My name is David Corwin, and I am a proud teacher at Summit Middle School. I have spent nine years in education, four of those serving here in Summit and the other five in Denver. My wife, who is also a teacher, and I were thrilled to both land jobs in Summit County in 2019. We had always dreamt of moving to Summit County to live in close proximity to family and the mountains that we love. We knew that this would be our chance to join a tight-knit mountain community where we could settle and eventually start a family. 

Upon signing our contracts, we learned that we both would be taking significant pay cuts from our previous schools in the Denver area. Personally, this meant a 10% pay cut from my previous role in the Cherry Creek School District. During my four years here, my salary has further fallen 14.6% behind what it would have been had I stayed. For perspective using real salaries, Cherry Creek, a community with far more affordable living expenses, offers a current starting salary of $57,000 in comparison to Summit’s $50,000. 

Despite what has become a financial puzzle, we have taken the necessary steps — and second jobs — to make it work. For us, it’s worth it. Summit School District and this community as a whole have enhanced our lives tenfold. We feel so grateful to be surrounded by such expert teachers, passionate students and an overwhelming sense of community.

With the incoming Colorado Senate Bill 23-214 and $8.9 billion increase in education funding in 2023-2024, I feel hopeful about the future of Summit education. Now our district will have the financial means to better compete with other districts and attract other highly-qualified educators who also aspire to call Summit home — and, most importantly, keep them.