Fact check: Cary Kennedy on Colorado teacher salaries
Gubernatorial Candidate Cary Kennedy (D)
Two Colorado teachers unions—the Colorado Education Association and the Colorado chapter of the American Federation of Teachers—have both endorsed Cary Kennedy in the state’s Democratic gubernatorial primary. Raising teacher pay is a key component of Kennedy’s education platform, and she has claimed throughout her campaign, “We pay our teachers among the lowest salaries in the country."[1][2]
Is Kennedy’s claim accurate? Are Colorado teachers’ salaries “among the lowest in the country”?
“Among the lowest” is an imprecise measure, but Colorado does not rank in the lowest quintile of states for teachers’ salaries. Data from three credible sources, including one cited by the campaign, rank Colorado between 31st and 36th nationwide (including D.C.) for average K-12 teacher pay. Average salary ranged from $50,590 to $54,460.[3][4][5] Between 15 and 19 states pay teachers less, on average.
Background
Cary Kennedy most recently served as deputy mayor of Denver (2011 to 2017), and previously served as state treasurer from 2007 to 2011. She is vying with seven other candidates in the June 26 Democratic gubernatorial primary to replace term-limited Gov. John Hickenlooper (D). Ten candidates are running in the Republican gubernatorial primary.
Kennedy has made increasing education funding and teacher pay central planks of her campaign, as have several other Democratic candidates.[6]
Dissatisfaction over salaries prompted a teacher protest in Denver, at the state capitol, on April 26. Thereafter, teachers in the 17,000-student district of Pueblo went on strike May 7 for a 2 percent pay raise and better benefits.[7]
Some Colorado teachers say salaries have been stagnant because of changes to the state’s funding formula adopted by the legislature in 2010. The change, called the budget stabilization factor, reduced state funding across most school districts.[8]
Gov. Hickenlooper has also suggested lifting spending limits on education imposed by the 1992 Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR).[9] TABOR limits raising local property taxes, requires voter approval for property tax increases, and limits increases on school district spending.[10]
From fiscal year 2000 to 2018, total education funding from state and local sources increased by 32 percent. The student count in the same period increased by 27 percent.
In that same period, the state government's share of funding increased from 57 percent to 62 percent of total education funding, while local governments' share decreased from 43 percent to 38 percent.[8]
Teachers’ salaries
The Colorado Department of Education reports the average teacher’s salary in 2017 as $51,810.[11]
The National Education Association reports the national average teacher’s salary in 2017 as $59,660. That makes Colorado’s average about 14 percent less than the national average.[5]
The National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers union, ranked Colorado 31st in average public K-12 teacher’s salary, at $51,808 in 2017.[5][12][13]
The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports on average teachers’ salaries for public and private schools in all states and D.C.[14] (The data are broken out by grade level.) Salaries and national rankings for K-12 teachers in 2017 are shown below.[15][16] Colorado ranked between 32nd and 36th for average teachers’ salaries, from $50,590 to $54,460.[3]
Kennedy's campaign also referred us to a study by the Economic Policy Institute, which compared teachers’ salaries to the salaries of other college graduates in each state. Colorado ranked 31st in weekly wages for public elementary, middle, and secondary school teachers.[4][17][18]
Conclusion
Colorado Democratic gubernatorial candidate Cary Kennedy claims that Colorado pays its teachers "among the lowest salaries in the country."
Her claim is inaccurate. Salary data from three credible sources, including one cited by the campaign, rank Colorado between 31st and 36th in average teachers’ salaries.
Sources and Notes
- ↑ Chalkbeat, "Cary Kennedy ‘aligns with all of our issues and values,’ teachers union president says in endorsement," January 30, 2018
- ↑ Cary Kennedy 2018 campaign website, "Cary’s Plan for K-12 Education: Every Student Career and College Ready," accessed May 3, 2018
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Occupational Employment Statistics Query System," accessed April 22, 2018 (One occupation for multiple geographic regions-->Select Occupation-->State-->All states in this list-->Annual mean wage)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Economic Policy Institute, "The teacher pay gap is wider than ever," August 9, 2016 (Appendix C)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 National Education Association, “Rankings of the States 2017 and Estimates of School Statistics 2018,” accessed May 10, 2018
- ↑ Cary Kennedy 2018 campaign website, “Why I’m Running,” accessed May 10, 2018
- ↑ The Denver Channel, “Teachers in Colorado city of Pueblo go on strike over pay,” accessed May 10, 2018
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Colorado Legislative Council Staff, "School Finance in Colorado," April 2018 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "finance" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Colorado Public Radio, "Gov. Hickenlooper: Modify TABOR To Pay Colorado Teachers More," April 26, 2018
- ↑ Colorado Legilsative Council Staff, "Memorandum: The State Constitution and School Finance," July 7, 2009
- ↑ Colorado Department of Education, “Colorado Department Of Education 2016-2017 Teachers FTE And Average Salary,” accessed May 15, 2018
- ↑ NEA gets its salary data from state departments of education.
- ↑ NEA incorporates preschool and kindergarten data when those education levels are an integral part of an elementary school.
- ↑ Average teacher salary data from the Colorado Department of Education website closely align with data from BLS and NEA; the department estimated an average salary of $51,810 for the 2016-17 school year. Colorado Department of Education, "Colorado Department of Education 2016-2017 Teachers FTE and Average Salary," accessed April 30, 2018
- ↑ Note: Data does not include special education, career, or technical education teachers.
- ↑ BLS obtains its data from a survey of employers. For more on their methodology, see Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Technical Notes for May 2017 OES Estimates," updated March 30, 2018
- ↑ EPI analyzed pooled 2011–2015 Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group data provided by the BLS to arrive at their weekly wage estimates.
- ↑ Two states with higher weekly wages than Colorado's were tied; therefore, Colorado ranked 31st out of 50 states plus D.C. with 19 states paying lower wages.
Launched in October 2015 and active through October 2018, Fact Check by Ballotpedia examined claims made by elected officials, political appointees, and political candidates at the federal, state, and local levels. We evaluated claims made by politicians of all backgrounds and affiliations, subjecting them to the same objective and neutral examination process. As of 2025, Ballotpedia staff periodically review these articles to revaluate and reaffirm our conclusions. Please email us with questions, comments, or concerns about these articles. To learn more about fact-checking, click here.
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