As schoolteachers in Colorado prepare to stage a walk out this Thursday to bring attention to their demands for wage increases and better school funding, two Republican lawmakers have introduced a bill that would punish them with fines and jail time.
The legislation, sponsored by State Rep. Paul Lundeen and State Sen. Bob Gardner, was introduced this past Friday. It would prohibit public school teacher strikes by authorizing school districts to seek an injunction from a district court. A failure to comply with the injunction would “constitute contempt of court” and teachers could face not only fines but up to six months in county jail.
The bill, SB18-264, also directs school districts to fire teachers on the spot without a proper hearing if they’re found in contempt of court and also bans public school teachers from getting paid “for any day which the public school teacher participates in a strike.”
In an email statement sent to Denver’s ABC7 News, a Democratic challenger in Colorado’s gubernatorial race, Mike Johnston, labeled the GOP bill a “tactic designed to distract from the challenges facing Colorado’s education system rather than solving them.”
“Teachers across the country, from West Virginia and Oklahoma to Arizona and here in Colorado, are speaking up for themselves and their students. We need to listen to teachers now more than ever. This legislation attempts to silence their voices rather than working to address their concerns. As Governor, I will make sure that teachers are heard, not thrown in jail for exercising their rights.”
According to a spokesperson for the Colorado Education Association, the state’s Colorado teachers spend $656 of their own money for school supplies for students each year. Citing data provided by the the National Education Association, the average wages of school teachers in Colorado places it at a ranking of 46th among U.S. states and Washington, D.C.
A report issued by the Center for American Progress nearly four years ago revealed that the average base salary for Colorado teachers with a bachelor’s degree and 10 years of experience is $36,700 with the national average salary hovering at around $44,900.
The spokesperson for the Colorado Education Association noted that in four years there’s been little movement and changes to the facts of the CAP report.
Image via Colorado Education Association/Facebook