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Charter school leaders urge CalSTRS to reverse benefit denials affecting multi‑charter organizations
Summary
Multiple charter‑school leaders and educators told the CalSTRS board they are seeing denials or reductions of retirement benefit credit when employees work across multiple charter schools run by the same organization and urged the board to restore prior practice and transparency.
Several public commenters, representing charter schools and charter‑school advocacy groups, told the CalSTRS board that recent staff actions denying or reducing retirement credit for employees who work across multiple charter campuses are unfair and potentially unlawful.
Tim Robota, a 20‑year public‑school educator and director of education services at Pacific Charter Institute, said CalSTRS has “unlawfully denied pension benefits to employees simply because they work for a multi charter organization,” and urged the board to implement a public process so charter educators “have access to their full retirement benefits.”
Myrna Castrejon, president and CEO of the California Charter Schools Association, said CalSTRS had accepted charter contributions for three decades but in the past two years “has reversed course and clawed back well earned retirement benefits,” asserting that employees performing the same creditable service are being treated differently when their organization operates more than one charter.
Christina De Jesus, identified in the meeting as superintendent with Green Dot Public Schools, cited a case she said involved a former Green Dot employee whose retirement payout was cut by 56 percent and alleged that the member was denied appeal rights by CalSTRS staff. De Jesus said the reversal raises concerns about fairness, transparency and legal compliance.
Other commenters representing Aspire Public Schools and iLEAD Schools described long careers in public education and urged the board to ensure full service credit for charter educators.
Board members did not take immediate policy action during the public comment period. Staff and board members noted the concerns and will proceed through the statutory and administrative processes (including proposed rulemaking under AB 19 97 and related items) that were also on the agenda.
Next steps: Commenters asked for a public process and rectification of cases they view as wrongful denials; the board’s staff is pursuing regulatory updates and implementation work tied to AB 19 97 (discussed later on the agenda).
