Washington Elementary board approves financial-compliance report and adopts 2% pay increase and selected pay adjustments; longevity stipend left for further vet

The Washington Elementary School District Governing Board on March 13, 2025 accepted the district's annual financial-compliance presentation and approved interest-based negotiation (IBN) recommendations that include a 2% base-salary increase for all staff and several targeted pay adjustments. The board left a proposed longevity stipend for further review and follow-up.

The financial-compliance presentation required by state statute was presented earlier in the meeting; the board voted to accept it 5-0. The board then considered three IBN recommendations developed by the district's IBN committee and moved to approve recommendation 1 (a 2% base-salary increase) and recommendation 3 (a set of anomaly pay adjustments), amending recommendation 3 to explicitly include the special-education stipends discussed at the meeting. Recommendation 2, the proposed longevity stipend, was not included in the approved motion and will be revisited with the IBN process.

Votes at a glance - Acceptance of annual financial-compliance presentation (agenda item 6A): passed 5-0. Roll call recorded: Bill Adams ' Aye; Tamilia Gosa Chapa ' Aye; Lindsey Peterson ' Aye; Kyle Clayton ' Aye; Jenny Abbot Bayardi ' Aye. - IBN recommendations: board approved Recommendation 1 (2% across-the-board salary increase) and Recommendation 3 (district anomalies) as amended to include the special-education stipend; Recommendation 2 (longevity stipend) was left for further work and not approved as part of the motion. The board voted to approve the amended motion during the regular meeting (vote count not explicitly recorded on the transcript).

IBN recommendations adopted (as presented or amended at the meeting) - Recommendation 1: 2% increase to base salary for all staff groups (certified, classified exempt and nonexempt, hourly staff and administrators). The committee recommended applying the increase to employees hired or in process by March 31 of the year and applying it to contracts for the next school year. - Recommendation 3 (anomalies): the committee proposed six anomaly adjustments presented at the meeting, and the board approved these with an amendment to include the special-education stipends. Items listed by staff were: increase starting hourly rates for van drivers (from $14.70 to $16.65), accounts-payable technicians (from $15.45 to $18.34), English-language-learner testers (from $14.70 to $16.00), and kids-based support instructors (from $14.70 to $16.65); an adjustment described for the doctoral stipend (transcript: change from $7.50 to $2,500); and special-education classroom stipends of $3,000 for a special-education teacher and $500 for a general-education teacher assigned to a special-education classroom. - Recommendation 2 (longevity stipend): the IBN committee presented a longevity stipend scenario described in the meeting as "$15 per year of service for 1'4 years and $30 per year of service for 5+ years," with eligibility tied to FTE and employment during the pay period when the stipend is distributed. The board did not approve Recommendation 2 at this meeting and directed that the item be returned to the IBN process for further work.

Discussion and context District staff presented the IBN work and recommendations; Michael Stewart led the IBN presentation. Board members expressed strong support for staff while also criticizing state-level funding limits. Governing Board Vice President Lindsay Peterson summarized the district's constrained options and criticized the statewide funding context: "So let's be very clear, that 2% is insulting." Peterson and others contrasted the 2% local increase with state-level policy and funding priorities discussed during the public remarks.

Next steps Administration will implement the adopted salary and anomaly changes as directed and return any items the board asked to be reconsidered (notably Recommendation 2) to the IBN process for additional discussion. The district did not specify implementation dates for all items beyond the general guidance that the 2% increase would apply to contracts for the next school year and to employees hired or in-process by the district's stated cutoff.