Torrance teachers make deal with district over salary health insurance costs

Teachers at Torrance Unified School District experienced a small win earlier this month when the TUSD School Board approved a tentative labor agreement with the local teachers union, the Torrance Teachers Association.

The deal provides teachers with a 2.23% raise retroactively effective July 1, 2025 in addition to a one-time payment of $1,500 to offset increased health insurance costs.

“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?”

The district will also be increasing the amount they contribute to teacher health insurance out-of-pocket costs by $2,000 starting in July 2026.

This agreement comes after teachers spoke out about how the over 40% increase in out-of-pocket health insurance costs for the 2025-26 coverage period has hit their take-home pay.

The district has attributed this to increased health insurance rates and the loss of a supplemental fund that they have relied on for nearly a decade.

The Benefits Discount Fund contained all benefit contribution money that was refused by employees and now, the once $8 million fund is almost empty. Officials have said this is 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 a 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.”

The $2,000 increase to contributions from the district will be the first time they have increased contribution cap since 2016. This will bring it to a total of $12,500. While this is quite an increase, it is still lower than contributions from comparable districts, with the closest contribution rate being $12,900 at Hacienda La Puente Unified School District.

TUSD has also historically been at the lower end of teacher pay in relation to comparable districts. This 2.23% raise, however, will bring it closer to the median salary teachers make at similar districts.

“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,” Baillie said in a written statement. “We believe that all employees should have competitive compensation and benefits, and that is handled through our confidential negotiation processes.”

Carlos Anwandter, TTA president and a history teacher at Torrance High School, said that while this agreement is a step in the right direction, it is not nearly enough. He said that even though TUSD has been chronically underfunded, reprioritization of funds could bring teachers pay up and health insurance costs lower.

“It’s not nothing and it’s an acknowledgment,” Anwandter said. “But we feel that there are things that need to be addressed.”

One cost to look at, according to Julie Shankle, executive director of TTA, is how much high-level TUSD administrators are paid.

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 we have administrators who make so much more money than a classroom teacher and who get raises that are larger than what everybody else gets, that can become problematic for this because we believe that we should all rise together,” Shankle said. “It’s not to belittle the work that administrators do, but it should be equitable.”

The good news, Shankle said, is that there will be a full renegotiation of the current contract come January and this gives them the opportunity to negotiate what is important to the teachers and other staff in the district.

And, according to results from a survey sent out by TTA, ensuring low-cost health insurance coverage for employees and their families is a top priority.

“TTA Negotiators and Leadership have made it very clear that we are returning quickly to address member issues, particularly out-of-pocket expenses for benefits,” reads a Dec. 12 newsletter sent out to TTA members. “TTA leadership set a short-term goal to fight for the individual employee to not have to pay out of pocket for benefits as we seek longer term solutions to the growing healthcare affordability problem.”

Other priorities when bargaining, Shankle said, are teacher agency and autonomy, providing workload relief and ensuring competitive compensation. The initial proposal will be presented at the Jan. 20 Board of Education meeting and will kick off the next round of bargaining.

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