Denver Teachers’ Strike Ends after Three Days

A teachers’ strike in Denver, Colorado, finally ended following a tentative agreement between school district officials and the teachers’ union. In early February, more than 2,000 teachers in Denver’s public school district went on strike for three days. This resulted in some preschool classes being canceled, substitutes standing in for absent teachers, and the district losing over $400,000 for each day of the strike. The Denver Public Schools (DPS) and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association’s failure to find a middle ground on compensation caused the demonstration. Previous bargaining between the two parties had been unsuccessful before, pushing the teachers to go on strike until the DPS finally agreed to some requests of the teacher’s union. The final details of the agreement were not revealed. However, it was disclosed that the DPS would add $23 million in teacher compensation, which means increasing the base salary by 11.7%. Annual bonus for teachers in low-income schools would also increase to $3,000. The school district agreed to eliminate the bonus of senior school administrators and to cut back 150 jobs in the district’s central office to accommodate the budget for the teachers’ extra pay. Both the school district and the teacher’s union were satisfied with the results of the agreement. Many teachers were delighted by the outcome of the strike, with some expressing excitement over the salary increase. DPS Superintendent Susana Cordova also said that she was pleased with how the union and the school district officials collaboratively worked to reach an agreement. She added that the agreement would be an important investment in Denver teachers.