Obama notes DPS contract spat
Comments put the spotlight on contentious talks
By John C. Ensslin, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published May 29, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama briefly touched on the contentious Denver Public Schools teacher negotiations Wednesday during his appearance in Thornton.
The reference came midway through his speech at the Mapleton Expeditionary School of the Arts, when Obama said: "I realize that the teachers in Denver are in the middle of tough negotiations right now, but what they've already proven is that it's possible to find new ways to increase teacher pay that are developed with teachers, not imposed on them."
The comment came as negotiators for the school district and the teachers union are in a dispute over how to make adjustments to ProComp, a groundbreaking pay incentive plan.
Nearly three years after voters approved $25 million to fund the plan, less than a third of that money has been paid out because of low teacher participation in the program.
How to adjust the program has become an issue in teacher contract negotiations.
After the speech, an Obama spokesman said the remark was not aimed at taking sides in the contract dispute, but rather at praising the way the ProComp came about. "The remarks that he made was not an allusion to the contract negotiations," Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said. "That's just the way he describes how the program was created."
Kim Ursetta, president of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association, welcomed Obama's passing reference. "He sees what happens in Denver as a model for the country, so we need to get it right," Ursetta said.
Superintendent Michael Bennet, an Obama supporter who has donated $4,600 to the Illinois Democrat's campaign and who was present at the speech, said he did not view it as dealing with the current negotiations.
The stalled negotiations have fueled frustration among the teachers, whose union representatives last week voted overwhelmingly in favor of a vote of no-confidence in Bennet.
Ursetta said the vote was the first of its kind in her memory of 14 years with the district.
In response to the no-confidence vote, the Denver Area School Administrators issued a letter of support for Bennet on Wednesday.
ensslinj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5291
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May 29, 2008
6:50 a.m.
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vudumom writes:
Why is it that Colorado can't implement any education program that people voted for supposedly to educate our children? The voters vote for mor money whether it be pro-comp, college money, Referendum C, etc....
What does that say about the top administrations who can't figure out how to get the money to the people who it was intended for?
The schools and the children.
I thought the people running the schools were supposed to be educated.
May 29, 2008
8:39 a.m.
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jacka writes:
Vote YES on Amendment 47, shouldn't all Colorado workers have the right to choose to keep their job.
May 29, 2008
9:30 a.m.
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Konyok writes:
Senator Obama certainly SOUNDS intelligent, gracious and diplomatic. And that is precisely the point - his every utterance is calculated to enhance his own mystique. But, I've never seen any instance in his public career where he has solved a problem. (To quote Michelle Obama: "This doesn't help my kids!")
This could have been a Sister Souljah moment for the gentleman from Illinois, he could have warned off the teacher's union, he could have promoted merit pay - possibly the last hope of the public school system. Instead he opted for more *thoughtful* content-free platitudes.
It seems that the only time Obama ever descends from his lofty transformational perch is when he or his wife are criticized.
May 29, 2008
10:27 a.m.
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kailadevorah writes:
In response to Vudumom's query, "I thought the people running the schools were supposed to be educated," I have to say that this doesn't appear to be the case, at least in reference to teachers. It is fairly common knowledge that teachers make less than other professionals, but what may be less recognized is that this income gap increases with further education. All evidence suggests that we educators are "supposed to" be self-sacrificing, grateful to have a job at all (a paraphrase of a comment made by our superintendent to teachers), compliant, and/or making tracks to another job once we gain an advanced degree. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median income for a person older than 25 holding a bachelor's degree is $58,000. A teacher with a bachelor's degree can NEVER make that amount, as our salary schedule tops out at $52,000. So, for the sake of argument, (since I'm comparing very experienced teachers to a median salary of all workers my gap estimates are probably low) let's say that there is a gap of $6,000 in yearly income between teachers with bachelor's degrees and others with the same level of education. Looking at the master's degree level, the median annual income according to the Census Bureau is $70,813--but a Denver teacher can NEVER make that much, as our salary schedule for teachers with MAs tops out at $61,000. So the gap grows to $9,000 per year. Moving on to the doctorate level, the median annual income for all PhDs is $104,214, but a Denver teacher can NEVER earn that, as our salary scale for PhDs tops out at $73,000, a gap of $31,000 per year for any person with a PhD foolish enough to stay in teaching. I admit that I am that fool--24 years teaching experience, a PhD, National Board Certification, numerous teaching awards, and sleepless nights spent worrying about making ends meet financially. This was not part of my life plan because I foolishly believed that a school system, of all places, would value education. I believed that DPS's mission to place a highly qualified educator in each classroom meant that they would reward teachers for furthering their skills and knowledge. DPS's strategy seems to be focused on enticing the least educated, least experienced teachers into a few years of teaching with one-time cash bonuses. I rather doubt this is what DPS parents want for their children, but as I've demonstrated, I can be rather foolish.
May 29, 2008
11:54 a.m.
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Konyok writes:
kailadevorah,
Are those salary figures adjusted for number of working days per year?
No, I didn't think so ...
May 29, 2008
9:26 p.m.
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sisepuede writes:
NEW Procomp Money is 26 million dollars of Denver Taxes that was promised to create larger career salaries.
Yet,DPS Admin. proposes using Only 0.2% for salary building and
99.8% for 1 time bonuses that will leave the market-savvy new teachers with better career earnings outside of DPS.
Denver Classroom Teachers are advocating for a plan to use this money for the purposes promised to Denver Taxpayers:
hold off the flow of teachers to suburban and other metro districts because pay is better and conditions are less challenging.
Teachers are also asking for TIME IN THEIR CLASSROOMS TO PLAN AND TEACH
Because that is what it takes for learning and high achievement.
Denver, you should be DEMANDING DPS Bargainers (
who walked out of talks with the teachers the same day their Chief Academic Officer RESIGNED ) Get back to the table and stop playing media games with public money.
Teachers want their time back with kids and expect the leaders to stop wasting our time with public negotiations. It is undignified!
May 30, 2008
10:41 a.m.
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kailadevorah writes:
Konyok--You may still be laboring under the impression that teachers get summers off. That has not been the case for quite some time. Our contract guarantees us the month of July only. We can be compelled to attend professional development for the entire month of June and the few days of August before we officially begin. Given our low pay, many teachers work summer jobs (the latest survey showed about 60% of Denver teachers, including myself, work second jobs year round)to try and make up some of the salary gap. As a comparison, a federal employee in any agency with my level of experience would receive 8 hours of vacation/leave per week, adding up to 26 days, or five weeks and one day per year. There aren't 26 work days in July. Additionally, we have much higher medical insurance premium costs than does the general public because teachers are considered a high risk population--right up there with the police and fire departments. I paid over $14,000 dollars in insurance premiums last year, not counting co-pays and prescriptions. As a final note, teachers work well beyond the 40-hour-work week. I invite you to spend a week in a Denver school--you can pick one at random--and track the hours teachers put it. Of course, you won't be able to track the weekend and late night hours, but you will find and average of somewhere between 55 and 60 hour weeks. This more than compensates for the illusory "summer off" that teachers perhaps once enjoyed.
May 30, 2008
11:38 a.m.
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Konyok writes:
kailadevorah,
Thanks for clearing that up for me, I guess that my impressions were out of date. Compared with Federal employees, it looks like teachers are behind the curve, but still advantaged compared with salaried workers in the private sector.
Doesn't the district offer a medical plan?
What is amazing to me is the poor job that the Denver Classroom Teachers has done in getting their message out. Some posters here have blamed the Rocky or the district, but, you have the distinct disadvantage that the general public identifies you with the district and that the more politically conservative have a grudge against the teachers' unions for being so partisan.