News Brief

Monday, January 26, 2026 — 2:35 pm

Fresno Unified School District board members will receive pay raises that more than double their current stipends, starting in February, The Fresno Bee reported. The seven-member board voted 6-1 to increase their pay from $2,111 to $4,500, or $54,000 annually. 

Assembly Bill 1390, signed into law in October, raised the maximum monthly stipend for board members in school districts and county education offices — the first time in over 40 years that school board members’ compensation limits have been raised. Local boards still decide whether to raise their rates. 

According to The Bee, Fresno Unified is among the first districts in the state to utilize AB 1390. 

School districts with an average of over 60,000 students showing up each day, or average daily attendance, may pay board members a monthly stipend of up to $4,500, with the ability for 5% annual increases beyond that. 

But school districts are facing budget deficits caused by declining enrollment, lower state funding due to lower average daily attendance, uncertainty about federal funding, and lower-than-expected cost-of-living adjustments from the state. 

This is another year of budget cuts for Fresno Unified. There were district-level cuts in 2024-25 and almost $49 million in cuts this school year, including a nearly $30 million program that provided additional instruction to students but reportedly showed inconsistent results.

Most recently, in December, the board approved early retirement for 573 employees to save the district $56 million over the next five years. 

“The reality is that we are in a moment of operating under a budget deficit and having to make some difficult decisions over these next few months, if not longer,” said trustee Andy Levine, the sole “no” vote.

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