By 2020-21, when the seven-year phase-in period for higher rates ends, school districts’ pension contributions to CalSTRS will have more than doubled, from 8.25 percent to 19.1 percent of a teacher’s pay. This equals an average increase of $600 in spending per student for CalSTRS that districts otherwise could use for other purposes, according to calculations in a new study for the research project Getting Down to Facts (see graph). State contributions to CalSTRS from the General Fund, which were 4.5 percent of payroll in 2013-14, are projected to more than double to 10.8 by 2020-21.
