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Santa Cruz Valley USD No. 35 approves assistant principal hire, signs federal assurances and grants 5% staff raise
Summary
At its April 2025 meeting in Rio Rico, the Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District No. 35 governing board approved the hire of Mahesh Kumar as Rio Rico High School assistant principal, authorized submission of FERPA/PPRA assurances and a Title VI certification linked to SFFA v. Harvard, and approved a 5% salary increase for eligible staff.
The Governing Board of the Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District No. 35 on a vote in April 2025 approved several personnel and compliance actions affecting district staff and federal funding assurances.
The board approved the appointment of Mahesh Kumar as assistant principal at Rio Rico High School for the 2025–26 school year. The board motion approved the appointment with an annual salary of $86,445; the motion carried and the board entered the appointment into the record.
The board also authorized the assistant superintendent to complete and submit the Arizona Department of Education—amily Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) assurance forms for fiscal years 2025 and 2026. District staff told the board they had reviewed the forms with legal counsel and believed the district—omplies with the requirements identified by the department.
Separately, members authorized the superintendent to sign the district—ertification under Title VI and related materials requested following the U.S. Supreme Court-related litigation referenced as SFFA v. Harvard. District staff told the board the forms mirror a broader review being sought by the Arizona Department of Education; the board approved executing the certifications after legal review and staff recommendation.
On compensation, the board approved a 5% salary increase for all eligible certified administrators, teachers, professionals and classified exempt staff for the 2025-26 fiscal year. Board members and staff described the increase as part of the district nnual compensation review and tied to available reserves and previous multi-year salary adjustments across classified, certified and administrative groups.
The board also approved the consent agenda (with one consent item held for separate discussion). During that discussion board members clarified that the district absorbs the Additional Contribution Rate (ACR) cost associated with rehired retired teachers rather than passing that cost to the rehired employee; the board noted the policy is used as a recruitment and retention incentive.
Earlier in the meeting the board voted to enter an executive session to confer with counsel regarding pending county treasurer litigation and related matters; the board returned to open session later in the meeting and proceeded with the items above.
No item on the record was defeated. Specific vote tallies by member were not recorded verbatim in the public transcript; motions were announced and recorded by the board as approved.
