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Board adopts proposed FY 2025–26 budget summary for publication, keeps ESA tuition rate and approves superintendent compensation
Summary
The governing board approved publishing the proposed FY 2025–26 budget and set a public hearing by July 15, 2025; members discussed and approved maintaining the previously set ESA tuition rate with a pledge to revisit it in December 2025; the board also approved a performance-based compensation award for the superintendent as recorded in the meeting.
The Agua Fria Union High School District governing board on June 4 approved publication of the proposed FY 2025–26 budget summary and authorized a public hearing no later than July 15, 2025. Mike Shepherd presented the preliminary budget forms, noting the state budget remained pending and that the district’s proposed budget uses existing base support levels while projecting an approximate 2% enrollment increase for the coming year.
Board members then discussed item 7.2, the ESA (Empowerment Scholarship Account) tuition rate for non‑district students seeking district classes or extracurricular participation. Staff summarized last year’s calculation: aggregating district per‑pupil funding components yielded $10,161 per pupil; dividing by the full-time unit count produced an ESA tuition rate previously recorded as $1,270.23 per semester, and the recommendation was to keep the same rate for 2025–26. The board debated whether to finalize rates tonight or revisit them; a motion passed to approve the current rates for 2025–26 while directing staff to revisit the rate in December 2025 for the 2026–27 school year. The record shows the board also noted a separate extracurricular fee recommendation of $1,000 for non‑district students and existing activity fees for enrolled students of roughly $100 per season with local caps. Board members raised equity concerns about the $1,000 extracurricular rate relative to typical per‑season caps for enrolled students.
Later in the meeting the board approved awarding performance‑based compensation to the superintendent. The motion in the meeting record references an amount written as "$24.25" in the motion text; the board seconded and approved the award by roll-call vote. The meeting record does not supply additional written context for the numeric formatting; district staff indicated follow-up and clarifying documentation will be available through administrative records.
