I recently attended two Jeffco Schools Town Halls with members of the Board of Education. They both said the district faces estimated budget deficits totaling $140 million over the next three years, and voters must pass another tax increase (Mill Levy).
The proximate cause of Jeffco’s current budget crisis are the pay increases that the Board has given teachers. Between 2019 and 2023 compensation for Jeffco teachers increased by 44%.
We moved here from Alberta, where improvements in academic results preceded increases in teacher pay. But not here.
Before COVID, in 2019 46% of Jeffco 3rd graders were proficient in English Language Arts (ELA). In 2024, that improved to 48%.
In 2019 35% of 6th graders were proficient in Math. In 2024, that worsened to 32%.
In 2019 38% of 8th graders were proficient in Science. In 2024, that worsened to 37%.
Jeffco’s mission is “to provide students with a world class education.” Is this a world class education?
Despite these dismal results, for the 24/25 budget year the Board (whose five members were all endorsed by the teachers union) unanimously approved another 7% increase for teachers, including the one-time bonus they received.
So between 2019 and 2025, Jeffco teacher pay has increased by a shocking 53%!
What justified these pay increases?
Did higher teacher pay lead to improved academic results? No.
Perhaps higher pay attracts better teachers. But given Jeffco’s falling enrollment, that would require getting rid of some tenured teachers, which both the union contract and state law make nearly impossible.
Perhaps Jeffco teachers will leave if we don’t pay them more. But most other school districts give an incoming teacher salary scale credit for no more than eight years of previous experience. For many teachers, leaving Jeffco means taking a pay cut.
Perhaps without higher pay, Jeffco teachers will leave K-12 for the private sector.
But a recent study found that only 1% of classroom teachers leave the education sector each year, and few significantly improve their pay and pension (see After School: An Examination of the Career Paths and Earnings of Former Teachers, by Brummet et al).
After reviewing this information, I asked each Board Directors to explain why they keep increasing teacher pay.
Here’s what they said: “We compared Jeffco teacher salaries to other districts, and since they were lower than some, we gave them an increase.”
That’s it. Incredible.
Tom Coyn, Lakewood
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