Denver – Denver Public Schools (DPS) remains committed to launching a competitive new salary schedule for teachers and specialized service providers (SSPs) in the 2019-20 school year.
Today the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) released a letter regarding the negotiations between DPS and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA). DPS appreciates the state’s work and looks forward to meeting with Governor Polis. DPS agrees that it is in the best interest of our teachers, our students, and our community to get to an agreement before a strike.
“DPS welcomes the opportunity to engage in the difficult and thoughtful conversations that are needed to overhaul our teacher compensation system,” said Superintendent Susana Cordova. “We are open to a substantive discussion between the parties in an authentic and productive manner that moves us closer to agreement rather than closer to a strike.”
In its newest proposal to teachers shared on January 31, DPS offered a competitive salary schedule that uses targeted incentives to attract and retain teachers in the district’s highest-poverty schools that serve some of the district’s most vulnerable students. DPS remains willing to work on the terms of the new system and believes that an agreement can be reached that maintains our commitment to higher salaries for all teachers along with additional investments for the teachers working in our highest poverty schools.
Along with the commitment to higher incentives in high-poverty schools, the DPS proposal provides significant base-pay increases for teachers over a five-year period. The following are real DPS teachers and SSPs and describes what they have earned and will earn based on the district’s Jan. 31 proposal:
See here for the detailed breakdown on how these actual teachers and specialized service providers would benefit from the district’s latest proposal.
“I know how important it is to focus on both building competitive base salaries as well as on recruiting and keeping teachers in our high-poverty schools,” said Superintendent Cordova. “We clearly heard from the DCTA that more money for base salaries was a top priority. In response, we’ve offered an average 10% increase in 2019-20 for our teachers and SSPs through an investment of $20.5 million. Our newest proposal adds $3 million new dollars into teacher compensation for 2020-21 and guarantees raises for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years.”
Superintendent Cordova added: “We are committed to a multi-year strategy to increase our investment in teacher compensation. In addition to the strong investments we are making through significant cuts to our central administration, we want to work with DCTA and our teachers to address years of state underfunding so that we can put even more into compensation and supports.”
To see the district’s latest proposal, please visit greatteachers.dpsk12.org.