How much are Jeffco teachers paid?
Jeffco teachers are paid anywhere between $56,085 to $112,403 with an average of $84,392, 8th best in the 179 district state.
How much have teacher salaries increased over the past few years?
Between 2022 and 2025, Jeffco teacher salaries increased 40%, double the 20% rate of inflation.
What are the plans for the new MLO money? Will it be used to add teachers or reduce class sizes?
No. Right now the plans are for the majority of that money, 87% of the District’s share, to be used on salary increases already awarded and new salary increases.
Is it true that Jeffco needs to replace HVAC systems and roofs?
Of course. This is normal and expected. Replacing those items are part of the lifecycle of buildings. Just like homeowners have to replace their home heating systems and roofs on a recurring basis, those same items in schools need to be replaced when their useful life comes to an end. School districts need to financially plan for those known needs. And, up until 2 years ago, Jeffco allocated $30 million per year to be able to fund those replacements. Two years ago though, that funding was reduced 50%, or $15 million, to reduce the draw on Jeffco’s General Fund financial reserves as the Board approved a $68 million structural budget deficit.
What about the claim that 93 cooling systems need to be replaced by 2030 due to the banning of R-22 refrigerant?
This is an issue that has been known since 2010, 16 years ago. At that time the EPA banned the production of new systems that used the refrigerant R-22. That means that any HVAC system Jeffco has that uses R-22 is at least 16 years old. The production of R-22 itself was banned beginning in 2020. There is no ban on the continued use of HVAC systems using R-22 beginning in 2030 as Jeffco wants you to believe. Operational HVAC systems can continue to be used after that, although the replacement of R-22 in those systems is limited to recycled gas which will be increasingly hard to obtain and costly. So, Jeffco has known about this issue since at least 2010. Jeffco has also had approximately $900 million in capital funds available over the past 10 years to address this problem, including $108 million in 2018 bond premium and $63 million in ESSER III funds that could have been used for that purpose. Jeffco, through its own mismanagement chose not to address the issue. Incompetence shouldn’t necessarily be rewarded with more money.
