Hundreds rallied outside of the District 60 Board of Education meeting on Tuesday night, calling for change.
This comes after they voted to strike when a two percent cost of living raise was rejected by the school board two weeks ago.
"Enough is enough, enough is enough," teachers shouted at the rally.
Today on the #Education beat: At least 100 teachers, parents and students are here at the District 60 Administration building about to start picketing the school board meeting. @KOAA pic.twitter.com/ZHoGlBQt72
— Lena Howland (@LenaHowland) April 24, 2018
“The teachers are giving them a warning and they’re giving them a courtesy to let them know what’s coming," Shawnda Padilla, a parent said.
On the heels of South High School being forced to close for the day after an excessive number of teacher call offs, also known as yet another sick-out, hundreds came to ask the school board to listen.
“My biggest voice out here is not the two percent, it’s getting the respect, 19 years of experience and were not getting that respect," Jim Cain, a teacher at Morton Elementary School said.
Cain has been teaching 5th grade for 19 years at Morton Elementary School.
There are hundreds of people around the D60 admin building. The rain is not dampening their spirits. It looks like thr crowd is growing. @KOAA pic.twitter.com/K1CSkv8rYZ
— Carl Winder KOAA (@CWinderKOAA) April 24, 2018
“We can’t fully give those kids what they need when we don’t have the right technology, equipment, curriculum, we just don’t have the tools to be effective," he said.
Holding a sign saying "try walking a semester in our shoes," Ashley Trujillo will be a senior at East High School next year. She’s here fighting for better resources for her peers.
“We don’t get what we deserve, we don’t have enough books, we don’t have enough chrome cards, we don’t have materials and if we do have materials, the teachers pay for them themselves so everything in the classroom they buy," Trujillo said.
The district, forced to take notice in their standing room only school board meeting.
Standing room only left at the District 60 Board of Education meeting following the spirited teachers rally outside @KOAA pic.twitter.com/8VsEc9zqvr
— Lena Howland (@LenaHowland) April 25, 2018
"No one disputes that our teachers absolutely deserve more first and foremost our board of education absolutely doesn’t dispute that, we all want to give our teachers more," Dalton Sprouse, a spokesman for Pueblo City Schools said.
But in a district-wide email, Superintendent Charlotte Macaluso said there isn’t enough money in savings to cover the $1.7 million in salary that was called for.
Many of the teachers at Tuesday’s rally are planning on going to the teachers rally in Denver.
No word yet on if District 60 plans to follow suit with other districts in our area on canceling school for the day yet.
Because of another round of an excessive number of teacher call offs, Pueblo Central High School and Pueblo Academy of Arts will be closed on Wednesday.?
