As a teacher in CA I didn't receive a raise (even cost of living) for over 5 years in the 2000s. And this was WITH a union. The choice was either get a pink slip or work for no increase. If you figure in the COLA we were working for a pay cut and our health insure co pays doubled as well as 75% of total support staff cuts, class size increases, 55+ hour weeks and we paid for supplies out of pocket. It has remained the same ever since.

One reason for this was Charter Schools. The public schools lost students so we received less from the state. CA ranks 46th in how much each school receives per student per year.

I just retired from a CO school district after 20 yrs. as an HVAC Tech. There wasn't a single year I didn't receive a raise. A few years, the raise was short of the COA but I don't think we ever got less than 1.5%. AND we received at $250 allowance for uniforms. AND, of course, we were never expected to pay out of pocket for any parts that we might need for repairs (aka supplies needed for the job).

I'm surprised to read that CA ranks so low on $ per student.

CA is on of 13 states with Social Security Offset. This means that if you ever worked at a job besides teaching and you paid into SS you lose it when you become a teacher (most of it anyway, you do get about 10% of it when you retire). I learned this when I began teaching and experienced 20 year teachers never believed me. I had to show them the forms/paperwork to prove it. We pay into a pension and not into SS. I worked for years before I changed careers and have enough credits, etc.