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A recent Pleasanton Unified School District policy committee discussion to increase the Board of Trustees’ stipends was met with pushback from residents who thought it was not the appropriate time to talk about pay raises for the school board members amid the financial challenges the district is currently facing.
Board President Kelly Mokashi had originally requested that the policy committee “consider increasing Board member compensation from the current $463 per month to $2,000 per month” at the June 4 meeting, in order to align with new state law that allows school boards to increase their pay.
After some discussion and hearing from nearly a dozen people who spoke during the meeting, the committee decided not to advance the policy to the school board for further consideration. According to the district, the committee members also discussed revising the proposed policy language to provide compensation of “up to $2,000 per month”, with the actual amount to be determined by the school board.
Despite the increase not moving past the policy committee, Mokashi told the Weekly the goal — at some point in the future — is still to bring the item to the trustees for a vote.
“No date had been determined nor timeline to present to make a decision with the entire Board, but rather, it was a policy update that aligned with the quarterly policy meetings that are held each school year,” Mokashi said. “When the time may be deemed appropriate, at that time, a resolution will be brought to the entire Board for consideration.”
According to the school board’s bylaws, each school board member is eligible to receive a $463 stipend every month, which they are not required to accept.
The bylaw also states that trustees, on an annual basis, may amend this bylaw to “increase the compensation of board members beyond the limit delineated in Education Code 35120 in an amount not to exceed five percent based on the present monthly rate of compensation.”
But since Assembly Bill 1390 passed and went into effect in January, school board members across the state have been able to raise their pay significantly. According to the June 4 committee report, the law establishes a maximum amount for the stipend but does not require an increase.
“Assembly Bill 1390 (2025) increased the maximum allowable monthly compensation for Governing Board members based on district average daily attendance,” according to the committee report. “For a district the size of Pleasanton Unified School District, the maximum allowable monthly compensation is approximately $2,000 per month.”
That’s why, according to Mokashi, the request to update PUSD policy was to align with state law with the intent to “bring it back to the board at a later date for a final decision as a resolution for board discussion, on what that amount might be for consideration.”
But for Pleasanton resident Bruce Henry, who was one of the nearly dozen speakers at last week’s meeting, he saw the originally proposed policy revision to increase the stipend amount to $2,000 as a poor financial decision considering all of the financial challenges the district is facing, including recent budget cuts and a negatively certified budget by the county.
He said many people at the meeting felt like giving trustees a raise came across as “tone deaf”. Others also questioned why the district would have this discussion during the summer when less people are paying attention.
Despite some attendees suggesting that the board could reconsider the pay raise once the district’s fiscal health improves, Henry also maintains that these roles are intended to be service-oriented volunteer positions entered into for civic duty rather than financial gain.
“It’s not supposed to be really a job,” Henry said. “I also brought up the fact that everybody knew what the stipend was when they took the trustee position so, what changed? You shouldn’t be changing it right now.”
While there was one person who Henry said spoke in favor of increasing the stipend, the school district confirmed in an email to the Weekly that, following the feedback and discussion at the meeting, the policy committee did not advance the item to the school board. Instead, PUSD indicated the topic “could be revisited in the future based on district fiscal conditions.”
Trustee Charlie Jones, who was present at the June 4 meeting, told the Weekly he agreed with those who said now was not the right time to pursue the stipend increase given the district’s budget issues.Â
“The budget must first have a positive certification before any change occurs,” he noted.
However, he also agreed that the stipend should eventually be increased because it would allow more working families to consider running for the positions, which would help create a board that reflects more of the community.
“I believe working class people should also serve in these seats,” Jones said. “Low stipends create an environment that favors retirees and wealthy candidates. If we want diverse voices to serve, then we need to remove the barriers that prevent it from happening.”
