Sister of East High Dean Wayne Mason speaks out after Mason was struck in school shootingTom Hellauer
tom.hellauer@denvergazette.comTomHellauer
tom.hellauer@denvergazette.com
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Denver Public Schools (DPS) deans, who have not been unionized for roughly six years, are in talks to organize with the Denver School Leaders Association.

There are more than 120 deans serving across the district.

Moira Coogan, the association’s president, sent a letter last month to DPS Superintendent Alex Marrero informing him members had voted in favor of inviting deans into DSLA.

“Schools are not to blame for the increase in violence and cannot address the issue of gun violence and safety alone,” Coogan wrote.

Within DPS, the Denver School Leaders Association (DSLA) represents school administrators such as principals and assistant principals.

Coogan did not respond to multiple phone calls and emails seeking comment.

Unions give employees the ability to speak up without fear of retaliation.

Both the American Federation of School Administrators – a national labor union for administrators and a DSLA affiliate – and DPS officials have said the organizing effort for deans was not in response to two deans being shot in March at East High School.

“The catalyst for unionization of the Deans was not the recent shooting at East High School,” Bill Good, a DPS Board of Education spokesperson, said in an email to the Denver Gazette. “This has been an ongoing effort for several years.”

Deans were part of a bargaining unit until 2017 when former DPS Superintendent Tom Boasberg reclassified the dean job, said Rob Gould, president of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA).

DCTA represents nearly 4,000 educators throughout DPS.

“I think the administration did it to limit the union’s power,” Gould said.

With a stroke of a pen – Gould said – more than 100 dean positions were removed from the bargaining table.

Deans serve in administrative roles that support instruction, operations and school culture.

A new recategorizing effort of the district’s deans is underway, said Scott Pribble, a DPS spokesperson.

Because of this, it is unclear which positions will be eligible to unionize.

As of April 17, DPS had 128 deans employed across the district, according to a data provided to the Denver Gazette in a Colorado Open Records Act request.

With 29 unfilled positions, the district is short nearly 20% of its full complement.

Their average salary is roughly $65,800.

“No wonder you can’t find people for those positions,” Gould said of the average salary.

Before Jerald Mason and Eric Sinclair were shot at East High School, pay and benefits were the number one reason for unionizing, Gould said.

With a seat at the bargaining table, Gould said, the union could have “had a voice in the working conditions” for deans.

“Had these educators had a voice in the workplace they would have been able to advocate for what they need,” Gould said.

Gould added: “Unfortunately, it took this tragedy and the death of two students to finally allow this to happen.”