Academy District 20 considering changing formula that evaluates teacher pay
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - According to Academy District 20, teacher and staff pay has risen 19 percent over the last two years. The District also said they expect pay to increase an extra five to six percent in the next school year to keep up with inflation, for a total of a 25 percent raise in base pay.
However, according to teachers in the district, they're still struggling to make ends meet.
"We have staff in our district who are working full time and utilizing SNAP benefits," Avalon Manly, the Co-President of the Academy Education Association said.
Manly is a teacher in the district and says she works two jobs and sixty hours a week to afford to live in the district. However, she says her involvement in Thursday's board meeting has less to do with pay, and more to do with equity.
"This isn't about biting the hand that feeds," Manly said. "This is about, we have money in our reserves. We have an upper administration here at the EEOC where we can make cuts, right? Like we have things we can do with our money in our district to do better. And one of those things is revising this policy. It's not a silver bullet. It won't have an immediate significant impact on people's lives."
The D20 policy Manly is describing is policy EL 2.7. She's asking for something the board is already considering doing, evaluating salaries for all positions including administration as compared with a determined geographical region that includes El Paso County and beyond.
District 20 already pays their employees salaries comparable to the upper fourth quartile in the district.
The current policy determines the salary base for teachers and administrative staff using average pay gathered from different geographical regions. The revision, among other things, would change that geographical region to the same area.
“Academy District 20 is proud to be a destination district, dedicated to supporting our staff. Over the past three school years, our team has focused on staff compensation, ensuring appropriate pay increases annually. In 2022-2023, teachers received a 10% pay increase, and in 2023-2024, teachers received a nine percent pay increase. These pay increases are highly impacted by the amount of funding approved by the Colorado State Legislature each year.
Looking ahead to next school year, D20 projects achieving between five and six percent pay increases for staff, pending changes to the state funding formula, which is not yet finalized.
Over a three-year period, these pay increases for teachers will reach nearly 25 percent, which is a point of pride for the entire Academy District 20 team.
Moving forward, we will continue employing an intense focus on staff compensation with the goal of ensuring D20 can continue to achieve our mission of educating and inspiring students to thrive.”
- Statement from District 20
The revision to the policy evaluating teacher's pay will go to vote in May.
