Phase 4 · Free tool
See what your staffing actually costs.
Drop in your FTE counts and average loaded salaries by category. We'll surface ratios vs CA state averages, project your personnel cost forward with annual COLA, and quantify the dollar cost of adding or cutting a single FTE in each category over your full planning horizon.
Start with your district (optional)
We'll prefill enrollment and FTE counts from CDE's most recent published staffing data (certificated FY18-19 is the latest public flat-file release; classified FY24-25 is current). Salary assumptions stay yours to enter.
We'll prefill enrollment, UPP, and recent fiscal status. You can edit any field.
District profile
Staffing by category
Enter FTE counts and average per-FTE total compensation (salary + benefits already loaded). The engine derives student-to-staff ratios, total payroll, and the cost of adding/cutting an FTE.
Teachers (certificated)
Loaded salary typically $100K–$130K (CA average ~$115K).
Administrators
Loaded salary typically $170K–$230K.
Counselors
Loaded salary typically $110K–$145K.
Classified support
Loaded salary typically $50K–$80K depending on classification mix.
Projection settings
Total annual personnel cost
$34,025,000
Year 0 (current)
Cumulative 6-year cost
$220,087,646
With 3.00% annual COLA
Total FTE
326.0
Across all four categories
Cost projection (3% COLA)
Stacked bars show annual personnel cost by category. Each year's totals reflect the cumulative effect of the COLA assumption you entered.
Per-category breakdown
Teachers (certificated)
Favorable vs stateFTE count
220.0
Annual cost
$25,300,000
Students per FTE
20:1
CA state avg
22:1(-9.1%)
Administrators (certificated)
Unfavorable vs stateFTE count
11.0
Annual cost
$2,200,000
Students per FTE
400:1
CA state avg
290:1(+37.9%)
Counselors (pupil services)
Unfavorable vs stateFTE count
5.0
Annual cost
$675,000
Students per FTE
880:1
CA state avg
580:1(+51.7%)
Classified support
FTE count
90.0
Annual cost
$5,850,000
Students per FTE
49:1
FTE sensitivity
Cost of adding (or cutting) one FTE summed across the entire 6-year horizon, including COLA stacking.
| Category | Add 1 FTE — total cost | Cut 1 FTE — total savings |
|---|---|---|
| Teachers (certificated) | $743,867 | $743,867 |
| Administrators (certificated) | $1,293,682 | $1,293,682 |
| Counselors (pupil services) | $873,235 | $873,235 |
| Classified support | $420,447 | $420,447 |
Want to share this with your board or HR team? Download a School-Leaders-branded PDF (with the AI summary if generated).
AI-generated staffing outlook
Get a plain-language interpretation of your staffing — what's typical, what's off, and concrete dollar levers — written by Claude. Generation takes 20–60 seconds.
State staffing ratios are FY24-25 approximations from CDE DataQuest. Salary assumptions reflect your input. For planning purposes only.