One of my favorite job duties as the superintendent of the Douglas County School District (DCSD) is visiting any one of our 90 schools. These visits bring a smile to my face and joy to my heart as I see the incredible work taking place in our classrooms.
However, these visits have also brought to light a common concern happening all across our district: losing staff members to neighboring districts. The reason? Money.
During a recent visit to Mountain Vista High School (MVHS), I had the pleasure of sitting down and chatting with Principal Rob Ceglie. Rob beamed as he discussed the importance of teachers, Mountain Vista’s robust career and technical education offerings, and more.
Then the conversation took a turn. Rob shared that he has been hiring teachers in our school district for the last 13 years, and this has been, by far, the lowest number of applicants he has ever seen. The reason? Teacher pay.
In DCSD, our starting teacher salary is $45,209, which is dramatically less than what neighboring school districts pay. In fact, Rob shared that he lost three teachers to a neighboring district this year. All three were very promising young professionals with one thing in common: they left our school district for a higher salary.
Rob said he had teachers in his office in tears, having to choose between a school they love and their livelihood. They had to make that difficult choice for themselves and their families. The truth is teachers are just like all of us; they want what’s best for their families. They are raising children and putting their kids through college.
When our neighbors right across the county line offer, on average, $20,000 more per year, how do our teachers say no to that kind of increase — especially when our average teacher salary is only $58,193? It is a very significant struggle for us. And it makes it hard to compete for the best teachers to put in front of our students.
This isn’t unique to Mountain Vista High School or even the Highlands Ranch area. This is a Douglas County issue that is impacting our entire 850-square-mile school district.
The School Finance Act and Property Taxes
Although Douglas County homeowners are seeing an increase in their property taxes, and our district will collect more locally, this does not increase funding for our local schools. Our total program funding is determined by the School Finance Act and is paid for by a combination of property taxes ("local share") and the state's general fund ("state share").
When the local share goes up, the state share goes down proportionally. Mill levy overrides, on the other hand, are over and above the allowance we get per the School Finance Act, and do have a significant impact on the district’s funding and ability to pay teachers.
For example, when my children were young, my husband and I gave them each a $10 weekly allowance. I am known to rarely carry cash, so some weeks, I would have only $3 for each of my children, and then their dad would add in the remaining $7.
Let’s say that the next week, I am able to give $6 to each of my children. They would collect the remaining $4 from their dad. While twice as much money came out of my wallet the second week, my children still ended up with the same allowance.
An increase in local property taxes has a $0 impact on total program funding. It just changes the balance of who is paying the bill.
This is truly a losing proposition unless our funding changes. We are losing our teachers, the ones who inspire and connect with our students every day. And in the end, it’s our kids who stand to lose the most.
Our funding in DCSD is at a critical point. Our Board of Education recognizes that and voted unanimously to place 5A (Mill Levy Override) and 5B (Bond) on the November 2023 ballot. For arguments for and against these measures, visit funding.dcsdk12.org.
