Denver Public Schools raises minimum wage for paraprofessionals to $20 per hour

[Nittersing]

https://www.denverpost.com/2022/07/28/denver-public-schools-minimum-wage-hike/

Denver Public Schools announced Thursday that the district will begin paying paraprofessionals at least $20 per hour next month and that it plans to increase the minimum wage for all employees to that rate by the 2024-25 school year.

The wage hikes come after DPS employees and parents rallied this summer, asking the state’s largest school district to raise the minimum wage for its workers to $20 an hour.

“That was what we wanted,” said Carolina Galvan, a paraprofessional at Valdez Elementary, about the raises, adding, “Now we see that the district is really focusing on us.”

DPS previously paid paraprofessionals, who provide support in classrooms, $15.87 per hour, which employees said was not enough to make ends meet, especially amid inflation and soaring housing costs.

[MichMan]

1. Its a start,but needs to be raised to $50 per hour