George Washington High School Teacher Fund
Donation protected
DPS teachers are striking for an array of reasons. Their salary schedule is the only item up for negotiation right now, so pay is the primary reason for the strike. However, embedded in these negotiations are issues that run deeper than wages, such as respect for teachers’ professionalism and their ability to have a career in the Denver Public Schools. Listed below are the key reasons for the impending strike:
Teachers have unanimously agreed they need a salary schedule (based on experience, education/training) that provides sustainable, predictable base pay (like every other district), not another district invention. The DPS proposal is not transparent.
• Teachers need the full $28 million to fund their proposal because Denver teachers' pay has fallen so far below the metro average due to DPS policies since 2008.
• There’s plenty of money available in the DPS budget to end the impasse. The Board of Education can work responsibly to reallocate the budget during the next 3 months.
• The public will be watching how the budget is reallocated and expects that most of the reassignment of funds should come from significantly cutting the bloated bureaucracy in Central Administration. DPS far exceeds other school districts on the ratio of upper level administrators to educators who actually work in the classroom with students.
• Bonuses paid to administrators who are already handsomely salaried is a source of 4 million dollars, at least, in the 2018-19 year
• There should be money, somewhere, that was saved by DPS’s successful lobbying of the state legislature to reduce the employer contribution to PERA, the teachers’ retirement fund. In 2015, DPS got a reduction of 3.6%, which equates to a savings of approximately $17 million a year
While teachers are striking, they will not get paid. In fact, some are feeling like they are unable to strike because they need every penny of their wages every month-quite ironic, and proof that they need to be paid more! DCTA has a fund set up to help, but in a district this large, the communities at individual schools are trying to help their own teachers. These funds enable teachers in the building to donate to help their own colleagues and parents can support their children’s own teachers. This makes contributions a community-based effort where all can support each other on a smaller scale.
Joe Bolz has been chosen as the beneficiary to distribute funds to GWHS teachers,
Joe is part of the Teacher's Committee.
Teachers have unanimously agreed they need a salary schedule (based on experience, education/training) that provides sustainable, predictable base pay (like every other district), not another district invention. The DPS proposal is not transparent.
• Teachers need the full $28 million to fund their proposal because Denver teachers' pay has fallen so far below the metro average due to DPS policies since 2008.
• There’s plenty of money available in the DPS budget to end the impasse. The Board of Education can work responsibly to reallocate the budget during the next 3 months.
• The public will be watching how the budget is reallocated and expects that most of the reassignment of funds should come from significantly cutting the bloated bureaucracy in Central Administration. DPS far exceeds other school districts on the ratio of upper level administrators to educators who actually work in the classroom with students.
• Bonuses paid to administrators who are already handsomely salaried is a source of 4 million dollars, at least, in the 2018-19 year
• There should be money, somewhere, that was saved by DPS’s successful lobbying of the state legislature to reduce the employer contribution to PERA, the teachers’ retirement fund. In 2015, DPS got a reduction of 3.6%, which equates to a savings of approximately $17 million a year
While teachers are striking, they will not get paid. In fact, some are feeling like they are unable to strike because they need every penny of their wages every month-quite ironic, and proof that they need to be paid more! DCTA has a fund set up to help, but in a district this large, the communities at individual schools are trying to help their own teachers. These funds enable teachers in the building to donate to help their own colleagues and parents can support their children’s own teachers. This makes contributions a community-based effort where all can support each other on a smaller scale.
Joe Bolz has been chosen as the beneficiary to distribute funds to GWHS teachers,
Joe is part of the Teacher's Committee.
Fundraising team: GWHS Teachers (2)
Paul Daly
Organizer
Denver, CO
Joe Bolz
Beneficiary
Shannon Cook Daly
Team member