D60 and teachers have deal before school year for first time in decade

This school year, teachers in Pueblo won’t have to wonder what their paychecks will look like.

District 60 and their teachers reached a collective bargaining agreement for the upcoming 2019 school year earlier this week.

This is the first time both sides have reached a collective bargaining agreement before a school year begins in a little more than ten years.

D60 says this agreement will help them retain teachers as well as recruit teachers to Pueblo.

“This is a clear indication of how much we value our employees,” said Dalton Sprouse, D60 Spokesperson. “We certainly wanted to reach this agreement before the start of the school year. We’ve done that in a healthy way.”

Under the new collective bargaining, the revamped schedule for teachers, nurses, and administrators’ salaries increase by more than 3.29% across the board. For some district employees these funds are meant to cover cost of living expenses.

Teachers that stay in the district will see a larger bump in salary year to year that will remain consistent. An increase in teacher salary by 2.2%, or an incremental increase of $1,350.

The minimum educator salary was also raised to $38,000.

“I think it’s a better schedule it’s a more consistent schedule,” said Suzanne Ethredge, the President of the Pueblo Education Association (PEA). “It gives us a much better base moving forward.”

Ethredge represents the district’s teachers during negotiations. She says having payment talks settled before the school year is a win for teachers.

“Not have an agreement before the school year is very frustrating for teachers,” said Ethredge. “It’s frustrating for them to go to work every day and have to pay money to outfit their classrooms, or to know their money isn’t where it needs to be.”

Teachers in Pueblo may have put the picket signs down last May when contract negotiations fell through, but strike still looms over contract talks. Ethredge says it definitely impacts how they approach talks this year and in the future.

Despite the district and teachers reaching an agreement, the PEA President says dialogue between the district and teachers has room for improvement.

“I would say it’s better than before the strike, said Ethredge. “Is it where it needs to be? Not quite yet, but we are continuing to work on it.”

Contract talks may have concluded, but that doesn’t mean both sides are entirely satisfied.

Ethredge says the teachers will continue to fight for community schools in district 60 during future negotiations.