Huntington Beach Trustees OK Pay, Benefits Increases

Huntington Beach Union High School District trustees have ratified contracts giving all district employees a 4.5% pay increase and a 1.25% hike in benefits.

The new one-year contracts for more than 1,200 employees, including 631 teachers, cost $2.5 million.

Trustee Dirk Voss cast the only vote against the agreement last week. Voss said that employees have done a good job but that trustees should delay a pay increase until they have long-range projections on how to save money for the district.

Voss said the district will use about $900,000 from its reserve fund to pay for the salary and benefit increases.

Assistant Supt. Susan Roper said the district has a reserve of $4.87 million, or 6.2% of its budget, after paying the salary and benefit increases. The district’s reserve is more than twice the reserve that the state requires of school districts, she said.

Roper also said the benefits increase pays only for rising costs of health insurance and doesn’t represent additional benefits.

Trustee Michael Simons held that employees hadn’t received a salary increase in two years and deserved a pay raise for doing a good job and being loyal employees.

Board President Jerry Sullivan said the district has the money for the pay increase “because it has managed well and is in good shape. I can’t see the bottom falling out.”