Employee Benefits

All Tempe Elementary medical insurance plans are Exclusive Provider Organization (EPO) Plans. This means you can see any in-network provider without a referral from your primary care physician. We offer multiple comparison plans through BlueCross BlueShield Arizona.

BlueCross BlueShield of Arizona offers employees the opportunity to open and fund a tax-exempt HSA if certain conditions apply. 

General leave is accrued at the rate of one day per month for full-time employees (prorated for part-time employees who work 30 hours of service per week or more, 20 hours of service per week or more for Certified employees). Five of these days are credited at the beginning of each school year.

Effective July 1, 2017, employees working less than 30 hours (Classified) or less than 20 hours (Certified) will accrue a minimum of one hour for every 30 hours worked. 

100% employer match!  
All employees who work 20 hours of service or more per week pay 12.27% of gross wages into the Arizona State Retirement plan, which includes 12.12% for state retirement and .15% for LTD. The District will contribute 12.27% (12.12% for state retirement and .15% for LTD) on your behalf.  

Life insurance in the amount of twice the annual salary for administrators and one and one-half times the annual salary (minimum of $10,000) for all other employees provided for those who work at least 30 hours of service per week (25 hours of service for support staff)

For employees working 20 hours of service or more per week a long term disability insurance program which covers 66 2/3% of the employee’s basic monthly earnings is provided as part of their benefit under the Arizona State Retirement System and is underwritten by Sedgwick CMS, Inc. Benefits begin six (6) months after disability commences.

All employees are covered by worker’s compensation (industrial) insurance through The Alliance.When a job related injury/accident requires medical attention and absence from work, the employee will be charged accrued leave time, if the employee has accumulated leave time.

OASDI is part of FICA, the taxes that fund Social Security and Medicare. FICA stands for Federal Insurance and Contributions Act. Deducted at the rate of 6.2% of the first $168,600 the District will match this amount. (percentage is subject to change each January 1.) Medicare rate is an additional 1.45% of total gross wages.

All district employees are covered by state unemployment compensation.

An employee with perfect attendance for one (1) year shall accrue one (1) extra day of general leave to be added to the employee’s cumulative general leave account. 

This benefit is for teachers pursuing continuing education only.

Educational advancement opportunities led by master teachers and the Teaching & Learning Department to target a higher skill-set.

All employees receive a 75% discount for before- and after school care through the City of Tempe KidZone enrichment program.

We are proud to be the first elementary public school district to offer paid parental leave! An employee may take a maximum of twenty days (20) of paid Parental Leave during any rolling twelve (12)-month period and if both spouses are district employees, and both meet the eligibility requirements, each spouse may take days (20) of paid Parental Leave. 

Employees enrolled in our BlueCross BlueShield of Arizona health insurance plan have access to multiple programs. In addition to BCBS the district offers onsite care, wellness challenges, farm bag and cooking classes, outside fitness club discounts, free professional counseling, district 5k races, blood drives among other initiatives.

All employees, spouses, and dependents up to age 26 are eligible for 8 free, confidential counseling sessions per person, per topic, per year. This service is offered by Uprise Health who offers online peer support groups, 24/7 crisis help, financial help, legal services, child and parenting services, adult and eldercare services, online legal forms, webinars, and training. 

Besides employees full or part-time careers we offer Middle School Sports/Coaching stipends, National Board Certification stipends and Special Education stipends. 

In addition to our extensive benefits, the district offers employees optional benefits to enroll at their discretion. including dental insurance through Delta Dental, EyeMed Vision Care Discount Plan, supplementary life insurance, short-term disability insurance, basic and voluntary life insurance, flexible spending accounts (FSA), Medical Flexible Spending, Dependent Care Flexible Spending, wellness programs, Employee Assistance Program, 403(b) TSA and 457 deferred compensation opportunities.

The employee experience is important to us so we require all employees to complete benefits enrollment on the Benefits Portal within 20 days of their start date to take advantage of all of our programs.

Our unique summer onboarding experience welcomes new employees several weeks before they start to acclimate themselves to a new role and home at the district! Don’t worry, if you’re hired during the school year, we’ve designed a new hire onboarding program that occurs during the semester of hire. All new employees will be assigned a mentor who will serve as their point person along the way to answer questions and provide support.