(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Hundreds of teachers from Colorado Springs School District 11 (D11) walked out of class on Wednesday, Oct. 8, in protest.
The Colorado Springs Education Association (CSEA) union is seeking the restoration of a 56-year-old Master Agreement between educators and the district, which the D11 School Board dissolved in a 7-1 vote in December 2024.
Paul Blakesley, a social studies teacher at Palmer High School, spoke to FOX21 News on Wednesday about why he participated in the strike.
“I love teaching, and the best part of my job is working with my students, so it was a very difficult decision to come out here and not be in my classroom today,” he said. “Ultimately, what we’re doing is we’re fighting for all of our students, so that they have a great education every single day.”
Blakesley further explained that, “It’s about convincing the community that we need a change at the top of our leadership.”
An employee handbook replaced the Master Agreement, which teachers said gives them less control over working conditions and removes pay guarantees for educators.
“We don’t know why they’re striking… It can’t be about pay because they got a 10% raise. Teachers got a 10% raise last spring for this upcoming school year,” said Jill Haffley, Vice President of the Board. “It can’t be about benefits, because they have the best benefits in the city. It can’t be about planning time, duty-free lunches, those sorts of things, because we guaranteed those.”
“I think that is a little disengenuous; they know why we’re out here,” Blakesley said. “We are out here because they walked away from the table.”
“We have stated, over and over again, this is about more than just pay, this is about more than just some small incidents in the classroom, this is about the general tone of respect that is lacking in this district, particularly from the school board,” said Kevin Vick, president of the CSEA.
The protest took place outside several schools in the district on Wednesday, with teachers trading their grading pens for picket signs. Chants of, “When our schools are under attack, what do we do, stand up, fight back,” were heard as educators rallied for their cause.
The union represents just over 50% of the district’s teachers, and about a third of the teaching staff participated in the strike after 91% of CSEA teachers voted in favor of the action.
“This board is pro-teacher; we can say that until we’re blue in the face, but our actions back that up,” said Haffley.
“All of our schools, all of our classrooms should be places where every single student can come and learn, and unfortunately, this school board has decided that’s not what they’re about,” said Blakesley.
The Colorado Springs School District 11 Board of Education sent a statement in response to the protest and also thanked the educators who reported to work on Wednesday.
“Today, District 11 did exactly what a great public school system should do — we stayed focused on students. Every school opened on time, every classroom welcomed learners, and instruction continued without disruption. We also want to thank our administration and Superintendent Gaal for their leadership and commitment to maintaining a safe and supportive learning environment today.
On behalf of the Board of Education, I want to extend my sincere gratitude to every teacher and staff member who reported to work today. Your professionalism, dedication, and unwavering focus on students reflect the very best of who we are as a district. Thank you for showing up — today and every day — to move our schools forward and support our learners.
Our path remains clear. Every student in District 11 deserves the very best, and every day of instruction matters. We believe our educators are the key to student success, and the Board will continue to invest in them — supporting the learning environment and fostering high-quality education for every single student.
There is no other option but excellence. Together, we will keep delivering the education our students deserve.”
Board of Education, The Colorado Springs School District 11
Teachers were back in the classrooms on Thursday, Oct. 9.
All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by FOX21. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by FOX21 staff before being published.
