Salary Negotiations Between Teachers and Administrators

Sophie Sukendro

At the heart of every school are teachers who work tirelessly to shape future generations. Yet, fair teacher compensation remains a national concern. In the US, teachers earn 23 percent less than comparable professionals, heightening challenges in recruitment and retention. Low salaries exacerbate heavy workloads that extend beyond contracted hours without additional compensation—making burnout common.

This issue has now reached us here at OCSA. Ranked the number one public charter school in California, OCSA exceeds Orange County schools in most regards—except teacher salaries. Public records show that OCSA teachers earn, on average, 6.25 percent less than their counterparts at the school districts of Irvine, Huntington Beach, Tustin and Anaheim—with disparities reaching 13 percent in some cases. Teachers at CSArts-San Gabriel Valley, OCSA’s sister school, earn approximately 4.5 percent more than OCSA teachers.

Nevertheless, Chief Operations Officer (COO) Greg Endelman asserted OCSA strives to keep teacher salaries competitive. He highlights that OCSA “doesn’t set limits for years of experience,” unlike most districts that cap experience at seven years and favor “affordability over experience.” OCSA’s goal is to align teacher salaries with county averages, but numbers illustrate OCSA is falling behind. Responding to teachers’ requests for raises, Endelman cited limited resources as a key obstacle: “OCSA relies heavily on state funding and community support, which can limit flexibility despite the desire to do so.” 

In contrast, OCSA outperforms its counterparts in terms of administrator salaries. Compared to nearby districts, OCSA’s assistant principals and principals earn the most; the salaries of OCSA’s sixth-year assistant principals are greater than the starting salaries of principals elsewhere. Likewise, OCSA’s CEO and COO salaries resemble those of superintendents governing over dozens of schools. Endelman said that OCSA “deeply value[s] all employees [...] and [they] continuously explore ways to support them,” but Ryan Madden, OCSA teacher union (OCSATA) president and math teacher, urged Executive Management to back their words with action through fair compensation.

“Each year, OCSA and the OCSATA engage in collective bargaining to establish mutually agreed upon salaries, benefits and working conditions,” stated Endelman. Yet, after over 220 days without a contract agreed upon by both sides, Madden described the ongoing process as riddled with “countless meetings and broken promises.” He adds that Executive Management’s unwillingness to bargain demonstrates a “lack of respect for the collective bargaining process” and that “[teachers] are not a priority.” After a year and half delay, a salary offer came after OCSATA informed Executive Management of their decision to collectively exercise their right to a duty-free lunch, leading to the temporary suspension of many student clubs. Because of this delay, “teachers are feeling undervalued and staff morale is low,” shared English teacher Katie Rush. 

Madden warned that despite “teachers want[ing] nothing more than to continue working at this amazing school, the status quo is not sustainable; if OCSA’s management and Board of Trustees don’t start prioritizing teacher salaries in their budgets, student learning will suffer because we will start to lose the wonderful teachers that make OCSA the incredible school it is today.” 

According to Endelman, OCSA is “partnering with Edgility, an independent compensation consulting firm, to conduct a compensation analysis to help ensure fair compensation practices for all of our employees, including the academic teachers.” The results will be publicly reported at a future school board meeting. 

“We are advocating for a very modest salary increase [...] it’s not about asking for more than what is fair—it’s about keeping up with economic realities,” said Rush. When education is deprioritized, it shows that the profession responsible for cultivating the world’s changemakers is undervalued. Teachers are the backbone of educational institutions and by extension, society. OCSATA remains committed to working with Executive Management through collective bargaining to secure a fair contract that honors teachers' dedication and ensures they can continue providing high-quality education for students.