District staff outlines full cost of teacher pay and highlights $68M TRS liability share

District finance staff (speaker 5, Mike Waterman) gave trustees a breakdown of the ‘true’ cost of an average teacher and raised retirement funding as a structural concern.

Using an average salary of $69,392, the presenter itemized employer-paid health insurance (an illustrative $12,600 average), dental, $50,000 life insurance, workers’ compensation and employers’ FICA, plus retirement fund contributions (TRS/PERS). "The total amount that's paid by our general fund for that $69,000 teacher is actually $82,000," he said, and when employer FICA and other employer-side costs are included the total employer compensation example was presented as $94,812.

Waterman noted that teacher retirement is provided through TRS while other employees are in PERS; he said employee retirement deductions (a cited PERS employee deduction of 7.9%) can be surprising to hourly workers and may affect recruitment. He also told the board: "Our portion of that liability is $68,000,000," referring to the district’s share of a statewide TRS 30‑year shortfall staff cited during the presentation.

During public comment, the newly elected BEA president (speaker 2) urged the board and the community to protect defined‑benefit pensions and cautioned that shifting dollars away from pensions could harm employees’ long‑term stability. "It feels to me like we're getting to a point where we are on the razor's edge of failure," the BEA presenter said, framing the pension conversation as a long‑term funding and equity issue.

The discussion was characterized by questions from trustees and an overview from staff; no policy change or vote on retirement benefits occurred at the meeting.