Denver teachers seek clarity about their jobs if schools close

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At lunchtime meetings last week at Denver schools that may close or shrink, teachers were full of questions about their fate: Would educators at the closing schools be guaranteed jobs next year? Would they be able to follow their students to new schools?

Unlike in 2023, when Denver Public Schools made a deal with the teachers union to guarantee educators at closing schools a one-year job at the schools that received their students, no such agreement exists now. With the Denver school board set to vote Thursday on whether to close or partially close 10 schools, many teachers are feeling uncertain. Students are, too.

“I don’t think it’s right to close our school,” a fifth grader named Analizeth told school board members who visited Castro Elementary, one of the schools that may be closed. “It’s not fair to the kids or the teachers. We have built so many relationships with so many great people in this school.”

Denver Classroom Teachers Association President Rob Gould said the school district has declined this year to negotiate a memorandum of understanding for teachers at closing schools. The closures would affect about 200 educators, Gould said.

“Twice we offered to negotiate an MOU to ensure shared trust and understanding in the process for our dedicated and committed educators,” Gould said Monday at a school board public comment session about the proposed closures. “The district declined.”

But Denver Public Schools spokesperson Scott Pribble said in a statement that it’s unfair to say the district declined to negotiate an MOU. He said the district had “informal conversations” with the union about a potential MOU but did not receive a formal request to negotiate until Tuesday.

“We will respond within 10 school days as required by the collective bargaining agreement,” he said.

Denver Superintendent Alex Marrero proposed a plan earlier this month to close seven schools and partially close three more due to declining enrollment.

Castro Elementary, Columbian Elementary, Denver School of Innovation and Sustainable Design, International Academy of Denver at Harrington, Palmer Elementary, Schmitt Elementary, and West Middle School would be closed under Marrero’s proposal.

Kunsmiller Creative Arts Academy, Dora Moore ECE-8 School, and Denver Center for International Studies would be partially closed, with each school losing some grades.

District human resources officials repeatedly said last week that if the schools are closed, the district will follow the regular procedure for laid-off teachers spelled out in the union contract.

Teachers who have earned Colorado’s version of tenure and are unable to find another job on their own would be guaranteed a one-year position in the district next school year.

Non-tenured teachers would be offered a yearlong position if they teach special education, middle or high school math, or are bilingual and work with Spanish-speaking students who are learning English. All other non-tenured teachers would only be offered a one-year position if they enroll in programs to become certified to work in those hard-to-fill roles.

District officials promised that teachers at the closed schools would get priority to interview for open positions and help with updating their resumes and writing cover letters. But many teachers balked at that offer, saying that type of help isn’t useful.

The MOU from 2023, when the Denver school board voted to close three schools with low enrollment, said that if two or more schools were consolidated into one, the staff would also consolidate for a single year. That happened at Cheltenham Elementary last school year, resulting in what the principal called “a dream” of having an abundance of staff members to serve a consolidated school community where many students have high needs.

This year’s school closure proposal is more complicated. Instead of straightforward consolidations, Marrero has said he is striving to give families more choices by creating new enrollment zones to serve students displaced by the closures.

Enrollment zones are big boundaries that contain several schools. Families choose from among the schools in the zone. That means students from the closed schools would likely be more scattered, making it harder for staff to follow them.

This year’s proposal also includes what Marrero calls “grade-level reconfigurations,” which are the plans to shrink three schools by cutting some grades. Marrero doesn’t need school board approval to reconfigure schools, and Gould said nothing in the union contract addresses what happens to teachers who lose their jobs as the result of a reconfiguration.

Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org.