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The Dublin school board approved a one-year employment contract for incoming superintendent Matt Campbell during last week’s regular meeting.
Campbell is set to take the helm July 1 to replace outgoing superintendent Chris Funk who is retiring effective June 30.
Currently serving as assistant superintendent of educational services, Campbell will assume the role of acting superintendent from June 10 to June 30 with a daily stipend of $400, according to Board President Kristin Speck.
Campbell’s proposed contract was approved at the Dublin Unified School District Board of Trustees April 28 meeting via 4-1 tally with Trustee Gabi Blackman voicing the sole dissenting vote over verbiage regarding “heirs” of the contract.
During the same meeting, the board approved a 1.3% increase to the salary schedule for the district’s executive cabinet, in accordance with their employment contracts, as well as an equivalent bump for the Chief Facilities Officer. An increase of 2.3% was also granted to the district’s leadership salary schedule, although the raise was not required by contract.
The increases, especially those not required by contract, were met with criticism from public commenters as being misaligned with the district’s purported financial strains.
Campbell’s employment agreement
Under Campbell’s contract, he will be paid $351,000 annually for 220 working days. He will also receive health and welfare benefits equal to other cabinet-level employees, the contract states.
He is poised to assume the seat from July 1 to June 30, 2027. With a satisfactory evaluation, his contract would roll over into a three-year agreement, Speck explained.
“This was really in protection of the district,” Speck said of the initial one-year term. “Not that we don’t have full trust in Dr. Campbell’s abilities, but we have set ourselves up that with a one-year contract, if for whatever reason the board feels that we need to go another way, we have a way to end that June 30th, 2027.”
The district will also pay for membership dues to professional organizations such as the Association of California School Administrators and the California School Boards Association.
Given prior approval by the board, the district will also cover “other professional or civic organizations that maintain and improve the Superintendent’s professional skills or help fulfill the Board’s expectations of the Superintendent’s community involvement,” the contract states.
During the board’s discussion, Trustee Gabi Blackman expressed concern about DUSD footing the bill for the incoming superintendent’s membership with the Rotary Club of Dublin.
“I do not agree with having public funds used to pay for a private membership in a private club. Rotary Club is not an educational organization. It’s a private club,” Blackman said.
Campbell replied that membership to the rotary is important to his future role.
“The past superintendents of Dublin have been members of the Rotary and I think it’s a critical organization for part of my job as a superintendent is to represent the district in different capacities within the community,” Campbell said.
“Whether the district pays for it or not, it doesn’t matter to me. I will join the Rotary,” Campbell said.
Ultimately, he agreed to remove the term from the employment contract and the board followed suit.
Blackman also challenged the agreement’s binding clause.
“This Agreement shall be for the benefit of and shall be binding upon all parties and their respective successors, heirs, and assigns,” the contract states.
Blackman said the wording of heir was strange and requested its removal.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate for us to basically assign responsibility for this contract beyond the individuals sitting at the table representing the district,” Blackman said.
“I don’t know if the interpretation by Trustee Blackman is shared by our law firm,” Campbell said. “It’s very similar to the past contracts with the past superintendents.”
Blackman maintained her opposition to the verbiage and cast the sole dissenting vote on the contract.
During public comment, Dublin City Council member John Morada called for explicit planning on how the reins are passed from Funk to Campbell.
“The current dual superintendent arrangement is actually kind of confusing,” Morada said. “I think I understand why it happened, but the public deserves a clear plan, a written plan, for a secure and orderly transition of authority, one that reflects best practices and one that is publicly aware.”
Morada wrapped up his statement by urging the board to serve as a governing body, separate from influence.
“I’ll close by urging the board to guard against what is often described as Stockholm Syndrome, the slow normalization of undue influence that occurs when a governing body begins to accept, rationalize or internalize the priorities of the very administration that it is charged to oversee,” he said.
Raises for classified employees, leadership, executive cabinet
During the April 28 meeting, the board also approved a tentative agreement by 4-1 tally between the district and the California School Employees Association for a 2.3% raise of the classified salary schedule and increased contributions towards health and welfare premiums.
The raise was granted in accordance with the “me-too” clause of the labor group’s collective bargaining agreement, which aligns its gains with those secured April 14 by the Dublin Teachers Association via a tentative agreement with DUSD.
Trustee Dan Cherrier was the sole dissenting voice on the tentative agreement with CSEA.
“We don’t have enough money, and we should not be offering more money when we don’t have it,” Cherrier said of his vote.
The board cast an identical tally to approve a 2.3% raise for non-contract leadership/confidential employees and unrepresented employees, retroactive to July 1, 2025. They will receive increased coverage of healthcare premiums as well.
During public comment, over a dozen teachers and parents spoke out against the district’s priorities.
Among those to comment were DTA lead negotiator Monica Lewis.
“There is no contractual requirement for those on the leadership salary schedule to receive a me-too raise. That is a choice that this board just made,” Lewis said.
Also before the board April 28 was a 1.3% raise to the executive cabinet salary schedule and Chief Facilities Officer — a role on the leadership salary schedule — retroactive to July 1, 2025.
The raise applies to the superintendent, three assistant superintendents and the CFO.
According to a memo on the agenda, the assistant superintendents are entitled by contract to a raise equal to the State Cost of Living Allowance minus 1% or the increase provided to bargaining units minus 1%, whichever is less.
Bargaining units are receiving a 2.3% increase, so the executive cabinet will receive a 1.3% increase on the salary schedule costing $22,502.58.
Lewis acknowledged that the agendized raise for the executive cabinet salary schedule is tied to employment contracts.
“However, I think it is worth asking, would a strong leader accept this raise?” Lewis said. “And if the district’s financial situation is as dire as we are told week after week in the Friday emails, should these raises be happening at all?”
Funk later defended the increases.
“Never in my 14 years have I had to explain this to the community,” Funk said. “The board has always understood and honored their contract agreements. And the district has always been straightforward with the board with the total cost of any settlement during negotiations.”
He added that contract language regarding increases has been in place since 2023.
There were no salary increases last year for any bargaining unit, executive cabinet members, district leadership or unrepresented site leadership, he added.
The board approved the increase via 4-1 vote with Cherrier casting the sole dissenting vote.
“It’s based on the pay rates I don’t want increased,” Cherrier explained.
Axing topics from the meeting, the board removed an item to consider adding two steps at the highest end of the salary schedule for assistant superintendents and CFO.
They also pulled an item to amend the employment contract for Heather Campos, assistant superintendent of human resources, to include the new salary steps and elevate her placement to the highest level for a raise of just over $13,000.
The board agreed unanimously to remove the items, but did not discuss the action.
