Union coy on DougCo bid to raise teacher pay

As the school year lets out, we all owe tremendous gratitude to the teachers who are the lifeblood of every school. The COVID-19 pandemic shined a spotlight on their sacrifices. They’ve worked diligently to get students back on track amid deep learning losses and difficult disciplinary challenges.

Unfortunately, even before skyrocketing inflation, teachers haven’t been paid enough. In the 30 years from 1990 — when I was born — through 2020, Colorado’s education spending rose 20%. In that same time, teacher pay declined 20%. We owe our teachers better.

In the metro area, the teacher pay predicament is most acute in Douglas County Schools, where compensation lags woefully behind nearby districts and a new school hasn’t been built since 2010.

So, why are some organizations — such as the recently-established DougCo Collective and the teacher’s union — less than enthusiastic about guaranteeing a dependable pay schedule for teachers and building new neighborhood schools in fast-growing areas?

In March, the school board approved a “step-and-lane” compensation system to boost pay for the district’s licensed employees, especially teachers. It entails a clear, consistent pay scale and compensation increases based on criteria such as years of service, qualifications, levels of teaching and how hard a position is to fill.

It’s a system teachers have long hoped for and will, according to school board President Mike Peterson, provide greater “predictability, stability and competitiveness.”

Here’s the rub: The board approved the plan starting next school year, but DougCo only has enough funding to cover two or three years. Adequately financing step-and-lane for the longer run requires voters to pass a mill levy override (property tax increase).

The measure is expected on the November ballot and would be coupled with a bond to finance new school construction. Douglas County is growing at a quickening clip but hasn’t built a new school since 2010. Both a mill levy override and a bond are necessary because mill levies fund operational expenses like teacher pay while bonds cover capital costs.

You might expect the “conservative board majority” to balk at tax increases or new debt. This is particularly understandable given that the last time voters gave their approval, in November 2018, was when conservative-leaning DougCo trusted a liberal-leaning board majority. The implementation didn’t sufficiently boost teacher pay; the bond money bolstered existing school infrastructure rather than building new ones.

Peterson explained his support for this one.

“Our teachers in Douglas County, frankly, are outperforming their peers. We need to honor their work and their sacrifices. We really need that MLO to close the compensation gap among surrounding districts,” he said.

Kevin DiPasquale, president of the Douglas County Federation (teachers union), agrees that “while it falls short of making all DCSD employees paid equitably with other metro area school districts, it is a small step in a positive direction.” He added, “( W)e support mill levy and bond proposals.”

Strangely, apparent union allies like the upstart DougCo Collective are planting seeds of doubt. Incorporated this March by veteran education bureaucrat Elliott Asp, the Collective has begun emphasizing a “significant lack of trust in the Douglas County community with the newly elected BoE majority Directors.”

The purported trust issues center on disagreements over several policy issues the majority was elected on, including masks and equity, as well as opposition to the recent firing of former superintendent Corey Wise and hiring of Erin Kane as his replacement.

While the Collective agrees DougCo needs a mill levy override, they already justify disapproval. If it fails, their website contends, the board majority “will include blaming the teachers themselves.” That’s an odd tack for supposed supporters of the ballot measures.

Truthfully, an incredible coalescence of forces should strongly unite in the best interest of students and teachers. Regardless of politics, all stakeholders should fully fund the pay plan teachers have patiently waited for. So, why are some lobbing excuses ahead of time for the override’s possible failure by casting aspersions on the four-member board majority?

Unlike 2018, there’s a specific compensation plan voters can study. It’s not an abstract promise: Step-and-lane is happening. Teachers need confidence they won’t fall prey to another compensation bait-and-switch. Long-term financing will provide that certainty.

While DiPasquale insists a recall

“is a question for the community to address,” it’s pretty clear the union — which actually represents a minority of DougCo teachers — and DougCo Collective are laying groundwork to remove the four new members. This would unquestionably detract from the effort to meet the district’s genuine, long-term financial needs.

Does the union support the MLO to fund step-and-lane? They say so. Yet what about prioritizing greater pay for their members versus a possible recall?

DiPasquale echoed the Collective’s distrust argument. “The actions of the new school board members probably inhibit the community’s desire to fully fund schools as district dollars are being spent to defend egregious actions of the new board members,” he said. “This new board has had months to focus on a mill levy and bond for students and staff, but that has yet to happen.”

After the current board took office last November, they wasted no time prioritizing compensation. They quickly started the process in December and approved the plan in March. A presentation of formal ballot language is expected at the June 7 meeting. That seems pretty fast to me.

The sentiment that “we don’t like who runs the school board, so it’s acceptable to oppose better teacher pay” strains credulity. DougCo teachers have paid their dues multifold. It’s long past time that they get paid theirs.

The coming months will reveal who authentically agrees.