Employer Paid Health Insurance: The single largest reason for TECC cost variances for comparable teachers involved employer-paid health insurance costs. For Oregon districts, this TECC cost component ranged from an average low of $13,569 (Hillsboro) to a high of $18,713 (Lake Oswego). Seattle’s cost averaged $10,016 per teacher; Vancouver averaged $9,360 and Boise $7,320.

Retirement Costs: For Oregon mid-career teachers, retirement costs (including Social Security, pension obligation bond repayments, and any PERS employee pick up) ranged from a low of $12,065 in Portland – which does not pay the 6% employee pick up for PERS – to a high of $16,473 in Salem-Keizer (which does). Seattle’s retirement costs ($12,058) were within this range, while retirement costs for Vancouver ($9,562) and Boise ($9,145) were significantly lower.