District, teachers meet again to try to end strike

The Park County School District and its teachers union continued to meet Wednesday to try to resolve a three-day strike over wages.

The district and the South Park Education Association were scheduled to sit down with a federal mediator Wednesday afternoon.

Students remained out of school, though some nonteaching staff members were at work.

The strike is the third in Colorado in 18 months, following labor disputes in Pueblo and Denver.

The district reported the union initially “rebuffed” offers to meet Tuesday, but ultimately agree to come to the table later in the day. The union framed the offers from the district as an “ultimatum” from Superintendent Joe Torrez that the district would pull out of negotiations if the union didn’t approve the contract by noon Thursday.

Both sides are largely in agreement about what’s in the proposed contract; the issue is whether to continue bargaining over salaries.

The union wants wage increases in the contract, while the district has said that it won’t take up salaries until after a new contract is in place.

The Park County school board is scheduled to meet at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, and the district said it could vote on the contract if the union agrees to it before then. Union officials have said they consider the proposed contract unfinished.

The district approved a $2,000 raise for teachers in May, but the union is seeking an additional $4,000 and wants support staff to also get a combined $6,000 increase.

The district’s salary schedule shows that starting teachers will earn $33,000 after the May raise, with a maximum teaching salary of about $67,000.

Paraprofessionals can earn anywhere from $16,000 to $36,000, depending on their education and experience.

Union officials say the district has several million dollars in reserves that it could use to raise pay, but the district says it needs that money to pay bills that come up before taxpayer funding arrives each year.