Negotiations Update

Negotiations Update

Update : June 3, 2005
On May 31, LCUSD and LCTA held a negotiation session. No agreement was reached at this meeting. The attached link provides a comparison of LCUSD's and LCTA's proposals status at this time. [Link to Report comparing the two proposals] [Link to Health and Welfare Benefit Example]
Community Negotiations Update - Updated on May 2, 2005

District negotiations with the La Canada Teacher's Association were held on January 11. This was a positive and productive meeting. Another session has been scheduled for February 10, 2005. Both parties will review and consider the current information and seek clarification in hopes of moving forward at the upcoming bargaining session.

Please continue to check this website for additional developements as they become available. New comparisons of administrative salaries of the Superintendent and Principals as compared to other school districts in Los Angeles County have been added to the previous links and comparisons of teachers salaries below to provide the community a complete perspective regarding the District's compensation of employees.

The District appreciates the community’s concern regarding these negotiations and the positive response received regarding our first internet posting on this web page. As promised, this information will be continually updated as we continue through the negotiations process.

The information that follows below is a combination of the previous posting as well as the original information which has been updated in response to the community’s inquiries.

Community Information and Background Regarding Negotiations with LCTA

In response to questions from the community, LCUSD provides the following information related to teacher salaries and benefits. New information is presented in italics.

Teachers’ Compensation

The LCUSD teacher salary schedule - excluding all employee benefits - ranges from $38,520 to $73,680. The current average teacher salary for LCUSD is $63,585.[Link: Current LCUSD Salary Schedule]

The current average teacher compensation including dental, medical, and vision benefits - excluding statutory benefits described below - is $71,878.

LCUSD pays 14.83% of salaries in required statutory benefits for retirement, worker’s compensation, unemployment, and Medicare.

The current average total teacher compensation paid by the District - including salary, medical, dental, vision and statutory required benefits - is $81,308.

LCUSD currently pays the total premiums for health and welfare benefits for the District’s teachers. The maximum cost to the District for medical, dental, and vision benefits is $10,407.50 per employee.

LCUSD employee benefits are vastly superior to national averages that include public and private sector employees. LCUSD employees pay nothing ($0) toward medical insurance premiums compared to the national average of $558 for single coverage plans and $3,695 for family plans. (Source: Employer Health Benefits 2004 Annual Survey, Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust) [Link to Kaiser's Annual Survey]

The cost of District benefits for all employees has increased from 20.6% of total salaries to approximately 31% since 2002 [District Benefits]

Each year, some teachers advance on the salary schedule, which is referred to as “step and column” movement. Step movement occurs based on a teacher’s number of years of service. Column movement occurs based on the continuing education of the teacher and taking more university courses. In the 2004-05 school year, 102 of 186 teachers received an increase in salary from step and column movement. The range of step and column increases was from $84 to $8,240 - not including the additional cost to the District for related statutory benefits.

Compensation Comparisons With Other Districts

A comparison of salary schedule and health benefits between the La Cañada teachers’ and those of other districts in Los Angeles County can be found on the following links:

A. Comparison of LCUSD teacher salaries (excluding benefits) with forty-seven other Los Angeles County School Districts. [Link to County Salaries ]

B. Comparison of LCUSD teacher compensation (salary and medical, dental, and vision benefits) with forty-seven other Los Angeles County School Districts. [Link to County Salaries and Benefits ]

C. Comparison of LCUSD teacher salaries (excluding benefits) with neighboring and with top-performing school districts in Los Angeles County . [Link to Top Performing Salaries]

D. Comparison of LCUSD teacher compensation (salary and medical, dental, and vision benefits) with neighboring and with top-performing local school districts in Los Angeles County . [Link to Top Performing Salaries and Benefits]

A comparison of the salaries between La Canada's administrators and those of other dsitricts in Los Angeles County can be found on the following links:

A. Comparison of LCUSD administrator salaries (excluding beneifts) with neighboring and top performing school district in Los Angeles County. [Link to Top Performing Districts Management Salaries]

B. Comparison of LCUSD administrator salaries (excluding benefits) with local school districts in Los Angeles County. [Link to County Management Salaries]

LCUSD continues to work with state legislative leaders to control escalating costs and to increase funding for schools. Information regarding how the state of California funds public schools is available through EdSource [Links: www.edsource.org, and www.ed-data.k12.ca.us]

Please continue to check the District website for additional information regarding negotiations. An update will be prepared and posted following each negotiation session.

Original site design and creation by Dave Schaafsma at Dave's Web Dynamics.