Douglas County School District grapples with sta shortages

BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Douglas County School District is starting the school year down hundreds of sta , from teachers to bus drivers, because of a lack of competitive pay.

Compared to surrounding districts of similar size, Douglas County o ers some of the lowest salaries and hourly wages for teachers, education assistants and bus drivers, though not for a lack of appreciation.

School districts received an 8% funding increase from the state for the 2023-24 school year, but Douglas County lags behind in o ering competitive salaries and wages because of di erences in locally provided funding, Superintendent Erin Kane said.

“Over time, as our neighbors have passed mill levy override after mill levy override, their funding per student continues to increase,” Kane said.

Douglas County receives $1,167 per student through mill levy overrides, which is less than Denver Public Schools ($3,308 per student), Littleton Public Schools ($3,240 per student), Cherry Creek School District ($3,239 per student) and Je erCo School District ($1,910 per student). is year, by drawing down district reserves, Douglas County was able to raise starting teacher salaries from $43,680 to $45,209. However, other districts also raised their starting salaries.

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Cherry Creek School District starts teachers at $57,000; Denver Public Schools starts at $54,141; Je Co School District o ers $50,000; and Littleton Public Schools’ teachers start at $51,274.

One Legend High School teacher left the district on the rst day of school for a job in Cherry Creek, his colleague told the school board at the Aug. 8 meeting.

Several district sta voiced concern about the impacts of the sta shortages that night. Julie Crawford, a principal at Eldorado Elementary, said hiring over the summer was a struggle for schools.

“ e decrease in the applicant pool and the scarcity of qualied candidates have been deeply concerning,” she said. “Simply put, it is not that we have unquali ed applicants, it’s that we have zero