The Abridged version:
- Sacramento City Unified trustees are considering raising their pay, though the increases would not go into effect until the district reached a level of budget stability.
- There are a few scenarios in which the raises could start, and the earliest any could happen is this December.
- A recent change to California law permitted school boards to up their pay for the first time in decades. Those that have, including in the Sacramento region, have faced intense scrutiny.
Sacramento City Unified trustees are considering upping their monthly stipends, a change that would not go into effect until the district achieved some measure of budget stability.
The school board is set to take up the issue during its meeting Thursday night and would vote on the matter at a future meeting.
Documents on the public agenda explain that the raises — from $826 to $3,000 a month — would be deferred until the school district achieves a non-negative check of its finances.
Or, the increase would go into effect in the event that the district goes into state receivership.
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A change to California law kicked in at the start of the year, allowing school board members across the state to bump up their pay for the first time in decades.
In the districts where trustees have taken the opportunity, the raises have stoked intense debate. Board members say the additional money matches the level of responsibility they take on and opens the door to a wider crop of candidates.
Opponents, including in the Sacramento region, point to multimillion-dollar budget deficits and recent strikes for higher teacher wages, arguing now is not the time.
Waiting for stability
Sacramento City Unified is in arguably one of the worst fiscal positions of California’s more than 1,000 school districts.
Leaders have been contending with a multimillion-dollar crisis since last fall. They are currently racing to recover at least $150 million in savings before next spring to avoid a dreaded state loan.
That is why the potential stipend increases for Sacramento City Unified’s seven board members would not go into effect right away.
Instead, documents outline three future scenarios that would automatically trigger the raises.
One possibility is the district has a positive budget certification — meaning officials expect to be able to pay their bills and have cash on hand for the next three years.
California school districts go through budget checks, called interim reports, at least twice a year. They can receive a positive, qualified or negative certification.
Should Sacramento City Unified achieve a qualified status — meaning it’s iffy whether the district will have enough money to meet its obligations over the next three years — trustees would also then see a bigger paycheck.
Negative certification means the district is expected to fall short this year or the next.
Or a state loan
The third way for the school board member stipends to automatically increase is if the district turns to the state for a loan. It is a scenario that leaders have been diligently trying to avoid.
If Sacramento City Unified runs out of cash and other options, it would have to take emergency funds, approved by state lawmakers.
In return, the superintendent is replaced by a county-appointed administrator. School board members stay on, but in an advisory role without voting power.
The proposed amendment means that even with this demotion, trustees would see their monthly stipends more than triple.
Plus back pay
The policy also accounts for back pay.
Once the raises go into effect, any current board members still in the role would receive deferred pay for the time between the official vote and when the raises kick in, for up to six months, or as much as $13,038 per trustee.
Case for better compensation
Trustee Taylor Kayatta said he anticipates pushback.
“Our budget is challenged, and that’s the last time you want to increase your pay. But the level of work this board is putting in” deserves compensation, he said.
The change would put Sacramento City Unified in line with the level of pay the state says is appropriate, Kayatta said. And it would follow in the footsteps of neighboring school districts, including Elk Grove, Natomas and Twin Rivers Unified.
Kayatta said he supports the raises not for himself, but for board members who come after him.
“This job is one that should be compensated,” Kayatta said.
“To be on the school board,” he added, “you shouldn’t have to already be comfortably middle class.”
How likely is an increase?
The district’s next budget check is in December. If it meets the positive or qualified threshold at that time, the board’s pay would jump up starting in January.
In its last checkup, in June, Sacramento City Unified reported a qualified budget.
With the end of the current legislative session Monday, state lawmakers are not set to return until after the November election. That means the earliest local officials could ask for aid is December.
Latest projections show the district running out of cash by February. However, leaders maintain they are on track to make enough cuts to survive the school year.
