CUSD holds public hearing on 2025-26 Prop. 301 pay-for-performance plan; staff voted overwhelmingly in favor

The Chandler Unified School District held a public hearing Sept. 10 on its proposed 2025–26 Prop. 301 pay-for-performance plan, a staff-funded stipend program the district says is designed to align district instructional initiatives with one-time Prop. 301 dollars.

Dr. Dela Torre presented the plan to the board and audience, explaining the proposal calls for a total pool of $3,004,450 for 2025–26 to be distributed in three parts tied to site and instructional work. The three parts presented were: a site learning experience plan payment, a teacher-performance portion tied to the district’s evaluation classification, and a “Journey to Excellence” portion tied to participation in scheduled learning walks, which will be paid in two semester installments.

Why it matters: Prop. 301 money is voter-approved funding the state allocates to districts for teacher pay and related purposes. The district framed the proposal as an effort to “put dollars where our strategic instructional efforts are,” aligning the stipend with the district’s Site Learning Experience Plan (SLEP), Universal Design for Learning (UDL) initiative and MTSS/RTI work.

Program mechanics and staff vote Dr. Dela Torre said the three components are designed as follows: a one-time site-plan completion payment, a teacher-performance component based on the Marzano evaluation instrument that awards full performance dollars to teachers rated effective or highly effective and reduced percentages to teachers in developing ratings, and a larger retention/participation portion (the “Journey to Excellence”) tied to participation in learning walks and other site-level work. The district presented the stipend portions as roughly $3,350 for the site plan component, $350 tied to performance classification, and $2,750 for the Journey-to-Excellence portion (paid 50% at the end of each semester).

Dr. Dela Torre told the board that the certified staff vote on the proposed plan closed with 99.3% of eligible teachers voting in favor; he said only one staff member voted against it. The board and presenters noted there is a separate $600 stipend tied to board metrics that is not part of this Prop. 301 plan.

Board questions and next steps Board members asked clarifying questions about whether the plan includes board-level strategic metrics (it does not) and how often teachers are formally evaluated. Dr. Dela Torre explained evaluation frequency depends on experience: teachers with fewer than three years in the district receive more formal observations and informal checks; more experienced teachers have fewer formal observations but regular walkthroughs and evaluation touchpoints.

The public hearing closed at the end of the presentation. The district will return the pay-for-performance plan to the board for formal approval at the Oct. 8 board meeting.

Quotation "If we value our initiatives from an instructional perspective and how we're measuring those things, then we're kind of putting our money where our mouth is," Dr. Dela Torre said during the presentation.

What’s next The board did not take final action Sept. 10; the item will return for action at the Oct. 8 board meeting. The district said staff training, learning-walk scheduling and evaluation inputs will continue while the approval process proceeds.