aced with declining enrollment, rising costs, and a desire to honor long-tenured staff, Salinas City Elementary School District (SCESD), chose to act strategically by implementing a Supplementary Retire-ment Plan (SRP) through Public Agency Retirement Services (PARS). The plan was designed to carefully balance fiscal pressure with employee morale and to open space for new staff in critical roles.

Working in a tight-knit district and community, Superintendent, Dr. Rebeca Andrade, inherently knew that the success of the plan would be dependent on the district leadership gaining support through transparency and collaboration with its bargaining units, placing an emphasis on the importance of fostering these relationships. To aid in these discussions, the district relied upon the PARS team to objectively present a comprehensive, complementary fiscal analysis to better understand the makeup of its employees and subsequent potential savings and operational benefits through a SRP. District leadership analyzed various offerings to pinpoint which approach would best serve its collective needs.

After thoughtful conversations with its labor partner leaders and staff, the District advanced the SRP to Board for adoption. With no mystery surrounding the plan, its benefits, fiscal and ethical impact on the district, it was evident that leadership had done its due diligence in presenting a solution that was clearly going to be a “win-win” for both the district and its valued employees.

“Fiscal health is not just about balancing budgets, it’s about building trust. By engaging openly with our labor partners and community, we ensured that every decision reflected our shared commitment to stability and respect for our employees,” said Dr. Andrade. “Our early retirement plan was not implemented merely as a cost-cutting measure, but a thoughtful opportunity to honor the dedication of our long-term employees while positioning our district for a sustainable future, aligning our staffing with new budget realities.”

Built on a foundation of trust and credibility, the SRP was a widely accepted and successful program for SCESD that will save the district a projected $6.9 million over five (5) years. Dr. Andrade noted that the resulting outcome “not only created savings but also allowed us to manage change with compassion. Our retirees felt celebrated, our new staff felt welcomed, and our district remained fiscally strong — a true reflection of our values and vision.” In fact, given the positive nature of the process, many retirees are already looking for ways to volunteer their time in retirement. This ‘deep bench’ with institutional knowledge to call upon is invaluable in a community like Salinas.

As local districts now face layoffs, that’s not the case for SCESD. By aligning fiscal necessity with collective values and workforce planning, SCESD avoided the pitfalls of abrupt cuts and instead crafted a transition plan that uplifted both long-tenured staff and incoming talent.

Similar to their approach with the SRP, SCESD leadership also worked with PARS to develop a Section 115 Trust to prefund their OPEB/retiree medical benefits liability. During its development, district leadership took the time and care to educate and involve key educational partners, fostering a district-wide shared commitment. After just one year of prefunding OPEB, the District has already exceeded the funding status of 50% of its total liability. Consequently, SCESD has put itself in a significantly stronger financial position, while protecting the future of its employees’ retiree medical benefits.