IB-2004-N (June 2004)
Author: Ben DeGrow
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Summary
Colorado school districts reroute many thousands of taxpayers dollars to the teachers unions every year, by granting paid release time for representatives to attend union activities and by financing union presidents and other officers to take extended leave from regular duties. This funding is done primarily through collective bargaining agreements but also through school board policies and administrative practices. Release time for union activities may include attending local union meetings or workshops, negotiating bargaining agreements, or sending representatives to the Colorado Education Association Delegate Assembly. Many school districts agree to pay a certain number of days per school year for their teachers to participate in these activities. The union either repays the district for the much lower cost of a substitute teacher or pays nothing at all.
A separate but related subsidy to the union involves paid leave for union officers. This practice includes granting extended leave to local union presidents (and another local officer, in at least two cases). In most districts where this occurs, the district pays the released teachers regular salary while the union reimburses a significantly smaller amount to the district. Some union presidents, who are performing full-time labor advocacy, receive advancement on the salary schedule as if they had taught in the classroom. Also, several districts have agreed to pay their teachers for days of service as officers in the state or national union.
