Teacher's union asks Colorado school district in Douglas County for collective bargaining agreement

Teachers in one Colorado school district may soon have a new avenue to advocate for the terms of their employment.

Right now, Douglas County School District has the lowest starting salary for teachers of any school district in the Denver metro area. A mill levy override, which the school board is currently considering referring to voters, would increase pay 4% to a little more than what Jeffco Schools offers, but it would still be lower than other districts in the area.

According to the Douglas County Federation, the teacher's union for DCSD, the district is the only one in the metro area that does not have a collective bargaining agreement with its teachers' union. That's a negotiated contract between the district and the teachers' union that lays out terms such as wages and working conditions.

The Federation says there used to be a collective bargaining agreement in place between DCSD and the union until the school board chose to let it expire in 2012. The teacher's union hopes that under the current board, they may be able to get a seat at the table again.

"This isn't a labor negotiation, it's a political operation," one public commenter said at Tuesday's DCSD Board of Education meeting.

"I urge you to restore collective bargaining," another public commenter said.

It's a hot topic in Douglas County: a potential agreement between DCSD and the teachers' union. Many public commenters at this week's school board meeting had strong feelings on the matter.

"When a school board enters into a collective bargaining agreement, it voluntarily gives away significant authority and flexibility to an outside labor union," said public commenter and former DCSD parent Liz Wagner.

"When the professionals in the classrooms have a say in their working conditions, students' learning conditions also improve," said public commenter and DCSD teacher Matthew Solak.

"We keep growing. We have really grown a lot since the school board election," said Lucy Squire.

Lucy Squire is a third-grade teacher in the district and president of the Douglas County Federation.

"Unions, especially teachers' unions, it seems, are villainized and misunderstood. So again, we are not just after more money. There's a lot that collective bargaining would bring to us and opening conversations," said Squire.

In a Tuesday night presentation, the Federation asked the school board to recognize them as the bargaining representative for teachers and staff and start the process of creating another collective bargaining agreement.

"We just want to have a say in policies and decisions. We want to be included in conversations when it comes to our experience," said Squire. "It's really the respect that we are looking for, the recognition, the 'Yes. We value you, and we value your education, your experience, your expertise in these fields.'"

Squire says a CBA would give teachers a seat at the table and help the district attract and retain good teachers.

"A lot of teachers left for neighboring districts because they had CBA, but also just less turmoil and chaos," said Squire, adding that the relationship between the teachers' union and school board has improved significantly in recent years.

Board members seemed supportive of the idea.

"I am not letting anybody steal my joy on this. I am so happy to have you here. And I am so happy that we are in a position and point where we can have this conversation," said DCSD board member Kelly Denzler after the presentation.

The board asked the union questions about its ideas, teacher membership and why they feel a collective bargaining agreement is needed.

"We have increased our scores; we are one of the best scoring districts in the metropolitan area and one of the best scoring districts in the state. What will a collective bargaining agreement do that will improve that?" DCSD board member Brad Geiger asked in the meeting.

DCF representatives responded that there's "still a lot to be done," pointing out that scores in the district can still improve.

"They heard us. They were listening. They asked us really great, great questions," said Squire.

The presentation was not an action item, but the board decided to review current policies, specifically to ask the superintendent questions and clarify current policies and practices that affect the union. In the presentation, DCF said they had been directed not to use district email for union communication and were told differing things about whether they could use school space to meet.

"There was just this culture of fear if we were in the union," Squire said.

"I feel really, really hopeful and optimistic about next steps and moving forward," said Squire. "We have the same goals. We are all here to support children. Our students are the most important work that we're doing. So we just want to continue building that relationship and not have to fight for a seat at every table."

Since the presentation was not an action item, the board did not vote on anything. But it seemed interested in continuing the conversation.

The school district told CBS Colorado it's too soon to know if collective bargaining will be discussed at the next meeting. The next step would be a resolution from the board that would allow a bargaining process to begin. That would include public and transparent bargaining sessions.