BAND-AID

FROM PAGE 1 got …It will not alleviate the need for (a mill levy override). It will not close the gap with other school districts, but it will be a great message to our teachers and to our sta .”

In the Denver metro area, Cherry Creek has already increased teacher pay for next year to $57,000 to start. Westiminster approved paying teachers a starting salary of $61,000.

Kane said the disparity comes from the di erences in local mill levy overrides. Douglas County’s mill levy amounts to around $1,150 per student, while surrounding districts, including Denver, Littleton and Cherry Creek, get more than twice as much per student from their mill levies.

“It is not because our district chooses not to pay our teachers competitively,” Kane said. “It is purely a funding challenge.”

Board member Elizabeth Hanson described the decision to give raises while still planning to ask voters for a mill levy override in November like “walking on a sword.”

“We need our teachers to hear that we’re doing everything we can to take care of them and we need our community to hear that we need funding,” Hanson said. “ is is a Band-Aid.” ate to severe injuries. e crash occurred on the road near mile marker 179, which sits near Territorial Road, according to a map created by a member of the public on the state’s website.

In addition to salary increases, the district is also planning to o er employees free lunch next year, discounted childcare and improving sta workspaces, on top of shortterm retention strategies approved in January.

Authorities suspected the man in the Toyota was driving under the in uence.

(Teal also noted a third death in recent months, seemingly from another fatal crash on the road in the area.)

One commenter at the town hall meeting felt that accidents are “a direct result” of increased tra c over the last 10 to 15 years.

“What is Douglas County doing to curtail the amount of development going on in the community, to mitigate all this increased tra c going forward?” he asked.

Douglas County Commissioner Abe Laydon responded that regarding growth, the county focuses on ensuring residents can get around. e project is about “ensuring you’re not stuck in tra c and that your roads aren’t dangerous,” Laydon said.

Open space also factors into growth, said Laydon, noting that county residents recently passed a ballot measure to ensure the county has nearly $300 million through 15 years for open space, parks and historic resources.

“We’ve been able to preserve almost 50% of our county as open space. at also includes Pike National Forest, but by us preserving land, that land (cannot) be developed,” Laydon said.

Kane said the plan focused on ways to keep existing sta .

“We absolutely need to recruit, but our priority is retaining who we have, so instead of piling all of our resources into making our starting pay $50,000 … we chose to put our resources into the people that we have,” she said.

Multiple teachers spoke at the meeting in favor of the plan and thanked the board for their e orts in supporting sta .

Lucy Squire, teacher and president of the Douglas County Federation, a local teacher’s union, said the plan shows the district values its sta and is working to be more competitive.

“It’s starting to feel like we’re being paid what we’re worth,” “ ank you again for working with us and for hearing our ideas. We’re moving in the right direction and I’m full of optimism and gratitude.”

Another teacher, Ann Fisher, said her school’s culture, values and sense of belonging keep her working in the district and she doesn’t want to leave, but nancial hurdles make it di cult to stay.

“While thinking of starting a family with my partner in the next year or two, I’m able to breathe a sigh of relief knowing that our district is prioritizing our teachers, sta and communities with compensation increases,” Fisher said. “I’m hopeful that I will not have to make the incredibly hard decision between starting a family and staying at a school that I consider a second home.” e entire board supported the salary increases and praised Kane and sta for their work on the proposal.