Not sure where in CA you're based, but in Menlo Park there are custodians with total comp in the low six figures (including benefits but on a 9-month calendar). The teachers make more, and counselors/administrators are in the $200k range.

As for teacher firing, it is very rare in CA. [1]

> California has more than 1,000 school districts and 300,000 teachers, yet only 667 dismissal cases were filed between 2003 and 2012. Only 130 of those actually got to the hearing stage, and 82 resulted in dismissals — fewer than 10 a year.

1: https://www.mercurynews.com/2013/01/25/firing-a-tenured-teac...