A Workforce That Stays Out of Loyalty, but Is Struggling to Survive.
A survey of 287 non-licensed Widefield School District employees (educational assistants, bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers, and office staff) conducted in January 2026 reveals a workforce under serious and compounding strain. Nearly 1,400 comments describe financial hardship, safety concerns, inadequate training, and a pervasive sense of being undervalued by the district they serve.
The message distilled from hundreds of responses came through in just five words: “I am tired of being poor.” Employees describe wages that don’t cover rent, working multiple jobs to survive, and watching new hires earn as much as or more than long-tenured colleagues. Yet 97% plan to return next year, driven by loyalty and community, a paradox that defines the district’s moment of decision.
The survey found that administrative support is the single most powerful lever for morale, explaining more variance than any other measured factor. But the data also reveals a workforce where one in three staff feel undertrained, one in three don’t know their grievance rights, and nearly one in three don’t feel supported by district administrators. Financial pressure and a sense of being treated as second-class employees appear in hundreds of comments, from veterans of 20 years and newcomers alike.
The Poverty Wage
Compensation · Pay Equity · Cost of Living
For many employees, full-time work for the district no longer covers the basics. Employees describe working multiple positions within the district to survive, comparing wages unfavorably to fast food workers, and, in some cases, relying on food stamps. Single parents describe the gap between salary and living expenses as devastating. The situation has become acute enough that some describe it as a matter of economic impossibility rather than preference.
| Pay Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Employees citing higher pay as top retention factor | 56% (157/282) |
| Average raise employees say would be fair | 8.7% |
| Employees requesting the maximum (10%) raise | >42% |
| Last year’s actual raise | 2.25% |
| Departing employees citing salary as reason | 58% |
Note: Pay questions drawn from the 46-question survey of 287 non-licensed employees, January 7–31, 2026.
Doing Teacher Work at Non-Licensed Pay
Educational assistants who deliver direct instruction, including running corrective reading classes, managing SPED paperwork, and handling behavioral crises, describe performing work that mirrors licensed teaching duties while earning a fraction of teachers’ wages. The disparity is felt most acutely by those who entered newer: without 15 or more years of tenure, the pay scale does not keep pace with cost of living. Some long-serving employees have watched their compensation fall below that of new hires due to how HR handles salary placements.
“EA compensation is not a living wage ideally, and the teenagers make more at the fast food places.” – Survey respondent
The statistical analysis found that employees with 0–5 years of service prefer pay models that provide larger flat dollar increases to help those at the bottom of the scale catch up, while veteran employees prefer percentage-based raises that reward longevity. This divergence means any single compensation approach will leave a significant portion of the workforce feeling the policy doesn’t serve them.
“Sent to Urgent Care”
Workplace Safety · Student Aggression · Crisis Training
Beyond financial strain, some employees face immediate physical risk. One classroom reported that every staff member had been sent to urgent care due to a single student, and repeated requests for help had gone unanswered by both building and district administration. Other employees describe a 50/50 chance that backup arrives when they signal an emergency. One in three employees says they do not feel adequately trained to handle situations where students become aggressive or unsafe.
| Safety Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Feel adequately trained for unsafe student situations | 66% |
| Do not feel adequately trained | 34% |
| Feel supported by building admin when students become unsafe | 85% |
| Do not feel supported (~43 employees in unsafe situations alone) | 15% |
“Every single person in my classroom has been sent to urgent care because of 1 student and when we ask for help or guidance with that student we don’t get any at all. Building and district admin do not seem to care that we are getting seriously injured.” – Survey respondent
Employees also expressed concern that the current CPI (Crisis Prevention Intervention) training makes it harder, not easier, to manage students in crisis, increasing the risk of staff injury. Calls for additional security personnel and more consistent, hands-on training appeared throughout safety-related comments.
The Respect Deficit
Administrative Support · Equity · Recognition
When employees were asked what would most improve morale, the most common answer was not about money; it was about administrative support. Nearly one in four employees who responded cited “better support from admin.” Statistical analysis found that administrative support explains 33% of the variation in employee morale, making it the single strongest predictor measured in the survey. Only 69% of employees said they feel supported by district administrators, meaning roughly one in three do not.
| Support & Morale Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Feel supported by district administrators | 69% |
| Do not feel supported by district administrators | 31% |
| Admin support’s share of morale variation (R²) | 33% |
| Morale improvement suggestions citing “better admin support” | 25% |
| Average overall morale (5-point scale) | 3.6 / 5.0 |
Note: 15% of respondents rated morale at 1 or 2 out of 5, indicating serious dissatisfaction.
The Longest-Serving Employees Feel Most Abandoned
The statistical analysis revealed a troubling pattern hidden in the data. Employees with 11–25 years of service showed significantly lower morale than any other group. New employees averaged 3.9 on the 5-point morale scale, but those with 11–15 years averaged just 3.3, and those with 16–20 years averaged 3.2. This mid-career dip suggests that employees who have given a decade or more to the district feel abandoned, watching wages erode while advancement opportunities remain scarce.
| Tenure Group | Avg. Morale (1–5) |
|---|---|
| 0–5 years (new employees) | 3.9 |
| 6–10 years | n/a |
| 11–15 years ▼ dip | 3.3 |
| 16–20 years ▼ lowest | 3.2 |
| 26–30+ years (near retirement) | n/a |
The mid-career workforce is the most at-risk and the most overlooked.
Employees with 11–20 years of service are past the new-hire enthusiasm stage but not yet close enough to retirement to feel locked in. They show the lowest morale in the survey and are precisely the employees who would be most costly to lose and most difficult to replace.
Among veterans with 26–30+ years of service, 90% preferred a straight percentage raise, a model that rewards longevity. But newer employees overwhelmingly preferred flat dollar or hybrid approaches designed to help those at the bottom catch up. The tension between these preferences reflects the reality that both groups are right about their own circumstances.
The Training Gap & Communication Breakdown
Professional Development · Grievance Rights · UKG Timekeeping
One in three employees said they have not been offered relevant training in the past year, one in three didn’t feel adequately trained when hired, and 40% said their co-workers are not being trained properly. Eighty percent said a mentorship program would be beneficial for onboarding new hourly employees, a signal that the current approach isn’t working. Employees also noted that professional development sessions fill up immediately, leaving many out, and that training is rarely tailored to specific non-licensed roles.
| Training Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Not offered relevant training in past year | 34% |
| Didn’t feel adequately trained at hire | 36% |
| Say co-workers are not being trained properly | 40% |
| Say a mentorship program would be beneficial | 80% |
Employees Don’t Know Their Rights and Fear Using Them
Thirty-two percent of employees were not even aware the district’s grievance policy existed, and 37% said they don’t know how to file a grievance. Of those who do know, multiple employees reported fearing retaliation, particularly when a grievance would be directed at a supervisor who is also part of the approval process. Several questioned whether grievances produce any result at all.
The UKG timekeeping system, applied exclusively to non-licensed staff and creating a visible two-tier workplace, generated its own complaints. About 29% of employees reported issues with the system, including 10% whose punches showed up outside the geo-fence and 9% whose times were changed without their knowledge. One employee raised a legal concern that the automatic 30-minute lunch deduction, when employees are unable to actually clock out and back in, may constitute wage theft under Colorado’s HB25-1001 (effective August 2025).
“Will not use because of the very real possibility of district level retaliation.” – Survey respondent, on the grievance policy
The communication failures extend beyond grievances. Twelve percent of employees who suggested morale improvements specifically cited better communication, and employees noted that information relevant to hourly staff frequently doesn’t reach them. The perception that non-licensed employees are excluded from decisions that directly affect them appeared in multiple comment themes.
Three Problems the District Cannot Defer
The Poverty Wage: Full-Time Work Is No Longer Enough to Live On
Fifty-six percent of respondents cited higher pay as the top factor that would keep them in the district, and the average requested raise was 8.7% against last year’s 2.25%. Employees describe wages that don’t cover rent, colleagues on food stamps, and single parents calling the gap between salary and expenses devastating. Long-tenured staff have watched their pay compressed below that of new hires. Among the 9% actively considering departure, 58% cite salary as the reason. The district’s voters approved a mill levy last year, and employees are asking directly what they received in return.
Sent to Urgent Care: Staff Are Being Injured and Feel Left on Their Own
One in three employees does not feel adequately trained to handle aggressive or unsafe student situations, and 15% say they do not feel supported by building administration when those situations arise. At least one classroom reported that every staff member had been sent to urgent care due to a single student, with repeated requests for help going unanswered. Employees describe the current CPI crisis training as inadequate and, in some cases, as making injuries more likely. This is not an isolated concern; it surfaced across departments and building levels and points to both a training deficit and an accountability gap in how serious incidents are managed.
The Training Gap: A Third of Staff Were Never Properly Prepared
Thirty-four percent of employees were not offered relevant training in the past year. Thirty-six percent did not feel adequately trained when they were hired. Forty percent say their co-workers are not being trained properly. These are not small margins; they describe a chronic failure of onboarding and professional development that affects roughly one in three people across every role and tenure level. Eighty percent of employees said a formal mentorship program would be beneficial, a number that reflects not just a desire for improvement but a recognition that the current system is not working. The training gap compounds the safety problem and the morale problem, because staff who feel unprepared also feel unsupported.
The Requests Are Direct and Specific
When asked what single benefit they wanted most, 93% of employees cited bereavement pay, the highest support for any item in the survey. Currently, employees must use sick leave or go without pay when a family member dies. The remaining requests follow a clear pattern: recognition of their work through compensation, formal support structures for new employees, and being treated as equal partners rather than a lower tier of the workforce.
| Request | Support |
|---|---|
| Bereavement pay | 93% |
| Mentor pay for hourly employees who train new hires | 88% |
| Formal mentorship program for new employees | 80% |
| Better support from administration (morale suggestions) | 25% of suggestions |
| Better communication (morale suggestions) | 12% of suggestions |
| More respect and recognition (morale suggestions) | 11% of suggestions |
Conclusion
The January 2026 survey of Widefield School District 3’s non-licensed workforce captured employees at a particular moment: still committed, still showing up, still devoted to students and colleagues. Morale averages 3.6 out of 5, not in crisis, but with 15% at the bottom of the scale and clear warning signs in every direction.
The data is coherent in what it points toward. Administrative support is the most powerful driver of morale and retention. Training gaps affect one in three employees. Salary compression is eroding the commitment of mid-career veterans. Safety concerns touch multiple classrooms. And financial pressure, including working multiple jobs, relying on food stamps, and watching new hires earn comparable wages, appears in hundreds of individual voices.
The question facing the district is not whether the workforce is loyal. They are, demonstrably. The question is whether that loyalty can continue to outweigh the material struggle to pay rent and buy groceries. As one employee wrote, crystallizing what dozens said in longer form: “I am tired of being poor.”
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