Valley Center-Pauma Unified School District teacher salaries
Valley Center-Pauma Unified School District is a unified school district in San Diego County, with its district office in Valley Center. A teacher with a full credential starts at $69,041. The largest group (71%) is on the BA+60 column, which climbs to $124,180 by step 29.
Lowest
$55,317
BA before a full credential, step 1
Average salary on the teacher schedule1
$99,133
- $3,513 below San Diego County average
- $4,419 below California average
Highest
$124,180
BA+60 with a credential, step 29
Valley Center-Pauma Unified average
AveragesSan Diego County $102,646, California $103,552
- Full-time equivalents on the schedule
- 224
- Starting salary
- $69,041
- BA with a credential, step 1
- Median salary
- $99,294
- Half earn more, half earn less
- Average pay rank in California
- 313th of 828 reporting
- of 828 reporting
Does Valley Center-Pauma 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.
Yes
Valley Center-Pauma Unified's average of $99,133 is above the middle California district's $94,573.
All 828 reporting districts in California
Valley Center-Pauma Unified ranks 313th of 828.
Middle district: $94,573
The 37 reporting districts in San Diego County
Valley Center-Pauma Unified ranks 20th of 37, below the middle district.
Middle district: $100,279
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 Valley Center-Pauma Unified's BA column pays $69,045. Experienced teachers joining Valley Center-Pauma Unified can be placed as high as step 8.
- 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. Valley Center-Pauma Unified's columns run from BA to BA+60, 5 in all.
- Credentialed
- Holds a full California teaching credential, the state license to teach. Valley Center-Pauma Unified's credentialed columns start at $69,041.
- Without full credential
- Teachers who don't yet hold a full credential. Valley Center-Pauma Unified pays them on separate columns, starting at $55,317.
How fast does a teacher's salary grow at Valley Center-Pauma Unified?
Pick a column and a step to see the salary, and how far it is from the top.
$103,995
a year at step 10. This column tops out at $124,180 on step 29.
Valley Center-Pauma Unified's full salary schedule, 2024-252
Shading shows where teachers actually sit. 35% of Valley Center-Pauma Unified's full-time equivalents are on step 15 or higher.
| Step | BA | BA+15 | BA+30 | BA+45 | BA+60 |
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Only BA+30, BA+45, BA+60 continue past step 10.
| Step | BA |
|---|---|
| 1 | |
| 2 | |
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| 4 | |
| 5 |
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+
- 16
Bonuses, health cover and work days at Valley Center-Pauma 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 $15,000paid by the district each year
- Master's degree bonus$2,318119 full-time equivalents eligible
- Doctorate bonus$2,3182 full-time equivalents eligible
- Bilingual teaching bonusNot reported
- National Board Certification bonusNot reported
- Special education bonusNot reported
- Summer school pay$55 an hour
- Work days a year184 days180 of them with students
- Schedule raise on last year1.17%
- Highest starting step for experienced hiresStep 8
Questions about teacher pay at Valley Center-Pauma Unified
How much do Valley Center-Pauma Unified teachers make?
The average salary on Valley Center-Pauma Unified's teacher schedule is $99,133 a year (2024-25). The salary schedule runs from $55,317 (BA before a full credential, step 1) to $124,180 (BA+60 with a credential, step 29).
What does a new teacher earn at Valley Center-Pauma Unified?
A new teacher with a full credential starts at $69,041 (BA column, step 1). Teachers without a full credential start lower, at $55,317. Teachers who bring experience from another district can start as high as step 8.
How long does it take to reach the top of the Valley Center-Pauma Unified pay scale?
On the BA+60 column, where 71% of full-time equivalents are paid, pay keeps rising until step 29, where it reaches $124,180. Steps go up with years of service.
Does a master's degree raise pay at Valley Center-Pauma Unified?
Yes, in two ways. The college units from a master's move you to a higher column on the schedule, and Valley Center-Pauma Unified reports a master's bonus of $2,318 on top. For a doctorate it reports $2,318.
Is Valley Center-Pauma Unified teacher pay high for California?
Valley Center-Pauma Unified's average salary on the teacher schedule ranks 313th of the 828 California school districts and county offices of education that reported and 20th of 37 in San Diego County. Across all of them, the average salary on teacher schedules is $103,552 statewide and $102,646 in San Diego County.
Keep exploring teacher pay in San Diego County
Sources for the Valley Center-Pauma 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.
- Valley Center-Pauma 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.