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Charter school leaders and educators press CalSTRS over denials of pensions for multi‑charter employees
Summary
Charter school leaders and several long‑time educators told the CalSTRS Teachers Retirement Board they are seeing retirements cut or denied when staff work for multi‑charter organizations, and urged the board to restore long‑standing practices and a transparent public process.
Members of California’s charter school sector and veteran educators urged the California State Teachers’ Retirement System board to reverse recent denials and benefit clawbacks that they say single out employees who work for multi‑charter organizations.
The speakers said CalSTRS historically treated charter employees like district employees for creditable service but in the last two years has “reversed course,” cancelling or reducing retirement credit when the same educator works for a second school run by the same charter organization. They asked the board to restore prior practice and to adopt a public process to ensure equal treatment.
The issue was raised during the public comment period before the board’s presentation of an economic impact study. Tim Robota, a director of education services at Pacific Charter Institute, said charter employees perform the same creditable services as district staff and “CalSTRS has unlawfully denied pension benefits” to some employees because they work for multi‑charter organizations.
Myrna Castrejon, president and CEO of the California Charter Schools Association, said her group represents nearly 1,300 charter public schools serving about 709,000 students and that for three decades CalSTRS accepted monthly contributions from charters. “Yet in the last two years, CalSTRS has reversed course and clawed back well earned retirement benefits for these public school employees,” she told the board.
Christina De Jesus, superintendent of Green Dot Public Schools, described a case in which a former Green Dot employee had a retirement benefit cut by 56 percent and said the employee was denied appeal rights by CalSTRS staff after nearly 20 years of prior service in district schools. De Jesus called the change “a betrayal of trust” and urged the board to honor what she described as longstanding internal practices and historical interpretations.
Tony Salina, regional executive director for Aspire Public Schools, and Matt Watson of ILEAD Schools made similar appeals, recounting long careers in public education and saying they and thousands of charter educators have paid into CalSTRS expecting those contributions to be honored at retirement.
Board members did not take action during the public comment period. The remarks were recorded as part of the public‑comment record; the board will need to determine administratively or by future agenda whether to open a formal review, revise staff interpretations, or undertake rulemaking.
Ending: Commenters asked CalSTRS to restore prior practice and to open a transparent, public process so charter employees receive consistent determinations of creditable service. The board heard the comments during its public‑comment period and did not vote on a specific response at this meeting.
