In a rare move, classified employees are getting a higher percent raise than teachers in the Goleta Union School District.
Classified employees and teachers will receive a 3% salary raise. But classified employees will also get a .5% raise in employer contributions toward health insurance, which amounts to approximately $860.
“The cost of insurance has just gone up and up,” Mary Kahn, Goleta Union superintendent, told the News-Press. “And those who need it who take it through us was just becoming an insurmountable challenge.”
Classified workers are employees of the school district who do not require certification, such as teaching aides and janitors.
Classified workers have shown up to board meetings in recent weeks testifying that they can’t afford to live in Goleta. They say they need to work multiple jobs to make ends meet. In a show of support, the teacher’s union leadership backed a greater pay raise for their classified colleagues.
The Goleta school board unanimously approved the increase at its meeting a week ago.
“Goleta is proud to employ many of the best teachers and school employees in California, and we are committed to being a district where talented educators and staff want to work,” said Ethan Bertrand, president of the Goleta school board.
The resulting 3.5% raise meets in the middle of what CSEA asked for and what the district initially offered.
CSEA originally asked for a 4% raise — 3.5% for wages and .5% for healthcare — to account for higher rents and healthcare premium, while the district was firm in its offer of a 3% raise because it matched the 3% raise offered to teachers.
The original offer from the district didn’t satisfy CSEA labor representative Zachery Ortiz, who argued that a 3% raise comes out to a higher dollar amount for teachers than classified workers, and thus a “dollar-match” with teachers would be more appropriate.
Both the salary and healthcare raises will be effective July 1, 2026. The wage raise will also be applied retroactively to salaries for the prior school year.
Typically, the district offers the same percentage raise to its teachers as it does its classified staff.
But it decided to break tradition by adding a healthcare bump to help offset healthcare expenses for classified employees, who generally have lower salaries than teachers.
“It is certainly the exception, rather than the norm,” Bertrand said.
“Our staff is amazing,” Kahn said. “They’re the greatest asset for our district. We want them to be well compensated but we also want to be fiscally responsible.”
