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Cayucos Elementary superintendent to retire following controversial raise

February 4, 2022

Scott Smith

By KAREN VELIE

Cayucos Elementary School Superintendent Scott Smith announced on Friday plans to retire, less than a month after he received a controversial 10% pay raise.

Smith, the superintendent of both Cayucos Elementary and Coast Unified school districts, received a 10% raise in January, which angered some parents. Prior to the 2019-2020 school year, Smith served as the superintendent of only the Cayucos Elementary School District, with a salary of $150,255.

Smith’s current $220,085 salary is split evenly between the two districts.

In an update to parents in Cayucos, Smith announced plans to submit his retirement notice before the end of the month.

“I want to thank the Trustees for their vote of confidence and pay increase that they have provided for me,” Smith said in his announcement. “Despite their best effort to get me to delay my retirement a little longer, I intend to submit my retirement notice before Feb, 30 as required by my contract (120 day notice).

During a school board meeting  in January, several Cayucos community members accused Smith of intimidating and harassing people who wore masks at school and at prior board meetings. Those speakers said Smith did not do enough to enforce the California Department of Health’s indoor mask mandate.

Public commenters also spoke against Smith’s pay raise and the shared services agreement between the two school districts.

When asked if Smith was planning to retire from both school districts, Coast Unified School District staff said they did not know, and that no further information would be provided at this time.


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One more reason to sign the petition to put school choice on the ballot!


7

My tax dollars for private schools? Over my dead body.


1

Don’t you think this country is dumb enough already? Do you really want MORE kids left behind than already are? We all know who will get to the choosing with ‘school choice’. We all know whose kids get the best of that deal and whose don’t.


1

Terrible idea. Religious orgs already get tax exempt status, and now you suggest funding them with taxpayer dollars. We have separation of church and state in this country and your proposal violates the constitution.


1

February 30th can’t come soon enough for CESD.


The public records show Mr. Smith’s long time friend and former CESD president Chris Castillo arranged the raise and hoped to ram it through as President. Although Castillo lost his seat as president, it definitely helped that Trustee Val Wright is currently employed by Scott Smith at Coast Union because Wright also voted for Smith’s raise.


Let’s hope that with Smith’s resignation (not retirement as he’ll continue to work at Coast) and the upcoming Trustee elections, we can finally get out from under the cronyism that has ruled over CESD for several years now.


5

Hey Karen, want to give public education another black eye, do some research on Gene Rickman, vice principal at Righetti High School.


-1

I have known Scott Smith for probably 50 years. We are not tight friends, but I know him and respect him. He has always seemed to have the best intentions and the focus of students. I think he is a man of honor and dedication. Salary seems excessive, but hey, can’t blame a guy for making the most of his situation.


I respect Scott and he has my appreciation for serving our community and the students. We need more like him.


2

So wait, he got a 10% pay raise and gave his notice just weeks later.

No wonder our schools are broke.


27

Lets remember this the next time a school district wants another bond, like our government they dont have a revenue problem they have a spending problem, No on any school bonds.


29

Pension spiking at its finest.


38

Wrong, that is not how it works thankfully. One must work at that pay rate for at least 12 months before it affects pension. If one gets a huge raise and quits under 12 months later that raise does not factor in to the pension.


Your CalPERS retirement benefits are based on your:

Age at retirement

Highest salary for either a 1- or 3-year period, depending on your employer’s contract

Years of service credit


16

Gee perhaps then he’ll just have to learn how to survive on his previous bloated salary then.


12

Almost certainly NOT CalPERS! I don’t know what the rules are for educators, but I am pretty certain CalPERS rules do not apply.


1

Oops, had the two mixed up. You are correct, Calpers if for classified school employees like me who have worked the past 18 years in the school system. It is actually Calstrs that handles retirement for teachers and administrators. Still, the rules are the same.


Public school principals, administrators, and teachers all participate in the same pension plan.

Your Retirement Guide 2022 – CalSTRS.com

Final compensation is your highest average annual compensation earnable over a period of time, either 12 or 36 consecutive months.


12

What a mess. One more nail in the coffin for the public schools and the fleecing of the average taxpayer. The overcompensated administrators. along with the greedy teacher unions are destroying their own industry. It wouldn’t be so bad if they we actually educating instead of indoctrinating our kids. I might be a little more supportive. Like most government run agencies they lack accountability and responsibility to the very ones that pay their salaries, We the people.


18

Teachers are paid well in this state, and I agree we should begin to see some accountability. However, I would posit that teachers are doing as well as possible considering the task.


First, how do you educate a large portion of the populace that doesn’t use English as its first language? And, second, how do you educate kids in a society that is inundated with social media and a seeming acceptance of illiteracy—as displayed by many of the commenters on this blog?


I read your complaints, commonsenseguy, but I never read your solutions.


1

The teacher’s union are the problem. I know a lot of teachers including family members. One of my family members is a principle and two others are teachers in a local school district. My late father and brother-in-law worked for and retired from a local school district. The unions for the teachers and the classified employee’s control things. That shouldn’t be the case. Most of my friends and family oppose the unions that represent them.


The solution is to elect school board members who will put the education of kids first and the parent’s options and inclusiveness in the kid’s education. The illiteracy comes from not teaching the basic to any language. Social agendas should not be in the classroom. The parents should have the option from the taxpaying funding of these schools to use for their kids schooling as wanted. That funding should also go to home schooling and paying for the cost of choices in private schools as well. It’s all education money that they are providing as parents through taxes and bonds, so why not have a choice on how to educate your child with it.


The greed of the above-mentioned unions won’t allow this due to their corrupt power and desire to help pay for their over compensated salaries. Can you say unfunded mandates? This state is control by those who oppose any education of children other than public schools so they can control the money and influence of who gets it.


13

Commonsenseguy, you don’t want “Social Agendas” taught in schools, but you also want tax payer dollars to fund private schools. Does a religious based private school have a “social agenda”…or is that different?


1

No. I said parents pay taxes for the education of the children. They should also have the right to educate their kids the way they want with their education tax dollars. Why are you against school choice? I put faith-based education schools against most public schools. Not just the curriculum, but also the accountability, responsibility, along with good morals and values so desperately missing in public education.


4

So, a good qualified teacher with several years of experience should only make about 60k or 70k, instead of 90 or 100. That pretty much prices them out of owning a home on the Central Coast.


2

Just like most of us. What makes them so special to make that kind of money in overcompensation for what they do?


2

Right, because there’s no indoctrinating at all going on at Mission Prep.


1

I have a nephew who attended Mission Prep. He attended a local public school his freshman year. He and his mother knew they needed to make a change. He went through the process and was accepted to Mission. He played football for three years and earned an education at a division one university. He graduated five years later with a major and a minor. He currently works for a company that is bringing agriculture education with growing, along with water resources to nations in Africa. If that’s indoctrinating, then we absolutely need more of it.


He credited his faith-based education and the values that were instilled in him while attending there. You don’t get that anymore in public schools. If there is any, its rare.


3

Couple of things,


First, the teachers union here is comparatively weak relative to other unions in this state. If anything, it needs more bargaining power. These teachers are effectively living in poverty. Healthcare is shockingly bad and you can find better plans on the open exchange.


Second, your anecdote about religious education is just that – anecdotal. My own experience going through religious high school was the opposite. In addition to being overpriced, with none of that added expense passed onto teachers, the education was lackluster. Myself and my peers were forced to play “catch-up” once we got to real academia. Among other inadequacies, in lieu of actual science we were taught creationism, and in lieu of sex education we were taught abstinence.


Third, our constitution precludes any law respecting an establishment of religion. The idea that you want my tax dollars to fund your religion is frankly offensive. I’m sure you would feel the same way if any other religion sought to use your tax dollars. You’re free to teach your kids whatever you want, but stay away from trying to indoctrinate my kids. Religion has no place in the school.


0

Shared Admin services make financial sense, especially for smaller districts.


Sharing the burden, cost, of administration saves districts money in the long run.


They should do the same with busing. Which is one of highest expenses, other than Administration, a school has.


Schools are damned if they do and damned if they don’t as it relates to Covid. Schools are doing the best they can to educate your children. Give them a break.


10

February 30?


40

Remember he’s Public Education…


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