Westminster Window

Jeffco's teachers won't find out the size of their next raise at the bargaining table. They'll find out at the ballot box.

The union and the district reached a tentative deal Tuesday night. Educators get step increases and a small bump for the most-credentialed staff — but no cost-of-living raise. Then the deal hands the question of a bigger raise to the voters.

If voters approve a November measure that brings new funding to schools — the local mill levy override, a state TABOR-refund question, or a proposed graduated income tax — the district has to reopen pay talks within 30 days. If voters say no, the modest deal is the deal.

One Standley Lake science teacher told the district that forgoing a cost-of-living raise is essentially agreeing to a pay cut. Incoming JCEA president Ang Anderson said many educators will see take-home pay decrease again next year because of inflation and rising healthcare costs.

Read Suzie Glassman's full reporting on what's in the deal and what's on the ballot.

🔗 https://www.thegoldentranscript.com/news/jeffco-educators-tied-their-next-raise-to-the-ballot/article_76b3268a-3374-4d42-a9a5-ca652d28050d.html

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Jeffco educators tied their next raise to the ballot Jefferson County educators accepted modest raises that won’t keep pace with inflation, awaiting voter approval in November to potentially reopen contract talks for higher pay if measures pass.

Westminster gets $439 more per student under the new School Finance Act. The school board also just voted unanimously to close two campuses and eliminate middle school grades at five schools through 2030.

How do those two facts fit together? I walked through the funding math district by district.

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More money per student. So why are schools still cutting? Last fall, Adams 12 classes grew to 35 students, and some teachers left for districts with higher pay. A new Colorado bill raises per-student funding but doesn't fully close budget gaps or stop school closures.

The Luck of the Broncos: Remembering ‘Rocky the Leprechaun’.
Perhaps the most famous of all Broncos super-fans was Rocky the Leprechaun — a small, orange and blue-donned man with a big personality who lit a fire in the Broncos’ crowd for decades. He crossed the other side of the rainbow on May 4 at age 75.

The Luck of the Broncos: Remembering ‘Rocky the Leprechaun’ Perhaps the most famous of all Broncos super-fans was Rocky the Leprechaun — a small, orange and blue-donned man with a big personality who lit a fire in the Broncos’ crowd for decades. He crossed the other side of the rainbow on May 4 at age 75.