Teachers, staff and parents press board on spending, compensation and accountability
Summary
Multiple public commenters criticized trustee travel and CalCard expenditures, urged that trustee pay increases reflect seniority (AB 1390), and raised outstanding personnel allegations; the board heard those comments and later voted to table AB 1390 and to take no immediate action on trustee compensation.
Speakers during the public-comment period raised sharp concerns about district finances, trustee compensation and accountability.
Brian Hahn, vice president of the Adelanto District Teachers Association, opened the public remarks with a long endorsement of Superintendent Terry Walker’s leadership, saying gratitude and recognition have become central to her approach. "Gratitude isn't merely a polite... It's a leadership strategy," Hahn told the board.
Several classified and certificated staff then addressed item 13 on the agenda (trustee compensation/Assembly Bill 1390). Diane Lynn asked that trustee pay increases be tied to seniority and experience rather than an across-the-board maximum increase, noting current trustee pay of $300 per month and the AB 1390 cap increase to $1,200 per month. Staff speakers pressed for more equitable pay for classroom employees, pointing out the district’s limited salary increases for classified staff.
Multiple speakers including Lauren Benson and Kim Smith specifically accused trustees of overspending district travel and posted CalCard receipts. Benson said she reviewed the receipts and counted "346 pages" of charges for one trustee and asserted "you overspent by almost $15,000," naming travel and meal charges as that trustee’s major items. Benson also raised a serious but unproven allegation she said was under investigation about an individual named Michael Kras; the comment asked for updates on that investigation. The board did not discuss alleged criminal matters in public.
Board response and actions: Trustees took the public input under advisement. The board later voted to table discussion of Assembly Bill 1390 pending further information (motion passed 5-0). No immediate change to trustee compensation occurred.
Why it matters: Public comments put pressure on trustees to improve transparency about expenditures and on staff pay equity amid ongoing negotiations. Allegations raised in public comments — including personnel misconduct— require separate investigatory and legal processes and were not resolved in the meeting.
The board recorded the public comments in the minutes and proceeded to the closed-session items that followed.
