As much as Kristi Reynolds, a teacher at West Ridge Elementary, loves teaching in 27J, she simply cannot make ends meet on her salary. Ms. Reynolds is not the only teacher planning to leave 27J for a higher salary in another district.
The numbers tick by on the gas pump… $9.97…$9.98…$9.99…
Your hand is on the gas handle. You rush to stop it at $10. Ten dollars is all you can afford to put in your tank to go to and from work. You can’t remember the last time you filled your tank up to the brim without worrying about stopping the numbers.
Welcome to the life of Kristi Reynolds, a four-year teacher at West Ridge Elementary School in 27J.
When you step into Ms. Reynolds classroom, you wouldn’t know she faces the daily financial strain that comes from being underpaid. She animatedly teaches her third-grade students about equilateral triangles, and the energy in the room matches her own. The students are engaged, raising their hands; they’re excited about math.
Balancing passion and priorities
As much as Ms. Reynolds loves teaching at West Ridge, she simply cannot make ends meet on her salary.
“Teaching is a job where you have to be ‘on’ 100 percent of the time, which requires a lot of emotional regulation. It’s hard to meet my kids with a smile after their breaks, when I received calls from my bank, credit cards, and bill providers during that time,” Ms. Reynolds said.
After this school year, Ms. Reynolds plans on leaving 27J for a higher salary somewhere else.
“I just can’t do it anymore,” Ms. Reynolds said.
“I can make thousands more in another district. I’m devastated because I love it here at West Ridge. I feel foolish considering going somewhere else because I feel so supported and respected here, but I can’t keep living the financial strain that I am.”
Ms. Reynolds’ move to another district will impact not just her but her students and school.
“It’s challenging not to be emotional about Ms. Reynolds,” West Ridge Principal Amy Bruce said. “She’s a part of our community and our community will grieve when she leaves. There are a lot of Kristi Reynolds in 27J that we just can’t afford to lose.”
The problem is more common and worse than you think
Ms. Reynolds isn’t the only teacher in this situation. Teachers in Colorado earn almost 36% less than other workers with college degrees, the largest percentage in the nation of teacher pay penalty. The “teacher pay penalty” is the additional pay teachers miss out on by not going into another profession that requires similar training and education.
When you add in inflation and housing, teacher salaries have been far outpaced by the increase in housing prices and higher interest rates.
This problem affects school districts across the state, but 27J is in an even more difficult situation. Voters in 27J have not passed a mill levy override in more than two decades, which has led to 27J becoming the third lowest-funded district in the state and the lowest funded per student in the Denver metro area. Funds from a mill levy override are needed to increase staffing, compensation, and educational programs and services.
While 27J has not passed mill levy overrides, other communities have approved local tax increases to give their schools additional funds. 27J has fallen further and further behind other districts in things like offering robust programming and competitive salaries.
“If there was more funding, [potential hires] would more readily say yes to us,” Amy Bruce said.
“This school year, I lost a highly-qualified candidate in the interview process because of our salary offer. She met with a financial planner and said she was not going to be able to afford her lease on the salary we were offering her.”
27J principals have to sell the schools’ and district’s culture and values to hire and keep highly-qualified teachers, but culture doesn’t make the cut when bills can’t be paid.
Missing Ms. Reynolds
Alison Marlan is a parent of 27J who developed a close relationship with Ms. Reynolds when her son was moved to her class last year. She’s sad to see Ms. Reynolds go, but she also understands her situation.
“I hope our community can see the value of investing in their schools, even if they don’t have kids,” Marlan said. “Having good schools is good for property values, and a safer community, and we need to keep high-quality teachers in order to have good schools.”
The communities of 27J are growing rapidly, and teachers are left to navigate underfunded schools with an increasing number of students and needs–and all for less pay than they could get in nearby districts.
“Other teachers and I drive by all these new developments, and we think, where are these kids going to go once they move in the neighborhood,” Ms. Reynolds said. “We’re packed to the brim already with up to thirty students in each classroom, and still expected to provide a high-quality education.”
Sometimes, we forget the impact of what teachers do because they do it so well, and they do it with love for their work. Competitive compensation would allow Ms. Reynolds and other high-quality teachers in 27J to work and live in the communities they are an essential part of. Because teachers elevate all of us. #TeachersElevateAllofUs #TeachersNavigateOurWorld