Je co teacher’s union bargains for higher pay and more planning time

Feb. 1.

BY ANDREW FRAIELI AFRAIELI@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Compensation was one of the top bargaining priorities that the Jefferson County Education Association, the county’s teacher’s union, presented to the Board of Education, along with the need for more paid planning time.

“We need to respect educators as experts, and ensure their voices are centered when making decisions regarding learning and working conditions,” Brooke Williams, the JCEA president, said at the start of the Feb. 1 meeting.

Eleven members of the JCEA were in attendance, with Williams’ statement setting the tone for most of their points to the Board including that the need for more planning time was not just a matter of convenience for teachers, but the only way to better the District’s education.

“Even if teachers are receiving all their plan time (225 minutes per week) it is not enough,” part of the JCEA’s presentation said. Addressing learning gaps “are not going to happen on the y,” they added.

Board Vice President Susan Miller questioned how to analytically show that extra planning time was actually e ective.

“I would like to know, you said at the very beginning in bargaining, we’d improve student learning outcomes, and I’d like to understand how that happens,” Miller said. “Because I’d like to understand if we give more PLC time, if we provide more planning at the di erent levels, etc., what is the bene t for our children that we should be able to measure?”

Williams told Colorado Community Media that she “doesn’t think it’s any secret that teachers need time to make phone calls to parents, they need time to grade and they need time to prepare their lessons.”

She added that having enough time to also observe other teachers would be bene cial.

“We’re not asking for less time with our kids, we’re just asking that our planning time be protected,” she said.

Compensation was the other major topic of discussion. e JCEA said they feel good about the previous salary increases for this school year, but that, due to rising costs of living, “people are seeing whatever raise they got going away.” e union cited state-wide statistics from the Colorado Education Association that found almost 65% of teachers were thinking of leaving the profession, and that this shortage is negatively a ecting all teachers.

“Most of the time it feels like we are ghting just to stay even with where we were,” they added.

According to a survey by the JCEA, 61% of educators thought that higher compensation would help solve the issue of teacher shortages.

In connection with compensation, the JCEA also said teacher’s insurance had too high premiums and was so costly that their children were qualifying for medicaid.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous that I’ve lived in Je co for 13 years, and every year my two kids qualify for medicaid because I’ve never been able to add them to the District’s plan with my single income as a classroom teacher. It’s beyond ridiculous, it’s insulting,” said one comment the JCEA presented from their survey.

According to the JCEA’s presented schedule, they hope for bargaining to be nished by May.