ENCINITAS — The San Dieguito Union High School District recently approved an increased salary schedule for the district’s classified employees to align with the state’s new minimum wage requirements.
However, members of the Classified School Employees Association, or CSEA, said they want to see the district go above and beyond minimum wage for its employees, many of whom are struggling financially.
“This hard work and commitment should not go unrecognized, and so it saddens and disappoints me that classified employees like myself and within San Dieguito Union High School District are even here talking about minimum wages because let us all recognize that the work we do, it’s not minimal,” said Roberta Blank, an administrative assistant at Carmel Valley Middle School.
The 1.64% wage increase approved unanimously by the district board of trustees at its Jan. 31 meeting reset the lowest hourly pay at $15.50, bringing the district into compliance with state law. However, at that same meeting, over a dozen classified employees from across the district showed up to make public comments, urging the district to aim higher.
“We currently have employees that could walk from their site to a fast food restaurant and make more money,” district CSEA president Rebecca Cheeseman told the board of trustees late last month.
Naomi Diehl, a health technician at San Dieguito Academy, said the low pay makes it hard for employees to get by and results in lower interest from applicants.
“The results of us just meeting the bare minimum is that classified employees are getting less than what they need to feed their families,” Diehl said. “We currently have a massive shortage of classified staff. It’s causing a lot of extra work for our employees.”
The issue is especially apparent in the district’s transportation department, which has 49 buses but only 25 hired drivers. A staff member in the transportation department said the district offers free training to new drivers but that it’s not enough to get them to stay.
Other classified staff also pointed out that four of the district’s schools are technically located within the city limits of San Diego, which has a minimum wage of $16.30, and said staff at those schools should be making the minimum wage of that city.
District spokesman Miquel Jacobs said while the district’s sites span between the cities of Carlsbad, Encinitas, Solana Beach and Encinitas, school districts are only required to pay the state minimum wage rather than the minimum wage of the individual cities in which they are located.
“The location of which school is located in which city has no bearing on the aforementioned ‘minimum wage’ question as the City of San Diego minimum wage ordinance does not apply to school districts and other government entities,” Jacobs said. “For this reason, our Classified Employees Salary Schedule includes ranges that begin with the state minimum wage of $15.50.”
A separate 4% salary raise is also on the table for classified staff, their first raise since 2020. CSEA leaders said that while the 4% increase is the same percentage offered to teachers and other certificated employees, they make far more overall.
According to Cheeseman, the district spends an average of $5,100 per certificated staff employee and $2,500 per classified employee.
“I know it’s hard to compare apples to apples, and there are a lot of variables, but when I see those numbers, all I can think is, in the eyes of the district, a classified employee is worth half of what a certificated employee is worth,” she said.
In an email to The Coast News, Cheeseman added that CSEA has come to a preliminary agreement with the district, which will go to their members and the board for approval.
“We go back to the table next year and will be looking to continue to increase our wages and improve our longevity formula to attract and retain employees,” she said.
Trustees at the board meeting said they recognized the need for higher pay for classified staff.
“We can make a small dent in that tonight. I know what we’re considering is not nearly enough, but I’m going to be advocating in future meetings that we increase more than this,” said Trustee Michael Allman.
