The Compensation and Classification team at Cherry Creek School District plays a pivotal role in ensuring that our compensation practices are fair, competitive, and aligned with our strategic goals. This dedicated team is responsible for:

1. Market Analysis: Conducting comprehensive market studies to benchmark our compensation packages against peer districts, ensuring we remain competitive and can attract top talent.

2. Pay Administration: Developing and managing pay structures, ensuring equitable and consistent application across all employee groups.

3. Job Classification: Evaluating and classifying positions within the District to ensure roles are accurately defined and compensated appropriately.

4. Compliance: Ensuring all compensation practices comply with relevant laws and regulations, including the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act.

5. Pay Transparency: Promoting transparency by providing employees with clear information about pay plans, ranges, and job descriptions.

6. Best Practices: Continuously reviewing and updating compensation policies to reflect industry best practices and adapt to changing market conditions.

7. Consultation and Support: Offering expert advice and support to administrators and employees regarding compensation-related matters.

A compensation philosophy is a formal statement that outlines an organization's approach to employee compensation. It serves as a guiding framework for how the organization determines pay, benefits, and other forms of compensation. Overall, a compensation philosophy provides a clear and consistent approach to compensation that supports the organization's goals and helps attract, motivate, and retain talented employees.

Our Compensation Philosophy

Cherry Creek School District is committed to offering a fair, thoughtful, and market-driven total compensation package that aligns with our mission, vision, core values, and strategic initiatives. We aim to attract, motivate, and retain highly qualified employees who are dedicated to excellence in student education and operational support, fostering a thriving educational environment.

Our compensation program is designed to be logical, fiscally responsible, and equitable, ensuring that we maintain accountability to our stakeholders, comply with all legal requirements, and support the District’s long-term financial health. With recommendations from an external compensation consulting firm specializing in public school districts, we aim to position ourselves in the 50th percentile of our market peer comparisons: Adams 12 Five Star Schools, Aurora Public Schools, Boulder Valley Public Schools, Denver Public Schools, Douglas County Public Schools, Jefferson County School District, Littleton Public Schools, and Westminster Public Schools.

• Compensation policies and procedures are maintained and evaluated regularly to reflect industry best practices and market trends.

• In compliance with the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act of 2021 (C.R.S. § 8-5-101 et seq.), an employee’s base pay for positions classified as Certified/Licensed is set based on years of relevant experience and formal education. For all other positions, an employee’s base pay is set based only on years of relevant experience to the job.

• Pay transparency ensures that employees have access to comprehensive information about pay plans, pay ranges, compensation policies, and job descriptions.

Market-based pay is a compensation method that aligns employee pay with the current market value of similar positions. This method utilizes external data to compare pay rates for comparable jobs within the same industry or region. By conducting a thorough market analysis, organizations determine pay ranges that reflect the prevailing wage trends for each role. This approach ensures that compensation remains competitive, helping to attract and retain talent while maintaining fairness and equity.

To stay competitive in the metro-area public school district market, Cherry Creek School District regularly participates in market studies. These studies are conducted by Oehm Consulting Services, Inc., a respected Colorado-based firm with over 25 years of experience working with public school districts. As a third-party consultant, Oehm provides impartial market analyses and objective data. Their recommendations help us maintain a market-based compensation program that ensures we can attract and retain top talent while staying fiscally responsible.

Market Study Process

A market study is a systematic approach to collecting and analyzing data on wages and salaries for similar positions within a specific industry, region, or occupation. Conducting a market study helps you gain valuable insights into how your organization’s pay compares to others. This includes understanding pay levels, structures, equity, and trends, ensuring that your compensation remains competitive and fair.

Step 1 - Job Description Review and Revision

The job description is the primary tool used to evaluate a position and its pay range against the market during a study. Position incumbents, in collaboration with their supervisors, may review and suggest adjustments to their job descriptions prior to the survey. We recommend submitting all job description revisions and suggestions during the fall semester, before the scheduled market study for the position. The revised job description must be approved by the appropriate Administrator before it is submitted to the Compensation and Classification team in Human Resources for review and final revision. For more information about job description processes, please visit the Job Descriptions page.

Step 2 - External Market Analysis

The external market analysis starts with a market survey of metropolitan-area public school districts identified as our peers—those we compete with to attract talent. Our peer comparisons for market surveys are Adams 12 Five Star Schools, Aurora Public Schools, Boulder Valley School District, Denver Public Schools, Douglas County School District, Jefferson County Public Schools, Littleton Public Schools, and Westminster Public Schools. Depending on the position, data from other metropolitan municipalities, government institutions, and Employers Council (private sector) may also be included.

Data for similar positions in these organizations are collected to determine the market average. The position's current pay range midpoint (also known as "market rate" or "target rate") is used as the benchmark for market surveys because it represents competitive pay based on market levels. The midpoint, the average of the minimum and maximum of the pay range, is consistently used when matching positions to peers within our identified market group. This analysis is performed by a third-party compensation consultant who specializes in market studies with our peer districts.

The findings from the external market analysis guide the placement of positions within pay ranges on existing pay plans. If there is sufficient market data for a position, the analysis results are considered final, and no further action is required. However, if market data for a unique position is unavailable, the position is evaluated based on job duties and other factors against the internal classification structure and hierarchy.

This evaluation is conducted by the third-party compensation consultant, who compares job descriptions for other internal positions with similar scope and nature. This analysis is performed with an organization-wide perspective, not limited to positions within the same department or program.

Step 3 - Pay Range Recommendations

Once the position analysis is complete, the third-party compensation consultant provides an unbiased, data-driven pay range recommendation for the position. The guideline for range placement is a tolerance of plus or minus five percent (5.0%) from the average market midpoint based on the collected survey data. If the current salary range midpoint is within this tolerance, no pay range adjustment is needed, as the position is considered "at market." However, if the position's salary range midpoint is more than 5.0% below the market average, the position will be adjusted to an appropriate pay range within the tolerance.

Step 4 - Employee Pay Recommendations

The Compensation and Classification team carefully reviews each incumbent's current pay rate and years of relevant experience to determine appropriate placement within the recommended pay range. Employees are assigned a pay rate within the position’s pay range based solely on their relevant experience. Relevant experience is defined in each position’s job description and varies according to the job's unique duties, responsibilities, minimum requirements, scope of practice, and work conditions. If the recommended pay rate is lower than the employee’s current earnings, their pay will not be reduced and will remain at the current rate.

Step 5 - Employee Notification and Implementation

Recommendations from the third-party compensation consultant are carefully reviewed and analyzed by the Compensation and Classification team, alongside the Financial Planning and Analysis team, to determine the ongoing cost of implementation. This process involves applying the recommendations to the current position incumbents (step 4) and calculating the annual cost difference. Once these adjustments are approved by the Office of Human Resources and the Division of Fiscal Services, the individualized results will be communicated to position incumbents via work email. Employees are encouraged to direct any questions or concerns regarding their notification to the Compensation and Classification team in Human Resources.

Our Market Study Schedule

The market study schedule involves a regular review cycle where an organization refreshes market data and updates pay ranges for the positions in the study. This process ensures that pay ranges are aligned with market rates and the organization's compensation philosophy. These reviews are considered major structural evaluations for the positions involved. Recommendations from the market study are typically implemented at the start of a new fiscal year, provided that the budget and funding support the ongoing cost of base pay increases. The Office of Human Resources aims to follow this schedule but reserves the right to determine which market study groups are evaluated each year. This decision is based on factors such as market volatility and the needs for recruitment and retention.