CSEA chapter president urges board to reject trustee and administrator pay increases amid layoffs

At a June 4 Apple Valley Unified School District board meeting, JC Scott, president of the local California School Employees Association chapter, urged trustees to reject any increase in compensation for board members or administrators while district employees had endured layoffs and reduced hours.

"It would be a slap in the face to every single employee who had food taken off their table or money taken out of their pockets," Scott said during public comment, framing the proposal as tone-deaf in the wake of recent staffing reductions. He also questioned paying retroactive compensation for a board member who has missed meetings and district events, calling the idea a potential misuse of taxpayer funds.

Scott’s remarks set the tone for a prolonged discussion during the meeting about whether and how to update board remuneration rules following Assembly Bill 1390, which changed the statutory maximum monthly compensation for trustees based on district average daily attendance.

Trustee Renee Longshore said she would not support any raise while staff had not received comparable increases. "As long as any of our employees are not getting a raise, I will not be voting for a raise," Longshore said during debate. Several other trustees argued the board should follow the law and update its bylaws but acknowledged the timing and optics were difficult given the district’s recent fiscal decisions.

The board approved first readings of a uniform CSBA-supplied exhibit and an updated bylaw (9.250) that incorporate AB 1390’s structure, moving both items to a second reading. Trustees gave staff direction to return with a specific dollar figure to insert in the compensation section; some trustees suggested keeping the current monthly stipend of $441, while others discussed a modest increase in line with staff raises. At the first-reading vote to advance the exhibit, the roll call was recorded with one "no" (Longshore) and the remainder in favor.

Superintendent Nelson responded to public concerns about transparency, noting that any salary increase for cabinet or the superintendent would be agendized, listed publicly and read at a board meeting; she reiterated that cabinet had not received a raise since 07/01/2023.

The discussion will continue at the next board meeting, when the board will consider the second reading and a specific compensation amount. For now, the board has not adopted a change to trustee pay; it only advanced the bylaw language for a later vote.