Melendez to Be Hired Under Unusual Salary Arrangement
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| Waiting for Superman? |
Thelma Melendez de Santa Ana will be hired as Mayor Eric Garcetti’s director of education and workforce development, pending confirmation by the LA Unified School Board at its monthly meeting on Tuesday.“First and foremost, Mayor Garcetti wants to make LA students more career and college ready,” said Garcetti spokesman Yusef Robb. “That will require care and attention from Pre-K all the way through to adult job retraining programs.”
As KPCC’s Adolf Guzman-Lopez first reported, Melendez’s $140,000 salary will be paid by LA Unified; the City of Los Angeles will then reimburse the district for the salary, plus another $10,000 in benefits, plus 3 percent. The unusual arrangement, alluded to in the board’s meeting materials, must first be approved by the School Board — which could make for an interesting discussion.
Why the salary switcheroo? Because it will allow Melendez to remain in CALSTRS, the state pension system for certificated employees, including teachers and superintendents.
That may have been a sticking point for Melendez considering that a $140,00-a-year job in Garcetti’s office is quite the pay cut for her — she was making $265,000 over at Santa Ana, plus benefits.
“It’s a cost neutral way to help attract her to this position,” said Robb.
Melendez, 55, should have a number of years in CALSTRS under her belt, including time served as a teacher in Montebello and the superintendent of both Pomona and Santa Ana Unified. Pension benefits are a factor of highest salary earned, years worked, and age upon retiring.
So that means Melendez will, technically, be a district employee “on loan” to the city — assuming the School Board approves the arrangement.
Garcetti is likely to face a certain amount of criticism for the appointment, not so much for the pension gambit, but for the fact that Melendez is considered a “school
