Sheehan

Appellants are teachers employed by the Salinas Union High School District; feeling aggrieved by the decision of the district governing board to purchase group health insurance benefits for district employees under Government Code, section 53202 et seq., 1 appellants petitioned for a writ of mandate to compel a revision of the district salary schedule. The appeal is from a judgment of dismissal entered after the court sustained respondent board members’ general demurrer.

Appellants’ basic complaint is that the particular group health insurance *79 plan which the district board decided to purchase for its employees is more valuable to teachers who have dependents covered under the plan than to those who have no dependents. The petition alleged that part of the cash salaries of teachers was “directed toward the purchase of health insurance pursuant to an order of the [r]espondents.” That allegation is incorrect as a matter of law; it was properly pointed out to the court by respondents (and is now conceded by appellants) that the health insurance benefit in question was not paid for out of payroll deductions; the plan was purchased by the district out of district funds,…