Denver Public Schools must increase teacher pay

“The budget is not just a collection of numbers, but an expression of our values and aspirations.” — Jack Lew, former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury

If this is accurate, what does it say that our society pays teachers less than most professionals requiring a similar level of skills and education? Here in Denver, our teachers are paid even less competitively than most other districts in the metro area.

By some miracle, Denver Public Schools still has a number of fantastic teachers, but we can’t expect that to continue forever. If budgets are reflections of values, we know that DPS must value administration. And I am sure that DPS administrators are wonderful people who do good work. But, the core work of education is teaching and the most impactful professionals in education are the teachers themselves. The DPS budget needs to be changed to reflect our value of educating the children of Denver.

I am taking a break from the 10-15 hours of grading and planning that I bring home every weekend to write this important letter. I am currently entering my third year of teaching, all within DPS at the same middle school. I am extremely invested in my students and the community that I serve. In two short years, I have watched countless teachers leave and positions stay open for months. Out of the nine teachers in my grade-level team, only three have been teaching for more than three years.

This really makes me wonder about the 473 administrators that make over $80,000 a year. Chalkbeat reported that DPS has nearly twice as many administrators as other districts. Are all of these positions as important as having competitive pay that values teachers for the important work that they do? Without teachers, there is no school.

If the superintendent thinks she’s going to keep schools open, I would like to know how. Teachers won’t be writing sub plans.

This is how: They will round up all the kids and show them movies in the auditorium. That’s what they did back in 1994, after they realized they did not have enough working teachers to control the children. Working to end these negotiations with a salary schedule that shows DPS respects teachers and values them is the best course of action.

I have taught middle school in Denver for 23 years. I have chosen to stay in DPS middle schools every year because I love this unique age group. I usually get an odd look when I tell people that this is what I love to do. Often the response is, “You don’t get paid enough!” From friends to family to strangers, there is an understanding of how tough this work is.

Yet DPS doesn’t seem to get it. I was one of the supporters of ProComp years ago. I played with the calculators, guessed what I would make and celebrated when the school where I worked was identified as “top-performing” or had “high growth.” But those bonuses became smaller year after year. And my trust in DPS faded with them.

This morning they sent out a new calculator. Again, I put in my numbers. I remembered the hope I had. And I looked at the result and sighed. It wasn’t a number to celebrate. It was another disappointment.

We need more. And we are ready to strike.