Dear Board of Education,
We, the undersigned Jeffco Public School educators, call on you to stand with and invest in educators and settle the 2020-2021 JCEA negotiated agreement with a salary settlement that includes step and level movement at a minimum.

Thanks to federal dollars, and despite state funding decreases, Jeffco was able to balance its budget for this year. As we head back into a chaotic education environment this year, educators need to be compensated fairly for their work in these uncertain times amidst instructional as well as health and safety challenges that put our lives and our family’s lives on the line. Even though salary increases may require dipping into District reserves, we believe it is important to do so. Investing in the Jeffco front line now brings some stability to our district which remains in competition with those surrounding us. Other districts have made educator compensation a priority and we hope Jeffco will follow their lead.

We understand concerns about what happens next year, but with all the unknowns in our current environment, we do not believe we should make decisions based on worst case scenarios. Next year we will deal with whatever our financial reality is. There will still be reserves available to help next year, and there may be new federal dollars available as well. In any case, we will respond to the situation just as we successfully navigated the Great Recession over ten years ago.

We have done our best to step up and meet our responsibilities to our students and community. We ask you to step up and meet your responsibilities to your professional educators. We are still rebuilding our salary schedule from the damage done previously and many of us are making less than we did ten years ago with inflation and increasing health care costs. Additionally it is common for educators to work 2, 3, or even 4 jobs to make ends meet and many of us have lost that ability or have become primary earners for our households or families in the COVID-19 economic fallout. We cannot continue to balance the Jeffco budget on the backs of front line educators, especially in light of disproportionate increases at the central administration level, both in number of positions and salary increases.

Now is the time to truly pull together and be the “Team Jeffco” we hear so much about. We and our families deserve to be treated fairly and be compensated for our efforts to provide the best possible education to our students during this international pandemic.