Teachers ask TUSD to change priorities as health insurance costs rise

Teachers at the Torrance Unified School District already had one of the lowest salaries in the South Bay and among other comparable districts, but now their take-home pay has been hit even harder — as their out-of-pocket health insurance costs have gone up more than 40%.

The district and the local teachers union reached a tentative labor deal on Oct. 29 that, once ratified, would give faculty a retroactive raise and a $1,500 one-time contribution to help with out-of-pocket expenses. The deal still needs approval from the Torrance Teachers Association executive board and then the union’s members, as well as the Board of Education.

But even though union officials said the tentative deal represents progress, they still aren’t happy with having the shoulder heavy out-of-pocket insurance costs — which teacher say means they are losing money.

“I knew when I became a teacher that my salary wouldn’t be as high as other professions, but I always appreciated (the) good health benefits that I had,” Jamie Angell, a teacher at West High School, said during a recent school board meeting. “As a result of the insurance increase and no increase to the employer contribution, my monthly take home pay has dropped over $300. Should I have to switch to an HMO from the PPO and doctors that I’ve had for over three decades so I don’t have to have my annual salary decrease by over $3,000?”

That sentiment was shared not only by multiple teachers, but also TUSD service employees.

“How can we survive as employees with this rising costs of health benefits and a low salary pay,” said Marlene Ramirez, a cafeteria manager. “Did you know that for my family of three, I am below the federal poverty rate (with) what I make here at Torrance Unified School District as a manager/operator? I make $25,361 a year. Anything under $26,650 is below poverty wages.”

Isabelle Martinez, a math teacher at North High School, said that while health insurance rates across the state have been increasing, TUSD could have prevented such a jump in out-of-pocket costs with preparation instead of “creating a false sense of security.”

While health insurance rates have been climbing over the last decade, TUSD’s contributions to teachers’ health insurance costs have not. Since 2016, the district has capped health benefit contributions at $10,500 annually per individual, according to Julie Shankle, executive director of the Torrance Teachers Association. This amount is far below comparable districts, with the closest contribution rate being $12,900 at Hacienda La Puente Unified School District.

And to be fair, Shankle said, they didn’t initially need to increase their contribution. That’s because for years, TUSD has relied on a Benefits Discount Fund. All benefit contribution money set aside that was refused by employees would go into what ended up being an almost $8 million fund to subsidize employees’ out-of-pocket costs. But now, the fund is almost empty — and employees are responsible for costs they weren’t planning on.

The fund is almost empty, officials said, because of rising insurance costs. The district was putting the same amount of money per individual into the subsidy fund, but was also paying more to subsidize increased premium costs for employees. And since the district didn’t also increase the contributions to the fund, it started to run out.

“This year, however, the party’s over because three things hit us all at once,” TUSD said in video message shared with all employees in August. “Our $7.7 million fund is almost empty after years of subsidies. The EPO’s operating cost jumped 24% in one year. Finally, we had unusually high unexpected claims. Without that cushion left, we’re seeing the real cost.”

Each year, the collective bargaining group determines how any available funds can be used for benefits or salary adjustments, said TUSD spokesperson Sara Baillie.

“Unfortunately, the state is projecting significant deficits over the next three years,” she said in a written statement, “so difficult decisions are being made, focusing on what’s best for students and how we can responsibly meet those needs.”

Carlos Anwandter, TTA president and a history teacher at Torrance High School, said he understands that TUSD has been chronically underfunded, but he believes the district does have the resources to provide teachers with a salary equivalent to that of comparable districts if they reprioritize.

“We’re (TTA) actually seeking for TUSD to really take a hard look at all the programs that they have in place and look at the efficacy of those programs,” he said. “Programs that aren’t working as intended or are no longer needed; redistributing that money back into the central classroom.”

TUSD ranks eighth out of 12 comparable districts when it comes to teacher salary.

According to the TUSD salary schedule, a beginning salary, which requires a bachelor’s degree, is $65,097 and the highest possible salary is $122,300 for a veteran teacher with a master’s degree. In order for TUSD to reach the median salary for similar districts, teachers would need a 3% raise.

But this is not the case for high-level TUSD administrators. According to Transparent California, a public pay and pension database, in 2023 TUSD Superintendent Timothy Stowe had the highest salary out of not only similar districts, but also the entire South Bay, making $361,270 with $76,511 in benefits.

“Dr. Stowe,” Shankle said, “is the top paid among Hermosa Beach, Lennox, Manhattan Beach, El Segundo, Culver City, Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Hawthorne, Wiseburn and Inglewood.”

Another district in the region, Downey Unified, ranks first among similar districts for teacher pay, with a starting salary of almost $10,000 greater than Torrance, but its superintendent makes about $5,000 less than Stowe.

“When top administrators rank well above the median and faculty and staff struggle below the median,” Martinez said, “that shows the district has priorities that moves funds away from the classroom and deeply undervalues the staff on the front lines.”

Baillie, in response, said Torrance Unified believes in having competitive salaries for all employees.

“At Torrance Unified, we are grateful for the commitment across the organization to serving our students and developing the essential skills they will need to succeed in work and life,” she said. “We believe that all employees should have competitive compensation and benefits, and that is handled through our confidential negotiation processes.”

Baillie also said the district is working with TTA to reduce the health insurance out-of-pocket burden for teachers.

“TTA proposed an increase in the benefits cap to provide the individual employee with zero out-of-pocket expenses,” said a bargaining update from TTA. “The intent was to ensure that unit members would no longer have a de facto pay cut due to the increase in health care costs after last May when the benefits increase obliterated the salary increase. The District countered with an offer of $2,000 annually per unit member, increasing the cap from its current $10,500 to $12,500, effective July 1, 2026 (because the district cannot make adjustments to insurance plans mid-year). This proposal also allows for further increases to the cap to be negotiated in the Successor (bargaining) in the spring.”

TTA agreed to this. Both teams also agreed to a 2.23% retroactive salary increase and a one-time contribution of $1,500 that will reduce some out-of-pocket expenses. The TTA Executive Board will decide whether or not to approve the agreements.

“Is it enough? No,” Shankle said. “But it is a step in the right direction. We will continue to fight for more competitive compensation and benefits as this settlement still doesn’t get us to the median among our comps. The settlement shows a good faith effort to address the compensation/benefits issues that plague the district.We still have a long way to go. The fight continues because this is about shifting spending priorities in TUSD.”

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