On June 24, after extensive negotiations and the involvement of a mediator, Denver Public Schools (DPS) and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) announced a tentative agreement regarding the employment terms for approximately 4,000 educators for the next three years, starting September 1.
This new contract promises significant changes, affecting everything from salaries to class sizes.
The agreement features a 2.55 percent salary increase for all educators, in addition to a $1,000 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) and a one-time bonus of $1,000 for the upcoming school year.
Union representatives emphasize that the new terms are designed to foster a better learning environment, ensure safer working conditions, and improve overall compensation for teachers.
However, the contractual agreement is not finalized yet.
Both the DCTA and DPS must secure support from the union’s members and the school board.
Some educators are already expressing their dissatisfaction.
A petition urging teachers to reject the contract has garnered 249 signatures.
Dissatisfied educators argue that the proposed COLA is inadequate in light of rising inflation, and many are calling for firm class size limits to ensure manageable workloads.
“If we ratify this contract, we send a message that this is acceptable — that we’ll settle for less, again,” stated the petition.
“We are not asking for luxury. We are demanding basic fairness: manageable class sizes, livable wages, and equitable support for all.”
The author of the petition chose to remain anonymous and did not provide any comments when contacted.
With financial compensation being a focal point of the negotiations, the new contract proposes several salary increases.
Every educator will receive a 2.55 percent raise, partially driven by changes instituted by the state legislature that reduced the contributions DPS must make to the Public Employees’ Retirement Association (PERA).
The agreement allocates a substantial portion of these savings to increasing teacher salaries.
In addition to the COLA, the one-time bonus for the upcoming school year comes in as a welcome financial boost.
These increases come on top of any raises educators typically receive for greater experience or education levels.
Yet, some educators contend that the COLA by itself falls short of covering inflation, which has seen local prices rise by 2.2 percent over the past year.
Concerns have been raised that those educators at the top of the pay scale—peaking at $124,233—will not receive any further raises tied to experience.
“I don’t have any more steps or lanes,” remarked a special education teacher on the DCTA’s announcement.
“With inflation, I will actually have less money to spend on groceries this year.”
Even the educators at the highest pay levels stand to gain from the proposed COLA, the across-the-board raise, and the bonus.
According to the National Education Association, Colorado ranked 24th among the states in terms of teacher salaries for the 2023-2024 school year.
Additionally, the contract includes a memorandum of understanding that encourages the district to approach voters by November 2026 for additional funding.
If DPS secures more financing, negotiations on the current contract could reopen.
The proposed contract also expands the definition of what constitutes an “educator,” now encompassing all certified, licensed, or authorized staff.
While this might seem like a minor adjustment, it effectively aligns more employees—such as career and technical educators—with the same salary schedules as traditional teachers.
This expanded definition encompasses groups like specialized service providers, educational sign language interpreters, associate teachers, career and technical educators, Balarat educators, and JROTC instructors.
These employees will also enjoy the benefits of being included in financial negotiations and will have access to a “workload calculator.”
Designed for case-based jobs, the workload calculator assists educators to determine the amount of time each student requires, thereby helping prevent burnout and promote sustainability in workloads.
“Our contract is over 50 years old and was originally intended for teachers only,” remarked Brian Weaver, co-chair of the DCTA’s bargaining team.
“By expanding that, we feel that we’re creating more protections for the evolving staffing needs of our public schools.”
While the new contract makes strides in addressing class sizes, it does not incorporate the fixed class caps that many educators sought.
Some teachers have argued that class sizes of up to 35 students are unmanageable.
Large classes hinder personalized student attention, which is essential for addressing various educational challenges, including mental health issues, language barriers, special needs supports, and catching up from pandemic-related learning losses.
The current cap of 35 students per class, which has been in place since a 1994 strike, has remained unchanged.
The union had aimed to reduce this cap to 30 students per class, a push supported by DPS data indicating that 9 percent of elementary classrooms had more than 30 students in the 2023-2024 school year.
Instead of adjusting the cap, the new contract will allow for the documentation of efforts to alleviate classroom overcrowding.
However, specifics on how DPS plans to achieve this—be it through hiring more educators, reallocating funding, or even expanding school facilities—remain vague and will be developed by the district.
“The district recognizes that it is a problem, which has never really occurred in the contract,” noted Weaver.
“But the best we could get out of them was a softer cap where they will monitor class sizes throughout the district and they will attempt to keep them at 30 students.”
The agreement establishes a “Collaborative School Committee,
image source from：denverite
