Mesa Public Schools board approves 2025–26 compensation plan including $900 one‑time stipend

The Mesa Public Schools governing board on a 5–0 vote approved the district's 2025–26 compensation plan, a package that includes a $900 one‑time payment for returning employees, new salary schedules, and short‑term adjustments to several temporary pay policies.

The plan, presented to the board by Mr. Wing, includes a $900, one‑time stipend prorated by FTE for eligible returning employees. Mr. Wing told the board that "a little over $4,000,000 will be paid from our Classroom Site Fund" (Prop 123) to cover classroom‑eligible payments and that the stipend is not ongoing and does not apply to new hires.

Board members and representatives of employee associations framed the decision as the product of negotiation. Kelly Berg, a math teacher at Dobson High School and president of the Mesa Education Association, said the meet‑and‑confer process resulted in proposals the associations "carefully created to honor the employees in all groups who serve our students and community." Tiffany Matthews, NESPA president, thanked district negotiators and noted classified employees lost positions this year; she called the one‑time stipend "a bittersweet gesture" given those losses.

Key elements the board approved: - $900 one‑time stipend for returning employees, prorated by FTE; funded in part from the Classroom Site Fund (Prop 123). The district shared that just over $4,000,000 of that will be paid from that fund. The stipend is explicitly one‑time and will not apply to new employees. - Midyear salary adjustment window: employees will have an additional midyear opportunity to submit college credit completions for salary adjustments so late‑completed credits do not wait a full year for application. - One‑year change to workdays for certain less‑than‑12‑month office personnel: for the 2025–26 year only, select secretaries/registrars will work the days immediately following fall and winter break (non‑student days) to improve operations on campus during those periods. - Cap on summer temporary pay for 9‑month classified employees: temporary summer assignments outside a staff member's regular job will pay the employee's current hourly rate not to exceed $25 per hour; the cap aligns with the district's stated noninstructional teacher rate. - Establishment of published salary schedules similar to the stipend schedule: the district will publish minimum and maximum salaries by pay grade and include that information in job postings; employees above a new maximum will be transitioned as legacy employees and will not lose pay.

Board discussion emphasized transparency and the meet‑and‑confer process. Member Walden commended the salary range transparency and called the plan empowering for employees; several other board members thanked MEA, NESPA, MAC and MASA representatives and district HR for the negotiations. Mr. Wing told the board that communications about the approved recommendations would be sent to staff the following day.

Board members also discussed the district's broader fiscal context. Administrators reminded the board that the one‑time state maintenance and operations dollars underpinning part of the stipend are not ongoing and that final state budget decisions (including how Prop 123 funding is treated going forward) remain subject to the legislature and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee. Superintendent remarks during the meeting reiterated uncertainty about the final state budget and the possibility of future adjustments should additional state funding materialize.

Board members described additional follow‑up steps already planned: a third‑party stipend audit this summer to review the roughly $40,000,000 the district spends on stipends yearly and, as needed, a design team to review stipend structure and clarity of stipend descriptions on published schedules. The district committed to clarifying duplicate stipend lines (for example, high school vs. junior high orchestra distinctions) and to provide follow‑up on questions about combined stipends for coaching multiple teams.

The board approved the compensation plan by a unanimous vote of five ayes. Mr. Wing and district staff will proceed with implementation steps described to the board, with some elements (notably the one‑time stipend) explicitly limited to the 2025–26 year pending future state funding and further board consideration.

The public comment period included several speakers who addressed the planned compensation actions; those comments were read into the record in the virtual meeting and were considered by the board as part of the broader discussion.