Fresno Unified trustees approve stipend increase via bylaw change amid budget crisis

Fresno Unified’s Board of Trustees approved a 6-1 vote to increase trustees’ monthly stipends from $2,110.65 to $4,500, moving annual compensation from about $24,727.49 to $54,000 and taking effect Feb. 1. The board enacted the raise by amending a board bylaw rather than through a standalone agenda item, a procedural choice that board president Veva Islas acknowledged “could’ve been more plainly stated,” and that critics say reduced transparency.

The stipend change follows enactment of Assembly Bill 1390, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October 2025, which for the first time in more than 40 years ties school board pay limits to student enrollment. Fresno Unified qualifies as a large district under AB 1390 and therefore met the new statutory cap that enabled the $4,500 monthly maximum, a shift described by trustees as a rare statewide adjustment not seen since the 1980s.

The increase landed amid acute fiscal strain for the district. Fresno Unified is operating with a reported $77 million current-year deficit and projects a $59 million shortfall for the 2026–27 school year. Those budget figures come as classified employee contract negotiations with SEIU Local 521 remain stalled and district officials have held open the possibility of layoffs while saying bargaining is confidential and that they remain committed to fair pay and prioritizing safety.

Classified employees and union leaders staged a morning protest outside district offices, chanting “Sí se puede” and criticizing trustees for approving what protesters called a 113 percent pay increase while workers face contract uncertainty. Corina Lozoya, a school bus driver, Fresno Unified parent and SEIU member, said, “They are going to take a 113 percent increase while suggesting our jobs, for classified workers, are going to be on the chopping block,” and called the vote “a huge slap in the face to so many of us who have long dedicated ourselves to doing the essential front-line jobs that we love.”

Trustees and district officials offered limited public responses. Veva Islas defended the vote’s equity rationale, saying, “I don’t want the cost of serving as a school board member to be a hindrance in getting a better representation of folks to decide to run for office,” and adding, “It’s not a good time to be a school board member. These are not going to be easy decisions. But, you know, I stand on my vote on this.” Andy Levine cast the lone no vote, confirmed he “opted out of the increase,” and said via text, “While I’ve opted out of the increase, I fully respect my colleagues’ own thought processes and decisions on it.” According to Kato, Levine and Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas have forgone the higher pay and will continue receiving $2,110.65 monthly; trustees Claudia Cázares, Valerie Davis, Keshia Thomas and Susan Wittrup did not respond to questions about the stipend.

Questions about process remain. At a Jan. 14 board meeting trustees Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas and Claudia Cázares reportedly had to ask staff whether pay increases were under consideration and when they would take effect, underscoring concerns that altering compensation via bylaw amendment was atypical. As the district implements the new stipend on Feb. 1, the change will test whether the board’s move to increase representation through higher pay can withstand community concern over transparency and the tight fiscal outlook.