Sierra Sands Unified School District teacher salaries
Sierra Sands Unified School District is a unified school district in Kern County, with its district office in Ridgecrest. A teacher with a full credential starts at $56,831. The largest group (29%) is on the BA+90 column, which climbs to $114,358 by step 30.
Lowest
$50,189
EMERG before a full credential, step 1
Average salary on the teacher schedule1
$77,241
- $13,295 below Kern County average
- $26,311 below California average
Highest
$114,358
BA+90 with a credential, step 30
Sierra Sands Unified average
Kern County average$90,536
California average$103,552
- Full-time equivalents on the schedule
- 263
- Starting salary
- $56,831
- BA+15 with a credential, step 1
- Median salary
- $76,711
- Half earn more, half earn less
- Average pay rank in California
- 678th of 828 reporting
- of 828 reporting
Does Sierra Sands Unified pay teachers more than the median California district?
Line up all 828 reporting California districts from the lowest average salary to the highest. The one in the middle is the median district: half the districts pay a lower average, half pay a higher one. A median isn't pulled up or down by a few unusually high- or low-paying districts, so it shows what a typical district pays.
No
Sierra Sands Unified's average of $77,241 is below the middle California district's $94,573.
All 828 reporting districts in California
Sierra Sands Unified ranks 678th of 828.
Middle district: $94,573
The 37 reporting districts in Kern County
Sierra Sands Unified ranks 31st of 37, below the middle district.
Middle district: $83,787
Each bar counts the districts whose average salary falls in a $5,000 band. The dashed line marks the median district.
What BA+98, steps and credentials mean
Teacher pay in California is set by a grid. Two things place you on it: how long you've taught and how much college you've done.
- Step
- Steps go up with years of service. Step 5 on Sierra Sands Unified's BA+15 column pays $61,650. Experienced teachers joining Sierra Sands Unified can be placed as high as step 16.
- Column, such as BA+98
- Your bachelor's degree (BA) plus the college semester units you've completed since. BA+98 means a bachelor's plus 98 more units. Sierra Sands Unified's columns run from BA+15 to BA+90, 6 in all.
- Credentialed
- Holds a full California teaching credential, the state license to teach. Sierra Sands Unified's credentialed columns start at $56,831.
- Without full credential
- Teachers who don't yet hold a full credential. Sierra Sands Unified pays them on separate columns, starting at $50,189.
How fast does a teacher's salary grow at Sierra Sands Unified?
Pick a column and a step to see the salary, and how far it is from the top.
$87,247
a year at step 10. This column tops out at $114,358 on step 30.
Sierra Sands Unified's full salary schedule, 2024-252
Shading shows where teachers actually sit. 28% of Sierra Sands Unified's full-time equivalents are on step 15 or higher.
| Step | BA+15 | BA+30 | BA+45 | BA+60 | BA+75 | BA+90 |
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| 30 |
Only BA+60, BA+75, BA+90 continue past step 18.
| Step | EMERG |
|---|---|
| 1 | |
| 2 |
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Tap any salary to see how many full-time equivalents are paid it and follow it on the chart above.
- 5+
- 20
Bonuses, health cover and work days at Sierra Sands Unified
Bonuses are paid on top of the schedule, in the amounts the district reported.2 Teachers are exempt from federal overtime pay.3 Extra pay for coaching, clubs and similar duties isn't part of this report.
- Health insurance, family planUp to $17,773paid by the district each year
- Master's degree bonus$1,800115 full-time equivalents eligible
- Doctorate bonus$2,8005 full-time equivalents eligible
- Bilingual teaching bonusNot reported
- National Board Certification bonusNot reported
- Special education bonus$2,00025 full-time equivalents eligible
- Summer school pay$51 an hour
- Work days a year185 days180 of them with students
- Schedule raise on last year0%can also mean not reported
- Highest starting step for experienced hiresStep 16
Questions about teacher pay at Sierra Sands Unified
How much do Sierra Sands Unified teachers make?
The average salary on Sierra Sands Unified's teacher schedule is $77,241 a year (2024-25). The salary schedule runs from $50,189 (EMERG before a full credential, step 1) to $114,358 (BA+90 with a credential, step 30).
What does a new teacher earn at Sierra Sands Unified?
A new teacher with a full credential starts at $56,831 (BA+15 column, step 1). Teachers without a full credential start lower, at $50,189. Teachers who bring experience from another district can start as high as step 16.
How long does it take to reach the top of the Sierra Sands Unified pay scale?
On the BA+90 column, where 29% of full-time equivalents are paid, pay keeps rising until step 30, where it reaches $114,358. Steps go up with years of service.
Does a master's degree raise pay at Sierra Sands Unified?
Yes, in two ways. The college units from a master's move you to a higher column on the schedule, and Sierra Sands Unified reports a master's bonus of $1,800 on top. For a doctorate it reports $2,800.
Is Sierra Sands Unified teacher pay high for California?
Sierra Sands Unified's average salary on the teacher schedule ranks 678th of the 828 California school districts and county offices of education that reported and 31st of 37 in Kern County. Across all of them, the average salary on teacher schedules is $103,552 statewide and $90,536 in Kern County.
Keep exploring teacher pay in Kern County
Sources for the Sierra Sands Unified figures
Salaries are the annual amounts on the district's certificated salary schedule. Following the state's definitions, they leave out extended-year pay, bonuses and extra-curricular pay such as coaching. Counts are full-time equivalents, so two half-time teachers count as one, and they can include counselors, nurses and librarians paid on the same schedule. County averages, ranks and percentages are our own arithmetic on these figures; our statewide average matches the state's published $103,552.
- California Department of Education, Selected Certificated Salaries and Related Statistics, 2024-25, Table I: average salary paid, raise on last year, highest starting step. The median salary is our own calculation from source 2.
- Sierra Sands Unified's report to the California Department of Education, Form J-90 database, 2024-25: salary schedule, full-time equivalents per cell, bonuses, health contributions, work days.
- U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #17D: Exemption for Professional Employees Under the FLSA: teachers are exempt from federal overtime pay.