We are pleased to announce that we - Denver Public Schools and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association - have reached agreement on 2016-17 compensation, benefits and ProComp incentives for teachers and Specialized Service Providers (SSPs).
For the 2016-17 school year, the agreement will add an additional $7.6 million in compensation for teachers. If the district's proposed mill levy passes in November, there will be an additional 1.1% increase paid retroactive to the start of the contract year. That represents an extra $3.5 million in compensation, for a potential total of $11.1 million. Here's how it will work:
Base pay increases
For our teachers on the traditional salary schedule, you will be eligible for steps, lanes and longevity increases per our master agreement.
We were also able to clarify how certain ProComp incentives will be paid. We focused on maximizing eligibility for incentives that increase your base pay (as opposed to one-time bonuses). As you know, we needed to align the new Student Learning Objectives or SLO process to the ProComp provision for Student Growth Objectives or SGOs. We agreed that every teacher and SSP who participated in the SLO process will receive a base-building increase of $398.51 in September 2016. This includes our teachers with more than 14 years of service.
In addition, teachers and SSPs with 14 or fewer years of service will receive an additional $398.51 in base-building under the ProComp Comprehensive Professional Evaluation or CPE incentive if they received an Approaching, Effective or Distinguished rating on their 2015-16 evaluation. This is a one-year agreement that defines the meaning of "satisfactory" in the current ProComp agreement since that term is not used in LEAP.
As always, you also have the option next year to add more to your base pay by completing a Professional Development Unit or PDU ($797) or obtaining an advanced degree ($3,586).
Finally, if the district's proposed mill levy passes in November, you will receive a 1.1% cost-of-living increase. This applies to ProComp base pay and all incentives as well as to the traditional salary schedule. The district would retroactively pay, from the start of the 2016-17 contract year to December 31, 2016, a lump sum on Dec. 31 and begin regular monthly payments in January 2017.
You've heard from us previously how the district's bond/mill proposal could provide much-needed classroom supports, including more whole child supports, as well as learning environment enhancements (learn more
here
about what the bond and mill would mean for DPS students, families, teachers and staff).
Benefits
In order to help decrease family health insurance costs, the district will subsidize $62.50 a month toward the health care premiums for teachers and SSPs enrolled in a district health care plan that includes coverage for children.
We're also contributing $550 a year to the Health Savings Accounts or HSAs of teachers and SSPs who are enrolled in a district health plan. We will contribute an additional $200 to the HSAs of teachers and SSPs who stay up to date on preventive screenings and complete an online Health Risk Assessment.
In addition, the district will cover the 0.5% increase in Colorado PERA or Public Employees' Retirement Association contributions.
Changes to ProComp incentives
For a number of years now, we've been spending more on ProComp incentives than we receive that year from taxpayers. For example, in 2014-15, our expenditures were $44.5 million - nearly $15 million more than taxpayers funded. We were able to do this because in the early years of ProComp, the trust fund built up a significant surplus. The decision to spend more than we were receiving was intentional as we were trying to maximize teacher compensation during years when we had extra money in the trust. However, we have reached the point where we need to realign our expenditures with our trust revenue. This requires us to make other adjustments to the ProComp bonuses to ensure the long-term financial viability of the ProComp Trust funds.
As a result, the Exceeds Expectation bonus will not be paid in 2016-17. DPS and DCTA jointly made this decision because the bonus has been difficult to award with the change from the old CMAS state assessment to the new PARCC exams and because it was only available to the small subset of teachers who have state assessment growth data.
We will also continue to combine the Top Performing and High Growth incentives into one incentive. DPS and DCTA are working to develop criteria for how this combined incentive would be earned. We will have an update when you return in the fall.
We know these adjustments are difficult, and it was for that reason that we agreed to dedicate some of the proposed mill levy money to offset any potential changes to your compensation. On average, the increases to base salary will be higher than any decrease in one-time ProComp bonuses and will be permanent increases for your salary.
Next Steps
DPS and DCTA are currently investigating the next iteration of ProComp - we are committed to a better and simplified version of our current compensation system. The ProComp agreement has been extended from August of this year to Dec. 31, 2017 to allow those conversations to continue. DPS and DCTA will be engaging with teachers in a new ProComp exploratory effort throughout the summer and during the 2016-17 school year.
This agreement represents DPS and DCTA's ongoing commitment to supporting our teachers through compensation, and we will continue to prioritize you, as our most valuable resource, in ensuring that Every Child Succeeds.
We hope this news provides you with more clarity about your compensation for next year as you begin some restful and relaxing time off. Enjoy your summer!
Susana Cordova Henry Roman
Acting Superintendent President
Denver Public Schools Denver Classroom Teachers Association
