Our District’s Future with STRS Increases
In the past, it was one thing while the rate for CalSTRS, the public school educators’ pension fund, held constant at 8.25 percent, to have our School Board oversee the only variable when our School District gave raises to its employees.
It will be quite another, though, now that there are two increasing variables to consider. The second is the annual STRS’ rate increase as mandated by the state. These state-formulated STRS increases will become even more glaring over time. Especially when the STRS increases start to march through the double-digit range of 12.58 percent in 2016-17 followed by annual increases to 14.43 percent, 16.28 percent, 18.13 percent, and finally 19.10 percent in 2020-21, where the rate is expected to stay until 2046.
High Rates Will Lock in
At that rate from 2020-21, school districts would be saddled with paying a 19.10 percent STRS rate for almost 25 years. Having to pay that much probably would leave little money in the foreseeable future for our District to pay for employee raises.
Promises Coming Due
But community members shouldn’t feel too sorry for the teachers’ apparent salary plight. Although local salaries raises may not progress as fast as the 16 percent they have in the past four years under Supr. Dave LaRose, these increases in future STRS payments still are going to the teachers — just not at the present moment. They are going into their retirement accounts.
Careful What You Wish for
Everybody needs to understand the impact that the STRS’ shoring up will have on local student spending: For every state-funded dollar spent by our District for the STRS funding, there will be one less dollar that never will make its way into the schoolroom–where student learning actually takes place.
Mr. Laase may be contacted at GMLaase@aol.com
