Average teacher pay in California rose sharply again last school year, eclipsing six figures for the first time.

Districts paid teachers an average of $101,084 in the 2023-24 school year, an increase of 6.2% from 2022-23, new state data show.

Even with the significant pay bump, salaries barely kept pace with rising prices. Statewide, average teacher pay increased by about 31% between 2015-16 and 2023-24. By comparison, inflation rose about 30% during the same period.

Teacher pay was highest in Silicon Valley’s Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District, where teachers earned, on average, about $170,536.

A quick way to adjust pay for cost of living is to calculate the difference between the average teacher salary and the cost of the typically priced home. A teacher making $170,536 in Mountain View would have a hard time buying the median-valued home in Santa Clara County, which costs about $1.6 million at the end of 2024, according to real estate tracking firm Zillow. By that metric, many of the best-off teachers are in rural districts where salaries are relatively modest, but home prices are low.

Average teacher pay depends on several factors. Pay increases with seniority, so a district with mostly veteran teachers would tend to pay more on average than a district with more inexperienced teachers. Cost of living also plays a role, as districts in expensive communities must pay more to attract talent.

Among the 15 school districts with the most students in the four-county Sacramento region, the highest average teacher pay last school year was about $113,000 at the Roseville Joint Union High School District. The lowest average pay was about $83,000 at Woodland Joint Unified.

The average teacher pay at Sacramento City Unified was about $102,700 last school year, up 6% from the prior year.

It was about $94,600 at Elk Grove Unified; $90,900 at San Juan Unified; $95,100 at Twin Rivers Unified and $90,600 at Folsom Cordova Unified.

The salary data is taken from a form sent to school districts each year. Districts educating the large majority of the state’s students usually complete the form. The figures used in this story show the “average salary paid” line from the form. That line is “the average salary that is paid to an employee on the certificated salary schedule. The average salary is determined by dividing the total salary schedule cost by FTE,” an acronym for full-time equivalent teachers.

This story was originally published January 8, 2025 at 5:00 AM.

The Sacramento Bee

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Phillip Reese is a data specialist at The Sacramento Bee and an associate professor of journalism at Sacramento State. His journalism has won the George Polk and Worth Bingham awards, and he was a finalist for the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting.

A nurse practitioner with licenses registered in Stockton and New York who allegedly sold opioids and other addictive drugs to clients around the country is the subject of a civil lawsuit announced Monday by federal prosecutors in Sacramento.

In the lawsuit filed last week in federal court, acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith said Joan Rubinger traveled the country dispensing Oxycodone, Percocet, Xanax, Adderall and other drugs to buyers who paid on Venmo or with cash.

Using no physician as part of her practice and without examining any patients, she issued at least 900 prescriptions from 2019 to 2024, often communicating with buyers via text messages or on the app Telegram, the lawsuit says.

“Rubinger traveled from city to city, providing a range of services from intravenous flushes to prescriptions for controlled substances,” Beckwith said Monday in a statement.

Intravenous flushes involve the injection of saline solutions into a vein in order to keep it open.

Rubinger’s practice consisted of herself, a personal assistant and a billing manager, Beckwith said.

A phone number listed for Rubinger was not answered on Monday, and she did not immediately respond to a request for comment left in a message there. Federal court documents did not list an attorney for her, but records in both California and New York showed a valid nursing license in her name.

According to the complaint, Rubinger would send a menu of drug choices to clients, demanding payment upfront. In one message, she said that “just like at McDonald’s, you gotta pay for your burger before they hand it to you,” the complaint said.

To minimize attention from law enforcement, Rubinger would issue prescriptions in the names of friends and family members of her customers, the complaint said. In one case, a woman went to her regular doctor seeking legitimate pain medication only to find that her file had been flagged for overprescription after Rubinger used her name to provide drugs to the woman’s husband without her knowledge.

The lawsuit is seeking civil penalties against Rubinger and asking the court to prohibit her from selling controlled substances.

The Sacramento Bee

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Sharon Bernstein is a senior reporter at The Sacramento Bee. She has reported and edited for news organizations across California, including the Los Angeles Times, Reuters and Cityside Journalism Initiative. She grew up in Dallas and earned her master’s degree in Journalism from UC Berkeley.

Sacramento, CA (January 12, 2025) – Emergency responders were quick to the scene of a motorcycle collision at the intersection of Bannon St and Sequoia Pacific Blvd. The accident occurred earlier today, causing injuries to the involved parties.

According to local reports, the crash involved a motorcycle and at least one other vehicle. The incident prompted a swift response from Sacramento Fire and Rescue, who worked diligently to assess and provide care to the injured. Medics were observed assisting victims at the scene before transporting them to nearby medical facilities for further evaluation and treatment.

The circumstances leading to the accident remain unclear at this time, and authorities have launched an investigation to determine its cause. Traffic in the area was temporarily disrupted while crews cleared the scene. Our thoughts are with those affected by this unfortunate event.

Motorcycle Accidents in California

Motorcycle accidents remain a significant concern across California, a state known for its high volume of motorcycle enthusiasts and traffic density. In recent years, California has consistently ranked among the top states for motorcycle-related crashes. Factors such as heavy traffic, distracted driving, and roadway conditions often contribute to these incidents.

In Sacramento, busy intersections like Bannon St and Sequoia Pacific Blvd are known hotspots for collisions due to high traffic flow and frequent merging lanes. Motorcyclists are particularly vulnerable in these areas, as they lack the protective barriers that vehicles offer. Data from the California Office of Traffic Safety highlights that motorcyclists account for a disproportionate number of severe injuries and fatalities on the road.

After a motorcycle accident, it is crucial for victims to take the necessary steps to protect their rights. These include seeking immediate medical attention, documenting the scene, and contacting legal professionals who can guide them through the recovery and claims process.

For those injured in motorcycle accidents, understanding their legal rights is essential. Victims have the right to seek compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, and other damages resulting from the negligence of others. Moreover, insurance disputes and unfair settlement offers are common challenges that victims may face, making it vital to consult experienced professionals for support.

If you or someone you know has been involved in a motorcycle accident, taking proactive steps can make a significant difference in recovery and legal outcomes.

For more information or to receive help after an accident, contact Local Accident Reports.

As fire crews battle major blazes in the Los Angeles area, Northern California remains largely free of wildfire risk thanks to a stark contrast in weather patterns.

Recent months have brought normal to above-average rainfall to much of Northern California, while Southern California has entered an exceptionally dry period. Combine that dryness with an unusually strong Santa Ana wind event, and the fires quickly erupted.

“The lack of rain and anomalous warmth and dryness that we’ve seen in the past six months, we haven’t seen it in the record going back to the 1800s,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA. “Winds are the driver, but the real catalyst is this incredible antecedent dryness.”

Tens of thousands of Los Angeles area residents have been evacuated from their homes as the Palisades and Eaton fires spread rapidly across the Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Topanga, Altadena and Pasadena communities.

State fire authorities have reported five deaths and more than 1,100 structures destroyed by the blazes, which have burned more than 25,000 acres in two days. Those numbers are expected to rise.

Roughly two inches of rain is needed to saturate the ground and vegetation enough to significantly lower fire risk. But Los Angeles area received only a sprinkling of rain since April, leaving the region at 40% below normal precipitation, according to state data.

It’s a stark contrast to northern Sierra Nevada and foothill communities. After a reasonably active summer with with the Park Fire, significant atmospheric river storms from October through December led to above average precipitation levels.

Len Nielson, Cal Fire chief for prescribed fire, said the rain has improved for prescribed burns. He is tasked with meeting the state’s annual target to light out 100,000 acres of “good fire” that can help prevent uncontrollable wildfire events by clearing excess fuel in high risk areas.

About 48,000 acres have been completed in the period that will end on June 30.

“If you look at Northern California hillsides, they’re all nice and green because we’ve gotten winter storms,” he said. “In Southern California, where it is typically dry enough for catastrophic wildfire year round, the moisture is really low.”

Climate change is also an undeniable factor at play, according to scientists. Increased heat draws moisture out of trees, shrubs — a 2016 study found that climate change enhanced vegetation drying and doubled the number of large fires between 1984 and 2015.

A 2021 study supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration concluded that climate change has been the main driver of the increase in fire weather in the western United States.

Swain, the climate scientist, said the drastically dry air combined with strong winds are expected to continue fueling blazes. There is no rain on the forecast, he lamented.

“These fires will be burning for days, if not weeks,” he said. “The Eaton Fire and the Palisades Fire would be historic events individually. They will be something even greater together, and I am genuinely worried what the final toll will show in terms of human loss.”

This story was originally published January 8, 2025 at 4:46 PM.

The Sacramento Bee

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Ari Plachta is a climate and environment reporter for The Sacramento Bee. She joined the newsroom after reporting on water for the Los Angeles Times, schools for the LA Daily News and politics as a freelancer in Israel-Palestine. Born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, she is a graduate of UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy.

A dentist who formerly worked in California prisons sued the state earlier this month, alleging she was retaliated against after raising concerns that other dental professionals neglected patients and performed irreversible procedures without consent.

Lindsay Hathaway, a dentist based in San Luis Obispo County, filed a complaint in the Sacramento County Superior Court earlier in January against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation alleging she was unfairly terminated in November 2023.

“Dr. Hathaway was concerned about a segment of our population that does not have recourse, and that’s prisoners,” said David Graulich, Hathaway’s attorney. “They are really at the mercy of the whims of the dentist and the dental staff.”

A letter to Hathaway from the Department of Health Care Services indicates that she was fired after violating several CDCR policies. Those included falsifying timesheets, working for an independent nonprofit and failing to disclose a personal relationship with a department director, who left civil service before the investigation’s findings were shared with Hathway.

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In a statement, CDCR said it does not comment on pending litigation.

Hathaway began working for CDCR at California Men’s Colony in 2018. In the complaint Hathaway alleged that after attempting to improve patient care at CMC, she faced resistance from dental staff, who “were staunchly resistant to change.”

Hathaway alleged that her efforts resulted in defamatory accusations by support staff and a hostile work environment at CMC. As a result, a mental health practitioner placed her on medical leave in January 2020.

After her return, Hathaway was assigned to work in a non-clinic position in which she analyzed clinical records and evaluated the standard of care provided to patients incarcerated in prisons in Region III, which is based in Bakersfield.

Hathaway alleges that she documented dental malpractice, such as conducting tooth extractions without obtaining patients’ consent and improperly prescribing medication. She claimed dentists neglected patients’ acute dental issues that left them suffering in pain for weeks.

“There were situations where a procedure should have really been completed in one sitting because the person was suffering, and the dentist and the staff didn’t want to do it in one sitting,” Grumlich said. “They were running the schedule to their convenience and to suit their preferences, and not in terms of what was the standard of care for the patient.”

When dentists, whose clinical work Hathaway evaluated, learned of her reports, they responded positively and negatively. One wrote disparaging emails about Hathaway to dental management. Another wrote to Hathaway directly “to apologize for all of my bad actions,” according to the lawsuit.

In April 2022, an individual sent an anonymous email to CDCR, the governor’s office and media outlets accusing Hathaway and Morton Rosenberg, the statewide dental director at the time of having a sexual relationship. The email included photographs that allegedly showed the director’s car in the parking lot of Hathaway’s condominium complex.

Hathaway denied the allegations and requested CDCR’s Office of Internal Affairs investigate the email later that month. She moved out of her home in San Luis Obispo County out of fear for her safety, the filing states.

According to the complaint, Hathaway learned in November 2022 that she was under investigation by the OIA. Hathaway was placed on medical leave the following month, due to mental distress.

In May 2023, Hathaway learned that the OIA investigation found she had engaged in an inappropriate relationship with Rosenberg. The DHCS letter said photographic evidence of Rosenberg and Hathaway’s personal relationship was found on the dental director’s CDCR-issued cell phone.

DHCS also documented times and dates when Hathaway was working at her second job at the San Luis Obispo County Jail when she was on the clock for CDCR. Additionally, the letter stated she violated CDCR policy by failing to seek approval for working on a non-state related organization, Cat Land CA, a nonprofit that aims to help street cats. Grumlich said that Rosenberg was helping Hathaway run the nonprofit.

Hathaway denied all claims of CDCR policy violations made against her in the filing. She was terminated in November 2023. She appealed the decision with the personnel board the following April, which was denied in July 2024.

In the complaint, she stated that while she was terminated, Rosenberg was allowed to retire from CDCR with full pension and benefits in early 2023. Rosenberg’s LinkedIn profile shows that he left his role as the CDCR’s statewide dental director in February 2023, before Hathaway learned of the OIA investigation’s findings. Rosenberg did not return a request for comment.

Hathaway is seeking unspecified damages and requested the state cover her attorney fees.

The Sacramento Bee

William Melhado is The Sacramento Bee’s State Worker reporter. Previously, he reported from Texas and New Mexico. Before that, he taught high school chemistry in New York and Tanzania.