Join Chalkbeat Colorado’s free every day e-newsletter to get the newest reporting from us, plus curated information from different Colorado shops, delivered to your inbox.
An arbitrator has sided with Denver Public Colleges in a pay dispute between the varsity district and the academics union over the dimensions of trainer raises this college 12 months, in line with a letter from Superintendent Alex Marrero and an announcement from the Denver Classroom Lecturers Affiliation.
The dispute centered on a provision within the academics union contract that mentioned if Colorado lawmakers boosted funding to DPS by decreasing the so-called finances stabilization issue, Denver academics may get larger cost-of-living raises.
Though state lawmakers eradicated the finances stabilization issue altogether final 12 months, guaranteeing the state will now not withhold cash from Ok-12 colleges to pay for different priorities, DPS mentioned its state funding enhance wasn’t sufficient to cowl the larger raises this college 12 months. The union disagreed, and the dispute finally landed earlier than an arbitrator.
The following step is for the Denver college board to vote on whether or not to just accept the arbitrator’s determination. In the event that they settle for it, Denver academics received’t get what the union argued its members ought to: a 5.2% cost-of-living elevate along with the annual pay bumps many academics acquired based mostly on their years of expertise and degree of schooling.
As an alternative, DPS gave academics raises totaling 5.2% this college 12 months, which was inclusive of each a cost-of-living adjustment and step-and-lane will increase based mostly on their expertise and schooling.
The district additionally promised union members a $1,000 one-time fee that it hasn’t but paid. The arbitrator ordered DPS to take action inside 90 days, in line with a letter from Marrero to the varsity board Wednesday that Chalkbeat obtained in an open information request.
Marrero’s letter mentioned the arbitrator’s determination was “not a shock to us.” He lamented that “each the district and DCTA had [to] waste sources to reaffirm what we negotiated.”
An announcement despatched by a district spokesperson mentioned “Denver Public Colleges (DPS) has nice respect and admiration for each member of the Denver Classroom Lecturers Affiliation (DCTA). We had been happy to be taught that the arbitrator confirmed that now we have adopted the collective bargaining settlement (CBA) with DCTA that was agreed to in August of 2022.”
Union President Rob Gould characterised the arbitrator’s determination otherwise. In an announcement, he mentioned it “was made on a technicality in contract language — not on whether or not DPS may afford to pay its educators, regardless of their many excuses.”
Gould mentioned that DPS “has the cash.” He pointed to Marrero’s latest $17,000 bonus and a 5.2% cost-of-living adjustment that DPS gave to district directors this 12 months as proof. Gould additionally referenced a 2019 academics union strike over pay and different points.
“Six years in the past this week, educators had been on the picket line as a result of DPS refused to put money into its educators and college students,” Gould mentioned. “As soon as once more, DPS’s priorities are leaving college students and educators to bear the results of their poor and petty selections.”
The present three-year contract between the academics union and the district is ready to run out on Aug. 31. The 2 sides will start negotiating a brand new contract Feb. 24, the union mentioned.
Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org.