3A MLO update: district teachers some of highest paid in CO
A few things about growing opposition to Greeley District 6 3A MLO ballot measure.
First, check out Facebook page Citizens Against School Bullies.
Second, it’s been two weeks since I submitted a CORA request for specifics on 27 Greeley Evans District 6 administrators’ total compensation package. No information yet. Tomorrow (Monday) I will contact District 6’s attorney for a reason why I can’t get the information I requested.
And remember Tribune publisher Bart Smith’s naive dig towards those of us who want transparency:
Others who say they want more transparency show their lack of knowledge of how a public institution operates. School financing is an open book. Anyone who chooses can dive into the records and see how every cent is spent.
The district is not quite as cooperative as Smith suggests.
I will say that District 6 did provide teacher compensation information quickly. But it was to the district’s benefit to do so because the district and the Greeley teachers’ union went to mediation the day after I made the information public — a transparent PR move on the part of District 6.
Finally, an update about teachers’ salaries in District 6. While testifying in front of the Long Term Fiscal Stability Commission on Thursday, the Colorado Department of Education provided commissioners with various statistics about all school districts in Colorado.
Greeley District 6 ranks 11th in the state in average teacher salary at $49,905 (this does not include benefits such as health insurance and retirement both of which are quite lucrative). Districts ahead of us include Aspen, Summit County, Cherry Creek, Littleton, Englewood, Boulder Valley, Westminster, Arapahoe 26 J, Adams 12 Five Star and Mapleton. All of these are either from the Denver/Boulder metro area or wealthy mountain communities with much higher costs of living than Greeley.
I would be happy to pay a great teacher a six figure salary but it must be based on performance and product (student achievement) not longevity nor their own educational advancement. I’m not the only one who thinks K-12 is past due for compensation reform. Check out Separation of Degrees from the Center for American Progress run by John Podesta, Chief of Staff for former President Bill Clinton.
We cannot continue funding a dysfunctional system that serves the adults not the consumers, a.k.a. parents and students.
October 14th, 2009 at 7:05 am
Interesting information, can you did deeper into the data to see average tenure at our district vs. other districts? I also note from a web site that District 6 was the only large district, (almost only district) that made significant cuts in the 2008-2009 school year to personnel. We are down 81 positions. We also have a very high turnover rate compared to most other districts. I can only speculate, but I would guess that it is hard to attract new, young teachers to Greeley. Every industry looking for young professionals is struggling to bring prospects to Greeley. We probably have a generally older teacher base with ties to the community. 3A is tough, it feels a little like pouring money down a black hole, on the other hand, addressing our failing schools is Greeley’s only hope to get off the “death spiral” we are in. Throwing money at a problem is never a solution, but without adequate resources (as compared to other districts) surely there is little hope of improvement.
October 14th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
I have no idea about length of tenure but I’m sure that Roger Fiedler would be happy to provide you the information. I do know that not one teacher has been fired for “cause” in the last 5 years! Imagine having over 900 tenured employees and not letting one go for non-performance.
That being said, I have no love for the admininstration. Ask employees who have left why they go elsewhere. I’ve watched audiologists and speech therapists leave because the “hate” the administration. I’ve had to deal with central admin and it is a nightmare. From what I can tell, we have a toxic environment. No amount of money can change that.
As a mother with kids in the system, I am sick of a system that serves adults. It’s time to put kids first and that means changing how we allocate resources. Every dime must lead to student achievement and graduation rates. There is so much information about how do change if we have the will. But so many members of the Greeley “establishment” don’t want to change business as usual.
I know I am not making a bunch of friends with my position but I don’t care. I want kids to succeed. I don’t give a darn about the adults who have done little more than make a living off taxpayers money while claiming to care about “the children.”