Schools and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association will add $7.6 million in teacher compensation for 2016-17 school year, with the possibility of $11.1 million if voters approve the district’s mill levy ballot proposal in November, according to a DPS news release.
“After years of flat state funding, we are continuously challenged to pay our teachers as much as they deserve for their incredible work,” said acting superintendent Susana Cordova. “However, we have made this raise possible because we reduced 157 positions in central office for 2016-17. Combined with the compensation packages from previous years, we are staying competitive with other urban districts in Colorado.”
The pay increase shrunk from last year when educators saw an average raise of 6.12 percent. And according to the teacher’s union, educators won’t even notice the increase because it’s what they would have received anyway due to complicated measures within the .
“It’s not going to feel like new money,” said Pam Shamburg, the Denver Classroom Teachers Association’s executive director. “I was just talking to a teacher yesterday who thought she would be getting paid $35 extra dollars a month, but … then we realized after looking through the that is not the case.”
Only if the mill levy passes, Shamburg said, will teachers feel the pay bump.
The DCTA explained how the agreement would work with the district’s merit pay system. Every teacher or special service provider who participated in a student learning objective will get a base pay increase of $398.51 in September 2016, including teachers with more than 14 years of service.
Depending on a teacher’s designated performance rating, they could also be eligible for additional money.
If the district’s proposed mill levy passes in November, teachers and SSPs will get a 1.1 percent cost-of-living increase.
“The district would retroactively pay, from the start of 2016 to 2017 contract year to December 31, 2016, a lump sum on Dec. 31 and start regular monthly payments at the start of the new year,” said a news release from the DCTA, about the possibility of the mill levy passing.
Additional Facts
- The district will subsidize $62.50 a month toward health care premiums for teachers and SSPs enrolled in a district health care plan with coverage for children;
- The district is contributing $550 to health savings accounts of teachers and SSPs who are enrolled in a district health plan;
- An extra $200 will be added the health savings accounts of those who stay up to date on preventive screenings and complete an online health risk assessment.
