Marana board approves 2025–26 performance-based pay plan after debate over student outcomes

The Marana Unified School District governing board voted to approve the district’s 2025–26 performance-based pay plan after an extended exchange about whether the program aligns with student achievement.

Miss Anselata, presenting the plan, said administrators made "minor changes" including a date update and removal of a one-year hold-harmless clause for schools in Project Momentum. She told the board that statute requires a 70% teacher voting threshold and that, at the time the memo was written, 71.3% of eligible teachers had voted in favor; she later said the tally rose to about 78% in favor.

Board member Tom (speaker 3) pressed administration on payout outcomes, noting that "86% received the full amount" last year and asking why so many teachers qualified if student math scores were poor. Tom said the percentage feels "too high" given the district’s assessment results and requested a follow-up study of how PBP criteria align with measurable student improvements. Administration said the plan has three components: professional growth (including required hours), school-level student achievement measures, and the school letter grade component; they said some components protect new teachers for a year and that school-level letter grades factor into the top 10% of the payout.

Trustees moved and seconded approval of the plan and called the question; the motion passed. Board members asked administration to return with additional detail from the PBP working group and with data that connects payout distributions to student outcomes.

The board’s action finalizes the district’s pay plan for the coming school year; a board member requested a future study session to examine ADE test scores and the performance-based pay criteria in more depth.