Educators believe that every public school should be a place with exceptional teaching and learning – whether it’s in a small town, the suburbs or a big city. Coloradans want all of our students to thrive and succeed, and public school educators are actually the experts on how to make that happen. The problem is our voices are too often dismissed and even disrespected in some circles. That’s why all K-12 educators absolutely deserve collective-bargaining rights.

Certain politicians and wealthy special interests opposed to public schools have chipped away at state education funding and then turned around to point their fingers at educators as the reason our students are struggling. What they conveniently ignore is that they’ve strapped schools with a more than $10 billion deficit in education funding through the last 10 years. That means students aren’t getting the education they deserve because educators don’t have the resources they need.

Even before the COVID pandemic, teachers and support staff didn’t have what we needed – and we’re still overwhelmed with excessive class sizes, outdated materials and paychecks that often don’t even pay the bills. Exponentially increasing workloads and bitter political vitriol over health, safety and history curriculum are causing intense educator burnout. There’s no surprise that the lack of funding, inadequate conditions and burnout has led to a critical educator shortage. As educators from across the state flee the profession, Colorado is struggling mightily to replace them.

Colorado educators know exactly how to stop the downward spiral of our education system – after all, we are the ones in classrooms, cafeterias, buses and schools every day, guiding students through academic and personal hardships. The public knows this – nearly three out of four Colorado voters voice positive feelings toward teachers. But instead of valuing the expertise and knowledge of educators, those seeking to radically change and privatize schools know the easiest path to destroying public education is when education professionals don’t have a voice.

The upcoming bill to extend collective-bargaining rights for all public employees must include public school educators because teachers and support professionals must have a seat at the table where conversations and decisions about students, schools and learning are taking place.

It’s worth remembering that our working conditions are our students’ learning conditions. So as part of a collective bargaining agreement, educators will be able to advocate for lower class sizes, physical-emotional-mental health support, updated materials and the other resources our students need.

Research shows that those covered by collective bargaining have higher wages and better fringe benefits than their peers. Because low pay is a significant reason talented people reject teaching as a career – and triggers many to leave the profession early – having collective bargaining rights will mean our schools will be able to recruit and retain the very best employees to educate our students, who are the future of Colorado.

If our state lawmakers are truly committed to providing a public education that provides children with the skills they need to pursue the jobs and careers they want, I urge them to honor the hard work and sacrifices educators make for their students and vote for collective bargaining rights for educators in all districts in the state. With a seat at the table and our voices heard, educators will have the ability to advocate for our students and our profession – and all Colorado students will have the schools that they deserve.

Amie Baca-Oehlert is a high school counselor and president of the Colorado Education Association, the voice of 39,000 educators, working together in a strong union to ensure all students get the exceptional public schools they deserve, in every neighborhood across the state.