CAUSE ADVISORY
Certificated Retirement Appointments w/ CUSD
Be warned.
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CUSD Employees Considering Retirement:
Union Leadership cautions all employees currently considering retirement, to consider the District’s recent email (see below) with caution.
Although employees would hope that CUSD’s Human Resource Department is acting in employee’ best interest; that assumption would be incorrect. CUSD’s Human Resource Department does not exist to serve the best interests of employees. Rather, the mission of the HR Department is to protect the District’s interests. This is true, even after an employee has provided 20, 25, or 30 years of service to CUSD.
Union Leadership is compelled to warn those considering retirement. In the last year, employees have experienced several negative impacts as a result of their well-intended effort to share their retirement plans with District administrators; including but not limited to the following:
* Retirees’ fully-covered HEALTHCARE plans were cancelled last Spring & Summer, several months before their plan cycle was set to expire; even after employees had already earned the full value of their HEALTHCARE premium through Oct. 1st.
* Retirees were denied the full value (in the form of salary & wages) of the compensation they had earned.
* Retirees lost valuable opportunities to remain in total control of their retirement decisions.
* Once employees announced they were considering retirement, they were subjected to pressure, scheduling changes, and re-assignments clearly designed to satisfy the District’s interests and timelines, versus their own.
If you are considering retirement, CAUSE leadership strongly discourages you from sharing those plans with any District supervisor, principal, or administrator.
Instead:
* You are encouraged to research the topic thoroughly before making any gestures or notifications to CUSD.
* Explore the data contained in your SBCEO ESCAPE PORTAL: https://eportal.escape.sbceo.org
* You are encouraged & entitled to contact PERS and/or STERS directly, without notifying CUSD.
CLASSIFIED >>> https://www.calpers.ca.gov/
….or….
CERTIFICATED >>>> https://www.calstrs.com/
Similarly, PERS & STERS are not permitted to share your retirement inquiries with the District.
Union leadership is also available if you would like to discuss this topic further.
In Unity,
~ CAUSE Leadership
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BE WARNED.
This email was sent by CUSD’s HR Director…
On Mon, Jan 26, 2026 at 2:26 PM <jaqueline.lopez@cusd.net> wrote
Dear Certificated Staff,
If you are considering retiring at the end of this school year or in the near future, Jesus Hernandez, our Payroll/Benefits Technician, and I are available to meet with you to discuss questions you may have about retirement benefits and the district notification process. If you would like to meet with us, please email me by January 30, 2026, to schedule a time.
Please remember that it is important to start the CalSTRS application process several months prior to your official retirement date to ensure that your benefit payments are in order on your retirement date.
Regards,
Jaqueline Lopez, Human Resources Coordinator
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