Week of March 9, 2023
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DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
CastleRockNewsPress.net
VOLUME 20 | ISSUE 47
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SUMMER CAMP LISTINGS In this week’s paper!
Hansen calls boost in teacher pay a ‘Band-Aid’
Douglas County, Castle Rock to rebuild I-25 frontage road Safety concerns continue BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Cherokee Trail Elementary School teacher Leighanne Brown uses new literacy curriculum to teach her students the science of reading. The Douglas County School District is in the process of implementing three science-based reading programs at all elementary COURTESY OF DOUGLAS COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT schools this year.
More funding needed BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
In the hopes of gaining a slight advantage this hiring season, the Douglas County School District board approved salary increases for staff earlier than in the past, bumping starting pay from $43,680 to $45,209. Currently, Douglas County School District has one of the lowest starting pays in the Denver metro area and Superintendent Erin Kane said the district has struggled to attract and retain staff in recent years. During the Feb. 28 meeting, the Board of Education unanimously approved a proposed 3.5% base increase for all licensed staff, such
as teachers, as well as a 2-2.5% step increase, a 6% increase for classified staff and a 5% increase for administration for the 2023-24 school year. The increases will cost the district $22.5 million next year, which is likely be covered by the inflationary increase in funding from Colorado’s School Finance Act, Kane said. The state legislature has not yet approved next year’s school funding. Kane acknowledged the district approving raises before knowing how much funding the state will provide is a calculated risk, but one she believes is worth it to provide certainty for staff. “We know there is some risk, but we feel really confident that the School Finance Act will increase, certainly sufficient to cover the increases we’re proposing,” she said. “By proposing these increases now,
Dream Big Dreams...
we’re making a huge difference in terms of retention because we’re providing assurance and stability for our employees, so they will know what next year looks like.” The compensation increases being approved so early in the year may also help give the district an edge when recruiting new teachers, Kane said, since other districts have not finalized salary schedules yet. However, all school districts are expecting inflationary increases in state funding, which means Douglas County will probably not be the only district to raise pay. “Every school district will receive inflationary funding from the state and every school district will do what we’re doing,” Kane said. “We’re just going to do it faster. It’s all we’ve
Ahead of the opening of a new Interstate 25 interchange, a major road for residents in the south Castle Rock area will undergo upgrades in a project that comes amid safety concerns for the twolane road. “The reality is I think we were all brought together by the tragedy of the three deaths that we’ve seen in the last six months on this stretch of road,” George Teal, a Douglas County commissioner, said during a Feb. 28 town hall meeting about the street. Area residents had raised the idea of holding the meeting, Teal said after a question-and-answer SEE REBUILD, P7
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