“Don’t be shy to use your power”
Teachers from Colorado’s smallest districts sound off at Capitol
Tucked inside Friday’s large education-funding rally at the state Capitol — dominated by teachers from Colorado’s largest school districts — were educators from smaller towns and districts who face unique financial problems.
Jessica Crawford was stunned when she walked into her secondgrade classroom at Crystal River Elementary in picturesque Carbondale last fall and found few or no school supplies because her school district couldn’t afford them.
“There were no crayons, no markers, hardly anything at all,” Crawford said Friday. “I was shocked.”
Crawford, like other teachers from smaller school districts outside the Front Range, pooled resources to attend Friday’s rally at Civic Center and at the steps of the Capitol, in downtown Denver.
Nearly all were dressed in red and became part of an unfolding red carpet that rolled up to the Capitol steps.
State troopers declined to give a crowd estimate, but observers put it at about 6,000, nearly all of whom yelled and challenged lawmakers for more school money. At one point, they collectively pointed to the Capitol and chanted to legislators, “Come on down! Come on down!”
It was the second rally in as many days, as more than 30 school districts — including those covering Denver, Aurora, Cherry Creek, and Douglas and Jefferson counties — canceled classes because of a lack of teachers. The districts serve hundreds of thousands of students, who got the days off. Many teachers used personal days to attend the rallies.
Crawford already was living in subsidized housing provided by the Roaring Fork School District and working a second job teaching
Chinese to online students. She knew she would be scrambling financially when she decided to leave Florida for Carbondale to be closer to her sister.
But her paltry classroom situation drove home the notion that Colorado’s school funding woes hit even harder in the state’s smaller towns and cities.
“I love my kids, they are truly well-behaved and they work hard. Parents are great, so are my administrators. They help when they can,” Crawford said. “But so many of the parents are low-income, and I can’t ask them to help. They are just trying to feed their kids.
“I guess I just wasn’t prepared for the lack of funding. It hurts.”
Many of Colorado’s smaller communities lack the funding base to build or improve schools, and voters are often reluctant to raise taxes to help. Also, housing prices at tonier resort communities are often well out of reach for most younger teachers, especially in rural areas where 95 percent of teacher salaries are below the cost of living.
“A lot of new teachers aren’t prepared for the cost of living here,” Summit Cove Elementary School teacher Tara Dye said. Her school, located in Dillon, suffers from a high turnover rate because better paying jobs can be found elsewhere.
“A janitor can make a lot more working at Starbucks,” Dye said. “And we have a real hard time keeping counselors and paraprofessionals. “
Teachers at the rally heard from National Education Association vice president Becky Pringle, who urged the teachers to take their grievances to school boards and to the ballot box.
“Don’t be shy to use your power,” Pringle said.
More than 10,000 teachers from districts that enroll over half of the state’s students attended either Thursday’s or Friday’s rally. Classes had been canceled at many districts, mainly along the Front Range.
Teachers were careful to say they were not just asking for higher salaries but also for more money for better buildings and programs to help bolster literacy and other academic achievement.
“It’s always a sad day when we don’t have enough supplies to teach our kids correctly,” said Joseph Chiavini, a science teacher at Denver’s Brentwood Middle School. “I’m a science teacher, and to do true exploring, you need lots of supplies. Students talk about how they wish they could do more.”
The demonstrations came as lawmakers have agreed to give schools their largest budget increases since the recession. But teachers say the state still has a long way to make up for a $822 million shortfall in funding.
The average salary for teachers in Colorado this year is $52,728, up slightly from $51,810 in 2016-17 and $51,204 in 2015-16, according to state education offi- cials. But those salaries vary widely across the state and even within some districts.
Teachers in the Cherry Creek and Boulder districts have average salaries above $70,000, while average salaries in many rural districts are close to $30,000, according to Chalkbeat Colorado.
Teachers gave Gov. John Hickenlooper a lukewarm reception when he spoke Friday, telling them he understands their frustrations. “We see you. We hear you,” he said.
An influx of people moving to Steamboat Springs to build houses and work in local restaurants is contributing to larger class sizes, said Carol Harris, a kindergarten teacher. But more and more of those students have social and emotional needs that are not being met because of staff shortages, Harris said.
Many of her co-workers can’t afford to buy a home or even rent in Steamboat so they live in nearby, cheaper communities and commute to work.
“We have some great partnerships with our local Realtors for housing, and that helps,” Harris said. “And our parents are always volunteering and donating, so they are great. But it only goes so far.”
As for Harris, she lives in a trailer with her two children.
“That’s the only place I can afford in Steamboat,” she said.