<\/p>\n
Elk Grove High School is pictured on March 16, 2024.<\/p>\n
Scott Lorenzo<\/p>\n
Special to The Bee<\/p>\n
Elk Grove Unified School District board members voted Tuesday to eliminate, release or reassign a number of classified positions in the district at a meeting while approving a raise for themselves, which is allowed by law.<\/p>\n
The jobs being eliminated or cut back for the 2026-27 school year across the district\u2019s 73 campuses, which begins in July, were:<\/a> library technicians; paraeducators; mental health therapists; computer training and support specialists; pre-K instructors; counseling, college and career technicians; family, school and community liaisons; program educators and assistants; school office assistants; job developers; project implementers and substance abuse prevention educators; and student store technicians.<\/p>\n The total reduction was expected to be 60.0388 full-time equivalent positions, and 18.6825 were vacancies. The positions were measured in terms of full-time equivalents, meaning one person working a 40-hour work week. It was unclear exactly how many people working for the district would be affected. It was also unclear how many of those jobs would come from attrition and existing vacancies.<\/p>\n The positions were eliminated either due to lack of work or lack of funds, according to the resolution<\/a>. This item was approved as part of the board\u2019s consent calendar, meaning no discussion took place in front of the public at this meeting.<\/p>\n In closed session, the board also approved releasing or reassigning five vice principals, an AVID \u2014 Advancement via Individual Determination \u2014 college readiness coordinator and a program specialist in educational equity for the upcoming school year, according to board President Beth Albiani.<\/p>\n That item was also on the consent calendar<\/a>, along with the reduction of non-management positions in the district\u2019s English as a Second Language program, computer basics, parent education, high school diploma and equivalency, medical assistant and program coordinator. Those roles totaled 11.62 full-time equivalent positions. The reason listed was a reduction or the discontinuation of these particular kinds of services.<\/p>\n The consent calendar was approved unanimously.<\/p>\n The board later approved raises for its members.<\/p>\n Board members will now receive a raise of four times their current pay<\/a> from a maximum of $750 a month to $3,000 a month, dependent on student attendance and member attendance of board meetings. The new pay becomes effective in March.<\/p>\n Changes to the board\u2019s pay are required by law, as California\u2019s AB 1390<\/a>, which was signed into law in October, requires minimum and maximum amounts of compensation for board members, making it an amount between $600 and $4,500 per month based on the average daily attendance for the prior school year. The $3,000 amount is the maximum an EGUSD board member could currently receive.<\/p>\n The seven EGUSD board members are currently compensated a maximum of $750 per month<\/a>, if they attend all board meetings, an amount that hadn\u2019t changed since July 1991.<\/p>\n The new pay structure was expected to cost the district approximately $252,000 a year<\/a>, an increase of $189,000 from the current $63,000 a year.<\/p>\n During the meeting, board trustee Michael Vargas acknowledged the added weight of responsibility that the raise brings and said the salary increase was \u201ca real cost.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat is that one AVID coordinator that we were not able to keep right there,\u201d Vargas said.<\/p>\n Jennifer Hart, an EGUSD employee, said she understands the argument for the raise that \u201cpublic service should not require personal wealth\u201d but argued that the board\u2019s new compensation will outweigh what many longtime school employees, like paraeducators and campus supervisors, earn.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is no wonder that we cannot keep these jobs filled when district wages for these positions are so far below what you have deemed appropriate for public service,\u201d Hart said.<\/p>\n Rocio Galvan, the president of Elk Grove\u2019s chapter of the California School Employees Association<\/a>, asked the board to reconsider raises for the trustees amid the district\u2019s almost $35 million deficit<\/a> and after consent vote that reduced the number of classified positions, which the union represents.<\/p>\n \u201cHow can you, the leaders of this district, justify raising your own compensation while asking us to sacrifice?\u201d Galvan said. \u201cI know the law allows this. I know the argument is that the stipend hasn\u2019t been raised in years. But just because you can do something does not mean you should.\u201d<\/p>\n Albiani, who was first elected to the EGUSD board in 2014, said she thought Galvan made good points and voted \u201cno\u201d on the proposal to increase compensation to $3,000, making her the only board member to do so.<\/p>\n Board member Sean Yang asked Albiani if she would accept the increase while voting no, as the increase is discretionary. Albiani said she likely would, as she said she would plan to donate to charity and students as she currently does and said she also owes the district for her health care.<\/p>\n The board also approved another increase tied to daily attendance across its 64,000-plus students.<\/p>\n If EGUSD\u2019s average daily attendance increases to over 60,000, likely during this school year, the maximum compensation would rise from the new $3,000 a month stipend to $4,500 per month in July. That change would cost the district about $126,000 more a year. Albiani and Moore voted no, though the measure passed 5-2.<\/p>\n Albiani proposed a counterproposal increasing the board\u2019s compensation to $3,500 if EGUSD\u2019s average daily attendance reached 60,001, $4,000 if it reached 65,001 and $4,500 if it reached 70,001. Board member Heidi Moore seconded the idea, though the motion failed.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a stipend, not a salary,\u201d Albiani said.<\/p>\n Board member Susan Davis disagreed with Albiani, saying it was \u201ca full-time job\u201d and said some people who may want to serve as a board member may not be able to afford to do so. She said she would lose her Social Security income if this passed and was willing to do so to allow more people to be able to serve on the board.<\/p>\n The board also approved increases of up to 5% for trustees beginning July 2028 every two years, instead of annually, a change from the initial proposal discussed at its Feb. 3 meeting.<\/p>\n It also increased the maximum number of meetings a member can miss while still being compensated to three from two. Board members Albiani, Baulwin and Moore voted against the change, with Moore saying she thought it was inappropriate in light of receiving raises.<\/p>\n Albiani, Baulwin and Vargas are the three trustees who will face re-election in November.<\/p>\n The board\u2019s student trustee, who abstained from several votes involving compensation, will also now receive up to $400 a month.<\/p>\n This story was originally published February 18, 2026 at 5:00 AM.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n
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