Denver Public Schools, teachers union push for tax increase to expand teacher resources
Denver Public Schools and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association came together last year to work on a path toward greater compensation and a more sustainable compensation source for DPS teachers. Now, they're asking for public feedback.
"Our schools need more support," said Michelle Horwitz, a DPS Speech Language Pathologist. "Our students need more support, and those things cost money."
Horwitz has been a speech language pathologist for 16 years and a union leader for nearly a decade.
"It feels like a tighter squeeze every year," she said.
Her experience is a prime example of the issues teachers face due to a lack of resources.
"Honestly, I'm taking a sabbatical next year because I need a break. The workload is tremendous, and I want to keep doing this, but I need to step back for a minute and gather myself and see if I can continue to go back," Horwitz said.
Horwitz and the DCTA support a mill levy override that, if approved by the school board and again by voters in November, would increase Denver homeowners' property taxes by around $71 per year, or just under $6 per month.
"The district and the DCTA have an agreement to say, if there is a mill levy override, then we would negotiate over what we do with it," Horwitz explained.
Horwitz says the funds could increase teacher pay by as much as 5%, but they will also be used to provide more specialists and smaller class sizes.
"We need more sustainable workloads within schools," Horwitz asserted. "A lot of burnout is because we're being asked to do more with less on a regular basis."
And, as it stands, she says the situation is only getting worse.
"On top of everything, our health care premiums are going up 28% for educators who have Kaiser or United Health Care, and 8% for Motiv Health Care, which is kind of a low-cost option. So essentially, without increased compensation, we're looking at a pay cut for most educators," Horwitz said.
There will be a Denver School Board public comment session this upcoming Wednesday, where folks can voice their opinions to the board about this potential mill levy override. However, speakers must sign up in advance to do so.
