Teachers, parents and union representatives press Monrovia Unified on pay, cite staterequirement

Public commenters at the Monrovia Unified School District board meeting criticized the district—s compensation levels and urged the board to prioritize bringing salaries into compliance with the state—s 55% requirement for spending on classroom teachers.

At the podium, Natalie Harrison, a social studies teacher at Monrovia High School, said the district repeatedly signs waivers that allow it to spend below the state minimum and urged a change in priorities: "It is a state requirement that 55% of unrestricted funds be spent on salaries and benefits for employees who work directly with students," Harrison said, asking the board to "prioritize investment in the educators who directly serve students every day." She called signing waivers instead of meeting the minimum "like a business saying we can—t pay minimum wage, so we will just sign a waiver to pay under minimum wage."

Several speakers supplied numbers they said illustrate the problem. Luis Vasquez told the board that the district—s share of current expenses going to classroom teacher salaries fell from 52.9% three years ago to 50.79% last year, and he asked when the district—s corrective-action plan would show results rather than continued waivers. Lisonbee Barrett compared Monrovia—s total raises since 2014 (26.14%) with a seven-district average (31.39%) and noted that cumulative state COLA since 2014 totaled 33.37%, a gap she said amounts to a pay cut in real terms.

Teachers and other speakers framed the issue as both a budgeting and recruitment problem. Heather Gack, referencing the LA County salary survey, said Monrovia ranks near the bottom at multiple career stages and urged competitive pay to recruit and retain staff. Ryan Menlove criticized district social-media messaging that celebrates program successes "in spite of" low pay and urged more honest community messaging about compensation.

Board members did not take immediate action on raises at the meeting. In response, staff and the superintendent pointed to ongoing budget work (including the second interim report presented later in the meeting) and said multi-year planning and staffing adjustments were being used to improve fiscal stability. Board members requested additional details about the plan to reach the 55% calculation and the timeline for results.

What—s next: Speakers asked the board to make teacher compensation a priority in the upcoming budget process; the district will present more detailed budget information during the May revision and the June budget adoption process.