DENVER — Negotiations between Denver Public Schools and the union that represents thousands of Denver educators have stalled as the current contract nears its summer expiration.
The school district notified the Denver Classroom Teachers Association that they had reached an impasse at the beginning of Teacher Appreciation Week.
"[The district] sent out a letter to all of our teachers saying, 'Happy Teachers Appreciation Week #WeLoveOurTeachers,' then two hours later, they sent us a letter saying they felt that we were at an impasse, which means that they didn't feel that either side could make any good faith efforts toward reaching an agreement," said Robert Gould, a DPS teacher and head of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association.
The union's current contract ends in August.
"We're trying to solve for challenges that our educators have at the workplace," said Gould.
Gould acknowledged that the negotiations have been difficult, but he said he can't make sense of why the district would opt out of the next few bargaining meetings and, instead, call in a mediator.
DPS declined an interview with Denver7 but did send a statement, saying in part, "The decision to move to mediation now is to allow us to reach an agreement with the union prior to the end of June."
- Read the full statement below
In the bargaining session on April 21, 2025, negotiating teams from Denver Public Schools and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association made proposals that had compromises and movement was made towards an agreement.
At the April 28 bargaining session, progress stalled. Per article 6-2-11-1 of the agreement, the next step is to move to mediation. Leaders from the District and DCTA had previously discussed the idea of engaging in mediation as soon as possible in order to complete negotiations prior to the end of June. At that time, DCTA leadership was receptive to the idea.
The decision to move to mediation now is to allow us to reach an agreement with the union prior to the end of June. DCTA agreed to four days of mediation, May 28 and June 9 - 11. Denver Public Schools and DCTA have had previous success using mediation including settling the current 2022-2025 agreement.
Denver Public Schools continues to believe that the parties can work together to reach an agreement before the end of June. In order to keep that vision, we look forward to continuing our bargaining through the mediation process starting May 28.
Both sides agree that the ideal situation would be reaching an agreement by June, so that teachers and families head into the summer with some certainty. The union said it is concerned that waiting until mediation is available is a waste of time and money.
"We could have used that time to knock off these little things," said Gould. "Why can't we continue to meet and work through this without having to pay a mediator?"
According to DPS, a mediator can cost $200 per hour, and the cost is split between the district and the union.
Gould said it is never the union's goal to strike, but they are worried about the negotiation's progress.
"That the strike happened because the district wasn't listening in 2019, and unfortunately, we're seeing a same pattern happening with a district in 2025. They're not listening. They're not offering solutions. They're not coming to the table in good faith," said Gould.
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