Napa Valley Educators Salary Analysis for NVUSD Teachers

To earn over $70,000 a year, NVUSD teachers must complete 75 units beyond their certificate and degree as well as work 25 years full time. These units earned cost around $100 each or more and the average teacher uses time after school and during the summer to complete about three units a year. To meet CLAD, No Child Left Behind Act, Highly Qualified Teachers Act requirements as well as improve our schools’ API scores, teachers attend seminars and trainings during summers, evenings and weekends. Most teachers must demonstrate 150 hours of professional improvement every five years to maintain their credential.

For the last ten years, the district has contributed $296.88 towards health benefits. The teacher must make up the difference. The least expensive plan costs $354.69 for a single member, a single-plus-one costs $790.38 and a family costs $922.19.   The actual cost to a teacher for health benefits is respectively, $57.81, $412.50 and $625.31.  

Add this expense to what teachers pay for taxes, retirement, association dues and a new single   teacher takes home $2218.73 a month, a single-plus-one takes home $1542.16 and a teacher supporting a family averages $1329.35.  A single ten-year veteran teacher who has earned thirty units beyond their certificate and degree averages $2414.77 a month, a single-plus-one earns $2060.08 and it they have a family, they take home $1847.27.

The average cost for a single person to rent in Napa is between $650 to $1000 to rent, and for a family is $1200. To own can easily cost a teacher $2500 a month. Not too many teachers are buying houses.

A new single teacher renting a room has at most $1568.73 to cover monthly expenses and repay college student loans. A veteran ten-year teacher with a family is left with $847.27 each month excluding any daycare expenses.

The NVEA Bargaining Team is currently pursuing increasing the CAP for health benefits and the percentage for teacher’s salaries in order to attract and keep teachers in Napa.