Denver Public Schools announced Tuesday that it will implement a minimum wage of $12 an hour.
The decision impacts about 1,700 employees, including 500 foodservice staff, many of whom will receive a 33 percent pay increase. Their wages are currently $9 an hour.
A law recently signed by Governor John Hickenlooper—which leveled what employees are required to contribute to the state Public Employees’ Retirement Association—will return more than $20 million each year to Denver schools. The funds will be used to pay for the higher wages.
“All of our educators are crucial to the success of our students,” said DPS Superintendent Tom Boasberg in a statement. “From our teachers and our paraprofessionals who assist our teachers, to our cafeteria workers who serve food to our students and our custodial staff who clean our buildings and grounds, all of our people are important to our success. All of them deserve to earn a living wage.”
The policy change comes amid a national stir over hourly wages, stoked by labor unions, that has driven the minimum wage rise in cities like Los Angeles and Seattle substantially above state and national requirements. Recently, the University of California system announced that it, too, would raise the minimum wage for its employees, to $15 an hour.