In May, I was honored to be offered a position teaching science in Durango School District. My path back to teaching came after an unexpected career turn. For a decade, I conducted research to improve biology education, most recently as a research professor at the University of Colorado Boulder.
After losing my job because of grant terminations by the Department of Government Efficiency, I was excited to serve my community by applying my research insights to teaching at the Hub. But that excitement quickly faded when I encountered a compensation policy that may undermine the learning and earning potential of Durango students.
Despite two decades in science education – including seven years as a middle school teacher – and three advanced degrees, I was placed in the lower half of the pay scale. When I asked why, Superintendent Dr. Karen Cheser explained that teachers are placed only according to years of verified teaching experience, not degrees, graduate credit hours or other accomplishments. She added that this interpretation of the district’s Master Agreement means “no one has been placed as a teacher new to the district based on advanced degrees … and we will not set this precedent.”
This struck me as troubling. I could not find any language in the Master Agreement that explicitly supported the superintendent’s position. By creating a self-imposed precedent not grounded in the agreement, district officials have effectively set a policy that discourages the recruitment of highly educated teachers.
Consider my own situation. I hold a Ph.D. in Science Curriculum and Teacher Education and a master's degree in both biology and teaching. Under most salary systems, these would translate into hundreds of “points” and place me near the top of the pay scale. Yet because I earned them before joining the district, they count for nothing. Cheser confirmed that teachers accrue points only after they are hired – for professional development, committee work or additional credits earned while employed – not for advanced education completed beforehand. Realizing I would have to “redo” the education I already had to advance on the scale, I declined the district’s offer and began a new job search.
This raises another concern: What about teachers already employed in the district who also hold advanced degrees? If their credentials are similarly unrecognized, the district may be disincentivizing the very professional development it claims to value.
As someone who studies science education policy, I find this deeply problematic. Across the country, fewer college students are pursuing careers in education, and rural districts in particular struggle to recruit qualified science teachers. Research consistently shows that teachers with stronger content knowledge and advanced preparation improve student outcomes. To the extent that Durango saves money by ignoring teachers’ previous education, it does so at the expense of student learning in the long run. And because the district’s policy is “unique to Colorado – and beyond,” as Cheser acknowledged, Durango students are uniquely disadvantaged.
There is a constructive solution: reinstate the district’s 2019 policy, which recognized “earned undergraduate or graduate hours” when setting salaries for new hires. This approach is consistent with Colorado law, aligns with best practices in other districts, and would send a clear signal that Durango values both experience and education.
The timing is critical. With Durango teachers earning $11,500 less than the state average, drastic measures will be needed to attract highly educated single-subject teachers, given the current rural educational trends.
Research indicates that when students from low-income families form more cross-class relationships, such as those with highly educated teachers, they experience greater economic mobility. Paying teachers for their prior education would not only reward their preparation but also expand students’ horizons – helping them learn more and ultimately earn more.
Durango should be leading the way in valuing teachers, not setting a precedent that undercuts them. By recognizing previous education at the hiring stage, the district can both strengthen its workforce and provide students with the high-quality instruction they deserve.
Brian Donovan, Ph.D., is a Durango resident and award-winning teacher who recently turned down a teaching position at the Hub in DSD.
