Arvada Press 0702 by Colorado Community Media

July 2, 2015

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A sandy summer day in Arvada

A vision of the Shire from the Lord of the Rings novels pops up as Keller Williams’ sandy scene. Over June 27-28, a warm sunny, summer weekend, residents from across the Denver-metro area flocked to Arvada to get down in the sandy fun during the city’s third annual Sand in the City festival. From Monopoly to the Shire, “Frozen” characters and Red Rocks Ampitheatre, the sand sculptures were the highlight of the event. Teams from local businesses and schools came together to build these amusing scenes while raising money for their favorite causes. Alongside each scene, the estimated 17,500 attendees got to play in a giant sandbox, tie dye T-shirts, attend a luau, jam out to local music and devour the local flavors of Arvada’s food, beer and spirit vendors. See additional photos on Page 23.

During the luau, Parker residents, from left, Addison, Carpenter and Allix Rousch were asked to join Polynesian Fia Fia on stage to hula dance.

PHOTOS BY CRYSTAL ANDERSON

Teacher pay climbs, but future uncertain Educators speak out after new plan announced By Crystal Anderson

canderson@colorado communitymedia.com A recent agreement between Jefferson County schools and its teachers’ union gives a 1 percent increase to all teachers, sets starting salaries at $38,000 and adjusts to that base level the salaries of existing teachers earning less than new hires. District officials describe the compensation plan as a market move intended to help Jeffco be competitive, equalize pay and help attract new teachers. But some teachers say the plan falls short. “This is not going to help us keep our veteran teachers,” said Susan Coveyduck, an eighth-grade teacher at Golden’s Manning Option School who has taught in the district 20 years. “One-thousand people are being helped at the bottom of the pay scale … that’s maybe 20 percent. The rest of us 4,000 are getting the 1 percent — we can’t get by on the 1 percent.” The district employs 5,400 teachers. On June 18, the Jeffco Board of Education approved the agreement, called a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), with the teachers’ union, the Jefferson County Education Association (JCEA). It addresses a compensation issue that’s been stewing since teachers agreed to a 3 percent pay cut in 2011 to help the district weather the recession. Before the 2014-2015 school year, teachers also did not receive any pay increases. “I think key to the whole story, this is

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the district and the teachers’ union regarding teacher compensation and the hiring of new educators states: * Initial salary offers for licensed staff with a bachelor’s degree will start at $38,000 with a 2 percent increase for each year of K-12 experience up to six years. * Those with master’s degrees will begin at $41,420 with the same increase. * New hires in hard-to-fill positions will begin at $44,840 with a 3 percent increase for each year of experience up to six years. * Current salaries will be compared with that of a new hire and raised to that level and/or paid based off of their evaluation rating. * Teachers rated highly effective and effective will receive a one-time stipend of 4.25 percent and 2.43 percent increase, respectively. * Teachers rated ineffective or partially effective will not receive a salary increase. the gift that keeps on giving,” Jeffco Superintendent Dan McMinimee said about the compensation plan. “There were multiple issues that were addressed many years ago in budget cuts that now we’re trying to strategically put dollars back into the system at the places where we’re going to get the most benefit.” In the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 budget cycles, the board has allocated approximately $20 million towards compensation with JCEA and the Classified School Employees Association (CSEA), in an effort to restore some lost wages. “Conceptually, what we’re trying to do is

AVERAGE TEACHER SALARIES ACROSS THE DENVER METRO AREA Jeffco Public Schools: $54,100.42 State of Colorado: $48,276.88 Neighboring districts: St. Vrain Valley Schools: $48,975.75 Boulder Valley Schools: $65,410.92 Cherry Creek Schools: $64,839.96 Denver Public Schools: $43,508.20 Douglas County Schools: $50,165.00 — Statistics from the Colorado Department of Education

not have people get jumped (salary wise) anymore in the first five years — that is demoralizing,” McMinimee said. “But that’s been happening for the last five years. I think the credit needs to go to our board of education for working with us and recognizing that we want to make sure that we are not having people get jumped anymore as other people come into our system.” Teachers’ union representatives did not return calls or emails for comment. Gifted and talented teacher Ben Hershelman, 32, said, at the moment, he is satisfied with his salary of $46,000 a year. “I haven’t had the same experience as everyone else has because I have experienced pay increases just about every year,” he said of his seven years with the district. Hershelman began his career at a charter school and saw an increase when he accepted a position at Ralston Valley High School. He also received an increase based on his performance rating last year.

Although the $38,000 base salary is attracting new teachers to the district, Hershelman said he worries about his family’s financial stability over the long term. He and his wife just had a baby. “I’d like a system where I could look three to five years in the future and see what my income might look like instead of waiting to see what my piece of the pie will be,” he said. “The question we have to ask ourselves is do we want to honor our teachers or not honor our teachers – we cannot feed our families with good will.” Under the evaluation system, teachers receive a yearly stipend ranging from 2.43 percent for effective- to 4.25 percent for highly effective-rated teachers. Those rated partially effective or ineffective do not receive the stipend. The amount is not an ongoing increase in salary. Overall, some Jeffco teachers say the compensation plan is providing little to no financial relief. “My salary has been so hurt by the recession and this board’s inability to give us relief,” said Coveyduck, who’s making $73,000 this year. “I highly support the new hire relief, but my 1 percent after taxes equates to an extra $35 a month … 1 percent is not enough. We have to be able to make ends meet.” Teachers with less than a decade of experience, despite highly effective or effective ratings, are seeing little to no increases in their monthly pay stubs, several teachers said. They say they are losing money rather than gaining it, having to work second jobs, skipping family vacations, and taking a deeper look at moving outside the district. “I received the highly effective rating Teacher continues on Page 16