Most Pueblo taxpayers – and this editorial board – don’t begrudge giving teachers pay increases. But the big question is whether the Pueblo City Schools (D60) can afford to dip into reserves, as the board of education has decided to do in granting cost-of-living raises of 1 percent to union teachers and 2 percent to teacher assistants, retroactive to the recently ended budget year.

Even the modest cost-of-living increase, coupled with $50 monthly across-the-board increases for health insurance benefits, will cost the district an estimated $2 million this year alone, requiring the school board to dip into budget reserves.

In the future, the hit on reserves could grow, given the fact that the unions plan to ask for additional raises of 2.8 percent for teachers and 2.5 percent for teacher assistants in the 2017-18 fiscal year that began July 1.

Read more at The Pueblo Chieftain.