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Denver teachers learn details of contract settlement

Teachers learn details of compromises as vote nears

Nancy Mitchelland Mary Chandler, Rocky Mountain News

Published August 25, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Denver teachers emerging from South High School on Sunday after learning the details of a tentative contract settlement voiced mixed emotions.

"I don't think it's a step backward," said Joel Weissman, a special education teacher at George Washington High school. "Generally, I'm pretty satisfied, considering the economy."

But Angelina Mendoza, a third-grade teacher at Cowell Elementary, was less happy.

"I think they could have held out for a little bit more," she said.

Details of the tentative agreement reached late Friday after three days of "grueling" negotiations, according to teachers' union president Kim Ursetta, show compromises made on both sides.

The 3 percent cost-of-living increase falls in between the 2.8 percent offered by DPS and the 3.5 percent sought by the union. Changes to ProComp, Denver's groundbreaking pay-for-performance plan, would not occur as soon as DPS wanted but some of what it sought would begin in 2009-10.

And teachers would get more training and planning time as DPS agrees to five "late start" days throughout 2008-09.

"We're pleased with the settlement," said DPS Superintendent Michael Bennet. "I think there were important compromises made by both parties."

He cited three major benefits - "substantially" increasing teacher compensation, creating more time for teachers, and the first three-year deal between the union and DPS in nearly 20 years.

"My hope is that's going to give us all the opportunity to focus on the incredible work that's going on in our schools and our classrooms," Bennet said.

Ursetta and Bennet signed the paperwork on the tentative agreement after 9 p.m. Friday, following three days of talks with a mediator in a city hotel that stretched nearly around the clock.

Details of the agreement were kept secret until the all-teachers meeting at South, which began at 3 p.m. and lasted through 6:30 p.m. as union leaders answered teachers' questions.

Ursetta estimated 600 to 700 teachers attended the closed- door session. She said reactions were mixed.

"This was the best deal that we could get for our members," she said. "There were compromises on both sides."

Today, the union's governing board will vote on whether to recommend to members that they approve the tentative deal. Teachers will then be asked to vote in their schools by Sept. 9. A majority of union members must agree to the deal and school board members also must vote to ratify it. Board members unanimously approved a resolution endorsing a settlement on Sunday morning.

If approved, the agreement ends a dispute between DPS and the union over the future of ProComp. Talk of a strike during the Democratic National Convention has swirled for months.

"That was our goal, to reach agreement," Ursetta said after Sunday's all-teacher meeting. "So we're glad we were able to get it resolved."

mitchelln@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5245

What's next

* DPS: Denver school board must vote to ratify agreement; Sept. 2 is the tentative vote date.

* Union: Teachers in schools must vote on agreement; due date for ballots is Sept. 9

Tentative deal for DPS, teachers

Denver Public Schools board members and a majority of teachers' union members still must vote to approve the preliminary agreement, but here are highlights:

PAY

* Cost-of-living increase of 3 percent for all teachers.

* In each of the next two years, salary will increase by at least .25 percent above the Consumer Price Index. Add another .4 percent if DPS is able to merge its retirement system with that of the state.

TIME

* Add an extra school day in 2010-11 if DPS completes its retirement merger before June 30, 2009.

* DPS sets five "late start" days in 2008-09 for additional teacher training and planning.

PROCOMP

* For 2008-09, all salary base-building elements - meaning dollars once earned remain a part of salary vs. one-time bonuses - remain the same. Elements include completing annual training projects.

* Beginning 2009-10, most salary base-building elements step at year 14. Exceptions are completing student growth goals and earning advanced degrees. Teachers can continue to complete training projects but the element becomes a bonus, not a permanent addition.

* For 2008-09, bonuses such as teaching in high-poverty schools are increased to $2,345 each year.

TERMS

* Contract length is three years instead of one, the first three-year deal in nearly 20 years.

Comments

  • August 25, 2008

    8:15 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    BetterEducated writes:

    Teachers and staff at DPS should carefully study the A+ report on the district pension.
    It should then be clear why the district's impetus is to get teachers to stay for 20 years and then leave.
    It uses these new people to subsidize the pensions for earlier hires, then needs to get rid of them before they get to be retirees themselves.
    Do the math.
    If you are already committed to this district, you cannot win on these figures or change the way the district has traditionally done business. So my advice to these people is: VOW to get interested in your families, churches or other interests and don't put your hearts into this vicious entity. What's done is done, take the deal.
    If you are not yet hired, don't sign up unless you can afford it -- financially, emotionally and spiritually.

  • August 26, 2008

    4:48 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    jacka writes:

    DPS is a strong Union shop ... power to the Unions who want to destroy Colorado?

  • August 31, 2008

    7:51 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    always_thinking writes:

    Jacka, you are ridiculous. You seem to have no knowledge, just a persistent paranoia about the intent and affect of unions. You should find something better to do, or at least become more informed about what actually goes on.

  • August 31, 2008

    7:59 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    always_thinking writes:

    thanks, better educated. It is true that DPS wants to do everything it can to not let teachers retire from the district. There is no other reason that they would cut incentives for teachers with more than 14 years experience. I agree with you, totally. . . Hopefully a merger with PERA will free the district up a bit to not feel like the burden of retirement benefits are crippling their budget. Maybe then, people who are being undervalued by DPS could just move on.

  • September 2, 2008

    1:25 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    BetterEducated writes:

    Thanks, always_thinking.
    Rocky, please correct your highlighted column "What's Next" to clarify that TEACHERS are not voting, rather teachers who are UNION MEMBERS are voting. The teachers who don't pay dues to join the union don't get to vote. That's important and about the only thing Jacka's group should be bringing to public attention as it (remotely) relates to his proposed bill.

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