Shortly before\u00a0trustees of the San Ysidro School District\u00a0gathered last December\u00a0to vote\u00a0on\u00a0new\u00a0raises\u00a0for district employees,\u00a0district leaders\u00a0received a stark\u00a0warning from county education officials.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The\u00a0proposed\u00a0raises\u00a0posed a grave risk to district finances, officials for the San Diego County Office of Education wrote in a Dec. 11, 2025 letter to Acting Superintendent Manuel Bojorquez.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The package of\u00a0raises and benefits changes\u00a0would cost the\u00a0small,\u00a0elementary-only\u00a0district\u00a0up\u00a0to\u00a0$2 million\u00a0per year, county officials wrote.\u00a0With the\u00a0district\u00a0already\u00a0in a deficit, the added spending\u00a0threatened to\u00a0push\u00a0it\u00a0over the financial edge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Later that same day, at their Dec. 11\u00a0school board meeting, district trustees approved the raises anyway.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Though trustees made no mention of the\u00a0county\u2019s\u00a0warning before their 3-0 vote,\u00a0district leaders\u00a0knew\u00a0county\u00a0education officials\u00a0were concerned\u00a0about the\u00a0district\u2019s\u00a0finances.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Over the preceding three years, county officials had sent a series of increasingly strongly worded letters warning the district\u00a0that\u00a0raises it approved each of those years risked pushing the district into a deficit and draining its emergency reserves.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to a Voice of San Diego review of district financial documents, overall\u00a0district spending on employee compensation\u00a0rose rapidly over the past five years,\u00a0outpacing\u00a0growth in\u00a0revenue.\u00a0<\/p>\n
District\u00a0expenditures\u00a0on compensation\u00a0now constitute\u00a0more than\u00a0three-quarters of all district spending, up from\u00a0two-thirds.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Less\u00a0than a month after district trustees approved the\u00a0raises,\u00a0county\u00a0education officials\u2019\u00a0warning\u00a0of fiscal\u00a0trouble\u00a0proved true.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In January, the San Ysidro district,\u00a0which serves some of San Diego County\u2019s lowest-income\u00a0and\u00a0highest-needs\u00a0students,\u00a0disclosed\u00a0it would be unable to pay its bills this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The county swiftly ordered the district to make $4.8 million in cuts and appointed a financial advisor to ensure district leaders made the necessary\u00a0changes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
District officials now are scrambling to\u00a0reduce\u00a0staff and cut programs\u00a0to stave off insolvency.\u00a0Earlier this month,\u00a0trustees approved a freeze on all\u00a0new\u00a0spending and authorized district staff to\u00a0identify\u00a0possible\u00a0layoffs\u00a0and\u00a0other\u00a0program\u00a0reductions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to have to give up things we don\u2019t want to give up,\u201d said school board Chair Irene Lopez.\u00a0<\/p>\n
San Ysidro\u00a0trustees and other\u00a0district\u00a0officials have\u00a0blamed a variety of factors for the district\u2019s financial problems.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At\u00a0a\u00a0special Jan. 15 board meeting dedicated\u00a0to the\u00a0budget,\u00a0officials\u00a0said\u00a0the decline was simply beyond their control. They\u00a0cited\u00a0declining enrollment, rising\u00a0costs\u00a0and fluctuating state and federal funding.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a situation we don\u2019t want,\u00a0but a situation we need to face,\u201d Bojorquez said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They never mentioned the raises.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Since the 2020-21 school year, total district spending on employee compensation has risen 33 percent, from $51 million to $68 million, according to annual district audits.\u00a0<\/p>\n
During that same period, revenue grew by just 21 percent, Voice\u2019s analysis showed.\u00a0District spending on compensation rose\u00a0nearly twice\u00a0as fast as\u00a0overall district\u00a0expenses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Asked about the connection between compensation and the budget, district leaders defended their decisions\u00a0and said\u00a0district\u00a0salary increases\u00a0are\u00a0both\u00a0in line with state and\u00a0local\u00a0averages and necessary to recruit and keep qualified staff in an expensive\u00a0region.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOverall, growth in employee compensation (not including benefits) during the five-year period from 2020-21 to 2024-25 has remained modest, at a cumulative total of 16.5 percent, or an annual average of 3.3\u00a0percent,\u201d\u00a0wrote\u00a0district business chief Marilyn\u00a0Adrianzen\u00a0in an email.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Salaries and benefits\u00a0earned by San Ysidro employees\u00a0rank at or near the bottom in\u00a0a comparison with nine peer districts, Adrianzen\u00a0added.\u00a0And\u00a0total district spending on compensation is\u00a0actually lower\u00a0as a percentage of the district\u2019s overall budget than the statewide average,\u00a0she\u00a0said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEmployee compensation\u2026reflects the district\u2019s efforts to remain both fiscally sound and competitive in one of the nation\u2019s most expensive housing regions,\u201d\u00a0Adrianzen\u00a0wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The raises\u00a0referred to by Adrianzen\u00a0include\u00a0a six-percent bump for teachers in the 2021-22 school year, an equivalent raise for non-teaching staff the following year,\u00a0plus\u00a0additional\u00a0raises\u00a0and bonuses in other years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The raises approved by the district are in addition to so-called \u201cstep and column\u201d raises that teachers earn depending on\u00a0their\u00a0years of service with the district and education level.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 2023, trustees approved a $1,500 annual stipend for employees with PhDs, including Superintendent Gina Potter,\u00a0whose current compensation\u00a0is\u00a0$324,383.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last year\u2019s pay package\u00a0approved by\u00a0trustees\u00a0included a one-percent raise this year,\u00a0followed\u00a0by\u00a0a\u00a0two-percent\u00a0raise next year, along with an increase in\u00a0the district\u2019s\u00a0annual\u00a0contribution to\u00a0teachers\u2019 health benefits\u00a0from $11,500\u00a0to $12,260.\u00a0<\/p>\n