Governing board approves contracts, salary schedule and policies in unanimous votes

The J O Combs Unified School District Governing Board unanimously approved a series of routine and substantive items, including intergovernmental agreements, a memorandum of understanding with a health provider and a 1.9% salary schedule increase for 2025-26.

The votes came during the board's regular meeting; most motions carried 5-0. Agenda items approved included minutes from prior meetings, an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the Pinal County Education Service Agency, an agreement with the Pinal County Elections Department to make district facilities available as polling locations, a memorandum of understanding with Cartwheel Health Services PC, adoption of the 2025-26 salary increase proposal, updated 2025-26 salary schedules and recommended policy changes sent by the Arizona School Boards Association (ASBA).

Why this matters: the salary-schedule changes determine pay scales for district employees and the approved agreements preserve operational relationships used for elections, student referrals to mental-health resources and county education services. The ASBA policy updates reflect statewide guidance that the district will incorporate after a second reading.

Most significant votes and outcomes - Agenda adoption: Motion carried 5-0; board member Steven moved and Melissa seconded the motion; president announced "Motion carries. 5 to 0." (recorded vote: 5-0). - Approval of minutes (regular meeting 03/05/2025 and special meeting 03/26/2025): both approved 5-0. - IGA with Pinal County Education Service Agency: approved 5-0; staff noted the IGA creates multi-year operational coordination and the office of Joe Broussard (Pinal County) is a primary contact. - Agreement with Pinal County Elections Department: approved 5-0; agreement covers use of district facilities for upcoming elections and describes law-enforcement support protocols for polling sites. - Memorandum of understanding with Cartwheel Health Services PC: approved 5-0; MOU establishes a voluntary referral pathway for families to mental-health services offered through Cartwheel/ADE-aligned programs. - 2025-26 salary increase and salary schedules: board adopted a general 1.9% increase for the listed employee groups and approved the revised salary schedules; support-staff increases were handled separately because of a January minimum-wage adjustment; motion carried 5-0. - ASBA policy advisory (809–818) revisions (second reading): approved 5-0; staff said most deletions reflect consolidation rather than removal of policy content.

Details and clarifications - The recommended general increase is 1.9%; for certified staff the change was described as adding $9.30 to the teacher salary schedule to set a new starting salary of $54,000. Staff cautioned the final cost depends on hires and separations and that contract amendments will be issued to employees after the board's ratification. - The elections agreement covers use of the district office meeting room, the middle school and Harmon sites as polling centers; district administrators discussed concerns about rowdy behavior near Harmon because younger students use nearby spaces and described the county sheriff's office as an assigned response resource. - The Cartwheel MOU is a voluntary referral arrangement; district staff emphasized the district will not provide care directly but can provide families information about services.

Next steps - Staff will return contract amendments and individual salary-impact lists at the next regular meeting after final hiring numbers are known. - ASBA policy changes will be promulgated per the usual second-read workflow.

Ending note: Board members repeatedly voted 5-0 on the listed items; no votes failed or were tabled during the meeting.