Denver Public Schools, teachers union reach tentative contract

Teachers in Denver Public Schools will have a new contract to vote on when they return to school in August, after their union and the Denver Board of Education announced a tentative agreement this afternoon.

The new deal would provide teachers higher pay with more time for for classroom planning and collaboration with other educators, according to a joint statement from the district and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association.

The proposed contract also provides more responsibility for school leadership teams, they said.

The three-year deal would allow teachers to earn annual experience and advanced-degree raises, and the school district would pay the 0.9 percent increase to teachers' pension funds.

The contracts also allows cost-of-living raises each year, if Denver voters approve a property tax increase on the ballot this fall. If passed, the mill-levy increase would give teachers a 1 percent raise for the upcoming school year, a 0.5 percent increase in the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 school years.

Teachers also can fatten their earnings t hrough the district's incentive program for meeting goals for students' academic growth, by earning professional development units. They also can earn incentive pay for their schools' overall academic performance, as well as for working in "hard-to-staff" schools, according to the union and district.

"Student-based bargaining keeps the focus on student achievement through the recruitment and retention of excellent educators and shared accountability among teachers and administrators," Melissa Verdeal, the union's vice president and spokesperson for its bargaining team, said in a statement.

The current contract expires on Aug. 31, and teachers will need to vote on the new one before then. The contract would take effect on Sept. 1 and expires on Aug. 31, 2015.

In the last three-year contract t eachers approved in 2008, they received a 3 percent raise the first year followed by cost-of-living raises plus 0.25 percent the next two years.

"We're very appreciative of the work and dedication of our teachers," schools superintendent Tom Boasberg stated. "They are the lifeblood of our schools, and this is an important investment in making sure we continue to have the best and most talented educators in Denver's classrooms to serve our kids."

Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com

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