Classified employees press board for benefit parity, SummerSaver; CSEA urges 'hold harmless'

At public comment and during an association update, classified employees and their union urged the Anaheim Elementary School District board on Oct. 9 to address what they described as inequitable increases in employee health‑benefit contributions and to consider programs to soften summer income shortfalls.

A CSEA labor representative reading on behalf of Maribel Fernandez said negotiations were “disheartening” and asked the board to extend a “hold harmless” for classified employees’ contributions to health and welfare. The representative said, “40% of our benefited classified staff are now facing an increase in the cost of their benefits ranging from 80 to more than 500%,” and contrasted that with teachers and management, who would begin the plan year with no contribution increase.

Public commenters amplified the message. Osmar Arias, a librarian at Betsy Ross, described summer financial pressure and told trustees a SummerSaver program would be "incredibly beneficial to all of our classified staff." Leandra “Dre” Vargas, an instructional assistant at Ponderosa, argued that classified staff form essential relationships with students and asked trustees to “have compassion and support us” in addressing benefit and pay concerns. Veronica Becerra, an LMA at Ponderosa, described extended hours that complicate securing secondary work and called for equity in benefits and a SummerSaver option. Longtime employee Ray Orgel urged the board to “implement the me too clause for classified.”

Board members acknowledged the concerns and asked staff to provide information through the Friday board memo and to consider future agenda items. Trustees and staff discussed sharing fiscal‑year special education funding numbers, textbook contract terms, and possible programs like SummerSaver or paycheck planners. No binding action on the CSEA request was taken at the meeting.