Union teachers in Denver decided they’re ditching students to demand higher pay and less focus on teacher performance with a vote to strike in the state’s largest school district as soon as next week.

The Denver Classroom Teachers Association announced on Tuesday that 93 percent of members voted “yes” to a strike, following in the footsteps of union brethren in Los Angeles who recently held education hostage for a week to leverage more money.

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Union boss Henry Roman claimed Denver’s public school educators “want to be in their classrooms,” but negotiations over a new DCTA contract that have dragged on for more than a year are now more important.

“We have reached the tipping point in our negotiations with DPS where we must stand up for our profession and for our students and do what is best to keep dedicated, experienced teachers in this district,” he said.

“They’re striking for better pay. They’re striking for our profession,” Rob Gould, the union’s lead negotiator said at a Tuesday press conference, according to NPR.

They’re also striking to reverse education reforms designed to “keep dedicated, experienced teachers” in schools where students need them the most. Teachers unions loathe any efforts to improve the profession by recognizing the best educators, relying on a union credit system that rewards years on the job and college coursework, rather than how well they actually teach students.

In Denver, voters in 2005 funded an incentive pay system to offer bonuses to teachers who work in challenging high-poverty schools, or those with specific skills that are hard to come by. Essentially, teachers in certain schools are paid based more on their performance and less on seniority.

The DCTA wants to reverse the improvements by shifting money from bonuses to base salaries and pay for professional development, though union officials haven’t gotten too specific about what exactly they want.

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Denver Public Schools, meanwhile, is outlining precisely what taxpayers are offering.

According to the most recent update on the DPS website:

In negotiations, DPS added $26.5 million to teacher pay, including an average 10% salary increase for teachers next year, as we worked to find common ground with the union on an agreement expiring Jan. 18. The union made few concessions, reducing their demands by $2.6 million.

Unfortunately, we were unable to reach an agreement by the deadline and the union has voted to strike. …

We are absolutely committed to doing everything in our power to prevent a strike and have reached out to state leaders to request intervention. If they agree, this could push back the start of a strike. We also have publicly asked the union to return to negotiations.

The $26.5 million increase comes on top of a promised $45 million the district has already committed to raises. The DPS proposal also increases tuition reimbursements and loan forgiveness; creates “a large salary bump” at 10 years of service; creates a pathway to $100,000 salaries; and “commits incentives for educators serving in our highest-poverty schools and our hardest-to-fill jobs,” DPS reports.

“Data show 72% of DPS teachers would earn at least one of these incentives.”

Denver Westword reports the DCTA is holding out for another $8 million.

DPS Superintendent Susana Cordova issued a video about the union vote to strike and promised to keep schools open for the district’s 90,000 students. She told NPR DPS plans to pay substitutes double their normal rate – up to $250 a day – to step up while teachers step out.

The strike could come as early as Monday, and she said the district is prepared.

Cordova also outlined expected increases in funding from the state that would allow the district to shift more money to teacher pay in the future.

DCTA didn’t bother to respond to the district’s call to return to the negotiating table, but it is promoting a DCTA Strike Fund on its Facebook page. The GoFundMe page has raised a little over $10,000 in the last week.

The DCTA strike threat comes just days after 30,000 Los Angeles teachers walked out on students for higher pay and increased staff. Picketing teachers linked arms with socialists and communists to block school entrances and harass “scabs” who sided with students over union interests. After more than a week of mayhem, officials with the union, city, and school district announced a new contract, though taxpayers have yet to learn how much it will cost them.