24920. Every teacher and every other employee of the school
districts for which the plan for district retirement is adopted, who
is employed by the districts at the time of the adoption of the plan,
and who signs an agreement to be subject to the burdens of the
district retirement plan, shall be entitled to the benefits and
subject to the burdens of the plan and of this chapter. Every teacher
employed in the public schools of the districts after the adoption
of the provisions of this chapter by the governing boards of the
districts, and any other employees the boards or the petition
determines, shall be bound by the benefits and burdens of this
chapter.
24921. Any plan shall not be adopted or established until the
governing boards, after any inquiry and hearing they may direct, find
that the respective contributions of the teachers and other
employees and the districts provided for in the plan, are
substantially in accordance with the more recent generally prevailing
rates of contributions in public institutions that have established
retirement systems, and that the plan is in accordance with sound
business practice and with recognized actuarial methods.
24922. The plan may provide that the retirement salary shall be a
stipulated monthly sum, or that all benefits under the retirement
feature of the plan shall be based upon the monthly salary for each
year of future active service in the district earned by the employee
up to the date of retirement and upon the average monthly salary
earned by the teacher or other eligible employee during the year
immediately preceding the adoption of the plan and the number of
years of past active service of the employee in the district, and
subject to those provisions made in the plan for minimum benefits. No
employee with less than 15 years' service in the district prior to
normal retirement age shall receive the benefit of the minimum. In no
instance shall the retirement benefits be based upon or allowed for
any amount of salary in excess of the sum of five hundred dollars
($500) per month.
24923. In lieu of the authorizations or requirements provided for
in Sections 24920 and 24922, the plan may provide only that the
retirement salary shall be based on service rendered prior to the
effective date of the plan or prior to July 1, 1944, and shall be an
amount which, when added to the retirement allowance the respective
member is entitled to receive under the State Teachers' Retirement
System, shall equal a sum of not less than one hundred dollars ($100)
per month and Sections 24920 and 24922 shall not be applicable
thereto. The costs of the benefits under such a plan may be met by
the contributions of the districts alone, notwithstanding Sections
35161, 35162, Article 1 (commencing with Section 7000) of Chapter 1
of Part 5, Article 2 (commencing with Section 10010) of Chapter 1 of
Part 7, Article 1 (commencing with Section 12500) of Chapter 5 of
Part 8, this part, Article 5 (commencing with Section 32340) of
Chapter 3 of Part 19, and Part 25 (commencing with Section 44000),
and only teachers who have credit for service rendered prior to that
date shall be subject to the plan.
24924. (a) A plan established under this chapter that is intended
to provide supplemental benefits only on account of service rendered
before July 1, 1944, may be discontinued by the governing board of
the district, subject to the following conditions:
(1) Notwithstanding Sections 35161, 35162, Article 1 (commencing
with Section 7000) of Chapter 1, Article 2 (commencing with Section
10010) of Chapter 1 of Part 7, Article 1 (commencing with Section
12500) of Chapter 5 of Part 8, this part, Article 5 (commencing with
Section 32340) of Chapter 3 of Part 19, and Part 25 (commencing with
Section 44000), any teacher who is not retired on July 1, 1956, shall
be entitled to the contributions made by him or her to the
discontinued plan with interest credited in accordance with the rules
and regulations of the local retirement plan up to and including
June 30, 1957. Likewise, a teacher who retired prior to July 1, 1956,
shall be entitled to a refund equal to the actuarial equivalent, at
his or her attained age, of the annuity that would have been provided
by the total contributions required of the member under the system,
based on interest and mortality tables currently in use, less the
amount of any contributions remaining unpaid on the date of
discontinuance. The amount to which any teacher is entitled under
this section shall be paid to him or her within 90 days of his or her
request in writing on a form provided by and filed with the local
retirement system. All requests shall be filed prior to July 1, 1959.
(2) The district in which the plan is discontinued shall pay
monthly to teachers, who were retired prior to the date of the
discontinuance, an amount equal to the amount by which the retirement
allowance to which any of these retired teachers was entitled under
the plan exceeds the increase in the teacher's retirement allowance
under the State Teachers' Retirement System after the discontinuance.
In lieu of the monthly payment, the district may elect to pay in a
single sum the amount that shall be the actuarial equivalent to the
monthly amount thereafter payable, according to the interest rate and
mortality table currently in use under the plan. Payment of the
amount shall discharge fully the district's liability to the teacher
under this subdivision. The arrangement under which the amounts are
paid by the district shall not be considered to be a local retirement
system for the purposes of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 22000)
to Chapter 31 (commencing with Section 24600), inclusive, nor shall
the amount be taken into account in the calculation of the retirement
allowances under the State Teachers' Retirement System.
(b) Any person who was retired prior to July 1, 1956, from a
position requisite for membership in the State Teachers' Retirement
System, under a district supplemental retirement salary plan which
has been discontinued pursuant to this section, and elected either
under the plan or under the system, but not under both, to have a
portion of his or her retirement allowance modified according to an
option under which he or she would receive a smaller allowance and
provide for a benefit for his or her beneficiary, that person shall
have the right, to be exercised not later than 60 days after July 5,
1956, to change his or her election under the State Teachers'
Retirement System with respect to those options. Any computations of
actuarial equivalents under a changed election shall be made as of
the effective date, and no adjustment shall be included in the
computation on account of retirement allowance payments made prior to
that date.
(c) When any local retirement plan is discontinued under this
section, all funds remaining in the district retirement fund of the
local system shall be transferred to the general fund of the school
district in which the plan is discontinued. Thereafter any payments
to meet continuing obligations of the district arising from the
establishment or discontinuance of the plan shall be paid from the
general fund of the district.
24925. The governing boards, after the adoption of the plan, shall
at regular intervals, each not exceeding a period of five years,
secure a general survey and actuarial report of the plan, and the
boards shall from time to time amend the plan in any manner found to
be advisable to meet changed conditions, or, in the light of
experience, considered necessary.
24926. A plan under which the districts establishing it agree to
pay to employees who become entitled to retirement salaries within a
specified period, not exceeding 15 years, after the establishment of
the plan, a specified sum that, during the life expectancy of the
employees, will be approximately equal, in the aggregate, to the
aggregate difference, during the life expectancy, between the maximum
salary paid to employees in the respective classes of the retiring
employees, and the salaries paid to beginning employees in the
classes, shall be construed to comply with the provisions of this
chapter requiring the plan to be in accordance with sound business
practices and recognized actuarial methods.
24927. For the purpose of providing funds that may be necessary to
make the payments required by any joint district retirement plan,
district taxes shall be levied and collected annually by the
respective districts at the same time and in the same manner as other
district taxes are levied and collected. The tax shall be in
addition to any other district tax now or hereafter authorized by
law, and shall not be considered in fixing maximum rates of tax for
school district or community college district purposes.
24928. Every joint district retirement plan shall provide that only
those teachers and other employees who have served as teachers or
employees of the districts for at least 20 years of service
immediately preceding retirement, and who have reached a minimum age
specified in the joint district retirement plan, which shall not be
less than 55 years, shall be entitled to a district retirement
salary.
24929. The plan may provide for the retirement of teachers or other
employees on account of disability after 10 years of service
immediately prior to the retirement, the proportion of the disability
retirement salary to the full retirement salary to be specified in
the plan.
24930. Absence from service by reason of a leave of absence granted
by the governing board of an employing district shall not be
construed as a break in the continuity of service or by any district
retirement plan adopted pursuant to the provisions hereof, but the
period of leave shall not be counted as time served toward retirement
unless the period is so counted under the State Teachers Retirement
Act.
24931. Time of service may be counted in the aggregate and
fractions of years amounting to whole years may be counted as whole
years when payments by the teacher or other employee have been made
for all of the time counted.
24932. The governing boards of the districts shall in all cases
determine the teachers and other employees who are entitled to
retirement salaries, and make and keep a list of the teachers and
other employees, known as the retired list. For the purpose of making
the retired list the boards may take testimony and examine witnesses
under oath, which may be administered by any member of the board.
24933. The governing boards of the districts may make all necessary
and proper rules and regulations in aid or furtherance of the
provisions of this chapter and in order to carry out and administer
the provisions.
24934. When a joint district retirement plan is established there
shall be created in the treasury of the county in which the districts
are located, or, if the districts are located in more than one
county, in the treasury of the county selected by the governing
boards of the districts meeting in joint session, and open upon the
books of the auditor and treasurer of the county, a trust fund
account designated as the "joint district retirement fund." All
moneys, whether from contributions by teachers or other employees, or
by the districts, or from any source, properly belonging to the
joint district retirement fund shall be placed in the fund. Upon
approval of the joint district retirement board all incidental
expenses, including actual and necessary clerical or other help,
incurred in carrying out the provisions of this chapter shall be paid
out of the fund and in the same manner as other expenditures are
paid from district funds.
24935. Members of governing boards shall discharge the powers,
duties, purposes, responsibilities, and jurisdiction conferred or
imposed upon the governing boards under this chapter without extra or
additional compensation.
24936. The governing boards of the districts establishing the
retirement plan shall provide for the administration of the funds and
the payment of retirement salaries by a joint district retirement
board composed of three persons not officers or employees of any of
the districts, one representative of each district, one
representative of the teachers of each district and one
representative of the other employees of each district, who shall
serve without compensation. The representatives chosen by the
teachers and other employees shall be chosen by secret ballot. The
county treasurer of the county in the county treasury of which the
joint district retirement fund is created shall be ex officio a
member of the joint district retirement board. All members of the
retirement board shall serve for such terms as may be specified by
the governing boards in establishing a plan. The joint district
retirement board shall have such further powers and duties as may be
prescribed by the governing boards of the districts.
24937. (a) The joint district retirement board shall have charge
and control of the district retirement fund of the district and of
the payment of all retirement salaries and annuities payable from the
fund. The joint district retirement board shall invest the funds in
securities that are legal for the investment of funds of savings
banks in this state and shall sell the securities and reinvest the
proceeds in securities legal for investment of funds of savings banks
when in the judgment of the joint district retirement board the sale
and reinvestment is advisable. No investment in or sale of
securities shall be made except upon authorization of the joint
district retirement board at a meeting of the board.
(b) The board also shall collect the income from the securities
and pay it into the joint district retirement fund.
24938. The joint district retirement board may sue in its own name
when necessary to carry out the powers and duties conferred upon it.
The district attorney, or, if there is a county counsel, the county
counsel of the county in which are employed the largest number of
employees entitled to the benefits and subject to the burdens of the
joint district retirement plan shall act as attorney for the joint
district retirement board without additional compensation.
24939. All securities purchased by the joint district retirement
board shall be deposited with the county treasurer for safekeeping.
24940. (a) All payments from the joint district retirement fund
shall be made in the same manner as payments from school district
funds but shall be subject to approval of the joint district
retirement board. Warrants drawn on the fund shall be signed by at
least one member of the joint district retirement board who shall be
designated by the board.
(b) The duties imposed upon the county treasurer shall be a part
of his or her official duties, for the faithful performance of which
he or she shall be liable upon his or her official bond.
24941. The county auditor of the county in the county treasury of
which the "joint district retirement fund" is created shall audit the
accounts of the joint district retirement board at least once every
12 months and report upon the financial condition thereof to the
governing boards of the districts.
24942. The retirement salaries provided for in this chapter shall
be in addition to any other retirement salaries received by any
person under Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 22000) to Chapter 31
(commencing with Section 24600), inclusive, or as may be otherwise
provided by law.
24943. The retirement salaries provided for in this chapter for all
other employees, shall be in addition to any other retirement
salaries that may be provided by law.
24944. Whenever by the provisions of this chapter, the governing
boards of two or more school districts are required, or authorized,
to perform any act, the act may be done only at joint meetings of the
boards, and no action shall be taken by the boards except upon the
affirmative vote of a majority of the members of a majority of the
boards.
24920. Every teacher and every other employee of the school
districts for which the plan for district retirement is adopted, who
is employed by the districts at the time of the adoption of the plan,
and who signs an agreement to be subject to the burdens of the
district retirement plan, shall be entitled to the benefits and
subject to the burdens of the plan and of this chapter. Every teacher
employed in the public schools of the districts after the adoption
of the provisions of this chapter by the governing boards of the
districts, and any other employees the boards or the petition
determines, shall be bound by the benefits and burdens of this
chapter.
24921. Any plan shall not be adopted or established until the
governing boards, after any inquiry and hearing they may direct, find
that the respective contributions of the teachers and other
employees and the districts provided for in the plan, are
substantially in accordance with the more recent generally prevailing
rates of contributions in public institutions that have established
retirement systems, and that the plan is in accordance with sound
business practice and with recognized actuarial methods.
24922. The plan may provide that the retirement salary shall be a
stipulated monthly sum, or that all benefits under the retirement
feature of the plan shall be based upon the monthly salary for each
year of future active service in the district earned by the employee
up to the date of retirement and upon the average monthly salary
earned by the teacher or other eligible employee during the year
immediately preceding the adoption of the plan and the number of
years of past active service of the employee in the district, and
subject to those provisions made in the plan for minimum benefits. No
employee with less than 15 years' service in the district prior to
normal retirement age shall receive the benefit of the minimum. In no
instance shall the retirement benefits be based upon or allowed for
any amount of salary in excess of the sum of five hundred dollars
($500) per month.
24923. In lieu of the authorizations or requirements provided for
in Sections 24920 and 24922, the plan may provide only that the
retirement salary shall be based on service rendered prior to the
effective date of the plan or prior to July 1, 1944, and shall be an
amount which, when added to the retirement allowance the respective
member is entitled to receive under the State Teachers' Retirement
System, shall equal a sum of not less than one hundred dollars ($100)
per month and Sections 24920 and 24922 shall not be applicable
thereto. The costs of the benefits under such a plan may be met by
the contributions of the districts alone, notwithstanding Sections
35161, 35162, Article 1 (commencing with Section 7000) of Chapter 1
of Part 5, Article 2 (commencing with Section 10010) of Chapter 1 of
Part 7, Article 1 (commencing with Section 12500) of Chapter 5 of
Part 8, this part, Article 5 (commencing with Section 32340) of
Chapter 3 of Part 19, and Part 25 (commencing with Section 44000),
and only teachers who have credit for service rendered prior to that
date shall be subject to the plan.
24924. (a) A plan established under this chapter that is intended
to provide supplemental benefits only on account of service rendered
before July 1, 1944, may be discontinued by the governing board of
the district, subject to the following conditions:
(1) Notwithstanding Sections 35161, 35162, Article 1 (commencing
with Section 7000) of Chapter 1, Article 2 (commencing with Section
10010) of Chapter 1 of Part 7, Article 1 (commencing with Section
12500) of Chapter 5 of Part 8, this part, Article 5 (commencing with
Section 32340) of Chapter 3 of Part 19, and Part 25 (commencing with
Section 44000), any teacher who is not retired on July 1, 1956, shall
be entitled to the contributions made by him or her to the
discontinued plan with interest credited in accordance with the rules
and regulations of the local retirement plan up to and including
June 30, 1957. Likewise, a teacher who retired prior to July 1, 1956,
shall be entitled to a refund equal to the actuarial equivalent, at
his or her attained age, of the annuity that would have been provided
by the total contributions required of the member under the system,
based on interest and mortality tables currently in use, less the
amount of any contributions remaining unpaid on the date of
discontinuance. The amount to which any teacher is entitled under
this section shall be paid to him or her within 90 days of his or her
request in writing on a form provided by and filed with the local
retirement system. All requests shall be filed prior to July 1, 1959.
(2) The district in which the plan is discontinued shall pay
monthly to teachers, who were retired prior to the date of the
discontinuance, an amount equal to the amount by which the retirement
allowance to which any of these retired teachers was entitled under
the plan exceeds the increase in the teacher's retirement allowance
under the State Teachers' Retirement System after the discontinuance.
In lieu of the monthly payment, the district may elect to pay in a
single sum the amount that shall be the actuarial equivalent to the
monthly amount thereafter payable, according to the interest rate and
mortality table currently in use under the plan. Payment of the
amount shall discharge fully the district's liability to the teacher
under this subdivision. The arrangement under which the amounts are
paid by the district shall not be considered to be a local retirement
system for the purposes of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 22000)
to Chapter 31 (commencing with Section 24600), inclusive, nor shall
the amount be taken into account in the calculation of the retirement
allowances under the State Teachers' Retirement System.
(b) Any person who was retired prior to July 1, 1956, from a
position requisite for membership in the State Teachers' Retirement
System, under a district supplemental retirement salary plan which
has been discontinued pursuant to this section, and elected either
under the plan or under the system, but not under both, to have a
portion of his or her retirement allowance modified according to an
option under which he or she would receive a smaller allowance and
provide for a benefit for his or her beneficiary, that person shall
have the right, to be exercised not later than 60 days after July 5,
1956, to change his or her election under the State Teachers'
Retirement System with respect to those options. Any computations of
actuarial equivalents under a changed election shall be made as of
the effective date, and no adjustment shall be included in the
computation on account of retirement allowance payments made prior to
that date.
(c) When any local retirement plan is discontinued under this
section, all funds remaining in the district retirement fund of the
local system shall be transferred to the general fund of the school
district in which the plan is discontinued. Thereafter any payments
to meet continuing obligations of the district arising from the
establishment or discontinuance of the plan shall be paid from the
general fund of the district.
24925. The governing boards, after the adoption of the plan, shall
at regular intervals, each not exceeding a period of five years,
secure a general survey and actuarial report of the plan, and the
boards shall from time to time amend the plan in any manner found to
be advisable to meet changed conditions, or, in the light of
experience, considered necessary.
24926. A plan under which the districts establishing it agree to
pay to employees who become entitled to retirement salaries within a
specified period, not exceeding 15 years, after the establishment of
the plan, a specified sum that, during the life expectancy of the
employees, will be approximately equal, in the aggregate, to the
aggregate difference, during the life expectancy, between the maximum
salary paid to employees in the respective classes of the retiring
employees, and the salaries paid to beginning employees in the
classes, shall be construed to comply with the provisions of this
chapter requiring the plan to be in accordance with sound business
practices and recognized actuarial methods.
24927. For the purpose of providing funds that may be necessary to
make the payments required by any joint district retirement plan,
district taxes shall be levied and collected annually by the
respective districts at the same time and in the same manner as other
district taxes are levied and collected. The tax shall be in
addition to any other district tax now or hereafter authorized by
law, and shall not be considered in fixing maximum rates of tax for
school district or community college district purposes.
24928. Every joint district retirement plan shall provide that only
those teachers and other employees who have served as teachers or
employees of the districts for at least 20 years of service
immediately preceding retirement, and who have reached a minimum age
specified in the joint district retirement plan, which shall not be
less than 55 years, shall be entitled to a district retirement
salary.
24929. The plan may provide for the retirement of teachers or other
employees on account of disability after 10 years of service
immediately prior to the retirement, the proportion of the disability
retirement salary to the full retirement salary to be specified in
the plan.
24930. Absence from service by reason of a leave of absence granted
by the governing board of an employing district shall not be
construed as a break in the continuity of service or by any district
retirement plan adopted pursuant to the provisions hereof, but the
period of leave shall not be counted as time served toward retirement
unless the period is so counted under the State Teachers Retirement
Act.
24931. Time of service may be counted in the aggregate and
fractions of years amounting to whole years may be counted as whole
years when payments by the teacher or other employee have been made
for all of the time counted.
24932. The governing boards of the districts shall in all cases
determine the teachers and other employees who are entitled to
retirement salaries, and make and keep a list of the teachers and
other employees, known as the retired list. For the purpose of making
the retired list the boards may take testimony and examine witnesses
under oath, which may be administered by any member of the board.
24933. The governing boards of the districts may make all necessary
and proper rules and regulations in aid or furtherance of the
provisions of this chapter and in order to carry out and administer
the provisions.
24934. When a joint district retirement plan is established there
shall be created in the treasury of the county in which the districts
are located, or, if the districts are located in more than one
county, in the treasury of the county selected by the governing
boards of the districts meeting in joint session, and open upon the
books of the auditor and treasurer of the county, a trust fund
account designated as the "joint district retirement fund." All
moneys, whether from contributions by teachers or other employees, or
by the districts, or from any source, properly belonging to the
joint district retirement fund shall be placed in the fund. Upon
approval of the joint district retirement board all incidental
expenses, including actual and necessary clerical or other help,
incurred in carrying out the provisions of this chapter shall be paid
out of the fund and in the same manner as other expenditures are
paid from district funds.
24935. Members of governing boards shall discharge the powers,
duties, purposes, responsibilities, and jurisdiction conferred or
imposed upon the governing boards under this chapter without extra or
additional compensation.
24936. The governing boards of the districts establishing the
retirement plan shall provide for the administration of the funds and
the payment of retirement salaries by a joint district retirement
board composed of three persons not officers or employees of any of
the districts, one representative of each district, one
representative of the teachers of each district and one
representative of the other employees of each district, who shall
serve without compensation. The representatives chosen by the
teachers and other employees shall be chosen by secret ballot. The
county treasurer of the county in the county treasury of which the
joint district retirement fund is created shall be ex officio a
member of the joint district retirement board. All members of the
retirement board shall serve for such terms as may be specified by
the governing boards in establishing a plan. The joint district
retirement board shall have such further powers and duties as may be
prescribed by the governing boards of the districts.
24937. (a) The joint district retirement board shall have charge
and control of the district retirement fund of the district and of
the payment of all retirement salaries and annuities payable from the
fund. The joint district retirement board shall invest the funds in
securities that are legal for the investment of funds of savings
banks in this state and shall sell the securities and reinvest the
proceeds in securities legal for investment of funds of savings banks
when in the judgment of the joint district retirement board the sale
and reinvestment is advisable. No investment in or sale of
securities shall be made except upon authorization of the joint
district retirement board at a meeting of the board.
(b) The board also shall collect the income from the securities
and pay it into the joint district retirement fund.
24938. The joint district retirement board may sue in its own name
when necessary to carry out the powers and duties conferred upon it.
The district attorney, or, if there is a county counsel, the county
counsel of the county in which are employed the largest number of
employees entitled to the benefits and subject to the burdens of the
joint district retirement plan shall act as attorney for the joint
district retirement board without additional compensation.
24939. All securities purchased by the joint district retirement
board shall be deposited with the county treasurer for safekeeping.
24940. (a) All payments from the joint district retirement fund
shall be made in the same manner as payments from school district
funds but shall be subject to approval of the joint district
retirement board. Warrants drawn on the fund shall be signed by at
least one member of the joint district retirement board who shall be
designated by the board.
(b) The duties imposed upon the county treasurer shall be a part
of his or her official duties, for the faithful performance of which
he or she shall be liable upon his or her official bond.
24941. The county auditor of the county in the county treasury of
which the "joint district retirement fund" is created shall audit the
accounts of the joint district retirement board at least once every
12 months and report upon the financial condition thereof to the
governing boards of the districts.
24942. The retirement salaries provided for in this chapter shall
be in addition to any other retirement salaries received by any
person under Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 22000) to Chapter 31
(commencing with Section 24600), inclusive, or as may be otherwise
provided by law.
24943. The retirement salaries provided for in this chapter for all
other employees, shall be in addition to any other retirement
salaries that may be provided by law.
24944. Whenever by the provisions of this chapter, the governing
boards of two or more school districts are required, or authorized,
to perform any act, the act may be done only at joint meetings of the
boards, and no action shall be taken by the boards except upon the
affirmative vote of a majority of the members of a majority of the
boards.
24920. Every teacher and every other employee of the school
districts for which the plan for district retirement is adopted, who
is employed by the districts at the time of the adoption of the plan,
and who signs an agreement to be subject to the burdens of the
district retirement plan, shall be entitled to the benefits and
subject to the burdens of the plan and of this chapter. Every teacher
employed in the public schools of the districts after the adoption
of the provisions of this chapter by the governing boards of the
districts, and any other employees the boards or the petition
determines, shall be bound by the benefits and burdens of this
chapter.
24921. Any plan shall not be adopted or established until the
governing boards, after any inquiry and hearing they may direct, find
that the respective contributions of the teachers and other
employees and the districts provided for in the plan, are
substantially in accordance with the more recent generally prevailing
rates of contributions in public institutions that have established
retirement systems, and that the plan is in accordance with sound
business practice and with recognized actuarial methods.
24922. The plan may provide that the retirement salary shall be a
stipulated monthly sum, or that all benefits under the retirement
feature of the plan shall be based upon the monthly salary for each
year of future active service in the district earned by the employee
up to the date of retirement and upon the average monthly salary
earned by the teacher or other eligible employee during the year
immediately preceding the adoption of the plan and the number of
years of past active service of the employee in the district, and
subject to those provisions made in the plan for minimum benefits. No
employee with less than 15 years' service in the district prior to
normal retirement age shall receive the benefit of the minimum. In no
instance shall the retirement benefits be based upon or allowed for
any amount of salary in excess of the sum of five hundred dollars
($500) per month.
24923. In lieu of the authorizations or requirements provided for
in Sections 24920 and 24922, the plan may provide only that the
retirement salary shall be based on service rendered prior to the
effective date of the plan or prior to July 1, 1944, and shall be an
amount which, when added to the retirement allowance the respective
member is entitled to receive under the State Teachers' Retirement
System, shall equal a sum of not less than one hundred dollars ($100)
per month and Sections 24920 and 24922 shall not be applicable
thereto. The costs of the benefits under such a plan may be met by
the contributions of the districts alone, notwithstanding Sections
35161, 35162, Article 1 (commencing with Section 7000) of Chapter 1
of Part 5, Article 2 (commencing with Section 10010) of Chapter 1 of
Part 7, Article 1 (commencing with Section 12500) of Chapter 5 of
Part 8, this part, Article 5 (commencing with Section 32340) of
Chapter 3 of Part 19, and Part 25 (commencing with Section 44000),
and only teachers who have credit for service rendered prior to that
date shall be subject to the plan.
24924. (a) A plan established under this chapter that is intended
to provide supplemental benefits only on account of service rendered
before July 1, 1944, may be discontinued by the governing board of
the district, subject to the following conditions:
(1) Notwithstanding Sections 35161, 35162, Article 1 (commencing
with Section 7000) of Chapter 1, Article 2 (commencing with Section
10010) of Chapter 1 of Part 7, Article 1 (commencing with Section
12500) of Chapter 5 of Part 8, this part, Article 5 (commencing with
Section 32340) of Chapter 3 of Part 19, and Part 25 (commencing with
Section 44000), any teacher who is not retired on July 1, 1956, shall
be entitled to the contributions made by him or her to the
discontinued plan with interest credited in accordance with the rules
and regulations of the local retirement plan up to and including
June 30, 1957. Likewise, a teacher who retired prior to July 1, 1956,
shall be entitled to a refund equal to the actuarial equivalent, at
his or her attained age, of the annuity that would have been provided
by the total contributions required of the member under the system,
based on interest and mortality tables currently in use, less the
amount of any contributions remaining unpaid on the date of
discontinuance. The amount to which any teacher is entitled under
this section shall be paid to him or her within 90 days of his or her
request in writing on a form provided by and filed with the local
retirement system. All requests shall be filed prior to July 1, 1959.
(2) The district in which the plan is discontinued shall pay
monthly to teachers, who were retired prior to the date of the
discontinuance, an amount equal to the amount by which the retirement
allowance to which any of these retired teachers was entitled under
the plan exceeds the increase in the teacher's retirement allowance
under the State Teachers' Retirement System after the discontinuance.
In lieu of the monthly payment, the district may elect to pay in a
single sum the amount that shall be the actuarial equivalent to the
monthly amount thereafter payable, according to the interest rate and
mortality table currently in use under the plan. Payment of the
amount shall discharge fully the district's liability to the teacher
under this subdivision. The arrangement under which the amounts are
paid by the district shall not be considered to be a local retirement
system for the purposes of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 22000)
to Chapter 31 (commencing with Section 24600), inclusive, nor shall
the amount be taken into account in the calculation of the retirement
allowances under the State Teachers' Retirement System.
(b) Any person who was retired prior to July 1, 1956, from a
position requisite for membership in the State Teachers' Retirement
System, under a district supplemental retirement salary plan which
has been discontinued pursuant to this section, and elected either
under the plan or under the system, but not under both, to have a
portion of his or her retirement allowance modified according to an
option under which he or she would receive a smaller allowance and
provide for a benefit for his or her beneficiary, that person shall
have the right, to be exercised not later than 60 days after July 5,
1956, to change his or her election under the State Teachers'
Retirement System with respect to those options. Any computations of
actuarial equivalents under a changed election shall be made as of
the effective date, and no adjustment shall be included in the
computation on account of retirement allowance payments made prior to
that date.
(c) When any local retirement plan is discontinued under this
section, all funds remaining in the district retirement fund of the
local system shall be transferred to the general fund of the school
district in which the plan is discontinued. Thereafter any payments
to meet continuing obligations of the district arising from the
establishment or discontinuance of the plan shall be paid from the
general fund of the district.
24925. The governing boards, after the adoption of the plan, shall
at regular intervals, each not exceeding a period of five years,
secure a general survey and actuarial report of the plan, and the
boards shall from time to time amend the plan in any manner found to
be advisable to meet changed conditions, or, in the light of
experience, considered necessary.
24926. A plan under which the districts establishing it agree to
pay to employees who become entitled to retirement salaries within a
specified period, not exceeding 15 years, after the establishment of
the plan, a specified sum that, during the life expectancy of the
employees, will be approximately equal, in the aggregate, to the
aggregate difference, during the life expectancy, between the maximum
salary paid to employees in the respective classes of the retiring
employees, and the salaries paid to beginning employees in the
classes, shall be construed to comply with the provisions of this
chapter requiring the plan to be in accordance with sound business
practices and recognized actuarial methods.
24927. For the purpose of providing funds that may be necessary to
make the payments required by any joint district retirement plan,
district taxes shall be levied and collected annually by the
respective districts at the same time and in the same manner as other
district taxes are levied and collected. The tax shall be in
addition to any other district tax now or hereafter authorized by
law, and shall not be considered in fixing maximum rates of tax for
school district or community college district purposes.
24928. Every joint district retirement plan shall provide that only
those teachers and other employees who have served as teachers or
employees of the districts for at least 20 years of service
immediately preceding retirement, and who have reached a minimum age
specified in the joint district retirement plan, which shall not be
less than 55 years, shall be entitled to a district retirement
salary.
24929. The plan may provide for the retirement of teachers or other
employees on account of disability after 10 years of service
immediately prior to the retirement, the proportion of the disability
retirement salary to the full retirement salary to be specified in
the plan.
24930. Absence from service by reason of a leave of absence granted
by the governing board of an employing district shall not be
construed as a break in the continuity of service or by any district
retirement plan adopted pursuant to the provisions hereof, but the
period of leave shall not be counted as time served toward retirement
unless the period is so counted under the State Teachers Retirement
Act.
24931. Time of service may be counted in the aggregate and
fractions of years amounting to whole years may be counted as whole
years when payments by the teacher or other employee have been made
for all of the time counted.
24932. The governing boards of the districts shall in all cases
determine the teachers and other employees who are entitled to
retirement salaries, and make and keep a list of the teachers and
other employees, known as the retired list. For the purpose of making
the retired list the boards may take testimony and examine witnesses
under oath, which may be administered by any member of the board.
24933. The governing boards of the districts may make all necessary
and proper rules and regulations in aid or furtherance of the
provisions of this chapter and in order to carry out and administer
the provisions.
24934. When a joint district retirement plan is established there
shall be created in the treasury of the county in which the districts
are located, or, if the districts are located in more than one
county, in the treasury of the county selected by the governing
boards of the districts meeting in joint session, and open upon the
books of the auditor and treasurer of the county, a trust fund
account designated as the "joint district retirement fund." All
moneys, whether from contributions by teachers or other employees, or
by the districts, or from any source, properly belonging to the
joint district retirement fund shall be placed in the fund. Upon
approval of the joint district retirement board all incidental
expenses, including actual and necessary clerical or other help,
incurred in carrying out the provisions of this chapter shall be paid
out of the fund and in the same manner as other expenditures are
paid from district funds.
24935. Members of governing boards shall discharge the powers,
duties, purposes, responsibilities, and jurisdiction conferred or
imposed upon the governing boards under this chapter without extra or
additional compensation.
24936. The governing boards of the districts establishing the
retirement plan shall provide for the administration of the funds and
the payment of retirement salaries by a joint district retirement
board composed of three persons not officers or employees of any of
the districts, one representative of each district, one
representative of the teachers of each district and one
representative of the other employees of each district, who shall
serve without compensation. The representatives chosen by the
teachers and other employees shall be chosen by secret ballot. The
county treasurer of the county in the county treasury of which the
joint district retirement fund is created shall be ex officio a
member of the joint district retirement board. All members of the
retirement board shall serve for such terms as may be specified by
the governing boards in establishing a plan. The joint district
retirement board shall have such further powers and duties as may be
prescribed by the governing boards of the districts.
24937. (a) The joint district retirement board shall have charge
and control of the district retirement fund of the district and of
the payment of all retirement salaries and annuities payable from the
fund. The joint district retirement board shall invest the funds in
securities that are legal for the investment of funds of savings
banks in this state and shall sell the securities and reinvest the
proceeds in securities legal for investment of funds of savings banks
when in the judgment of the joint district retirement board the sale
and reinvestment is advisable. No investment in or sale of
securities shall be made except upon authorization of the joint
district retirement board at a meeting of the board.
(b) The board also shall collect the income from the securities
and pay it into the joint district retirement fund.
24938. The joint district retirement board may sue in its own name
when necessary to carry out the powers and duties conferred upon it.
The district attorney, or, if there is a county counsel, the county
counsel of the county in which are employed the largest number of
employees entitled to the benefits and subject to the burdens of the
joint district retirement plan shall act as attorney for the joint
district retirement board without additional compensation.
24939. All securities purchased by the joint district retirement
board shall be deposited with the county treasurer for safekeeping.
24940. (a) All payments from the joint district retirement fund
shall be made in the same manner as payments from school district
funds but shall be subject to approval of the joint district
retirement board. Warrants drawn on the fund shall be signed by at
least one member of the joint district retirement board who shall be
designated by the board.
(b) The duties imposed upon the county treasurer shall be a part
of his or her official duties, for the faithful performance of which
he or she shall be liable upon his or her official bond.
24941. The county auditor of the county in the county treasury of
which the "joint district retirement fund" is created shall audit the
accounts of the joint district retirement board at least once every
12 months and report upon the financial condition thereof to the
governing boards of the districts.
24942. The retirement salaries provided for in this chapter shall
be in addition to any other retirement salaries received by any
person under Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 22000) to Chapter 31
(commencing with Section 24600), inclusive, or as may be otherwise
provided by law.
24943. The retirement salaries provided for in this chapter for all
other employees, shall be in addition to any other retirement
salaries that may be provided by law.
24944. Whenever by the provisions of this chapter, the governing
boards of two or more school districts are required, or authorized,
to perform any act, the act may be done only at joint meetings of the
boards, and no action shall be taken by the boards except upon the
affirmative vote of a majority of the members of a majority of the
boards.
