Gilbert Public Schools proposes 2% pay raise in preliminary FY 2025-26 budget 

By Tom Blodgett
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Gilbert Public Schools has unveiled its preliminary maintenance and operations budget for fiscal year 2025-26, featuring a proposed 2% salary increase for all employees, amid a projected decline in student enrollment. 

The proposed raise follows the recent confirmation of an increased allocation from the Classroom Site Fund, the state’s dedicated education sales tax, which will provide an additional $50 per student. This added revenue gave district leaders the confidence to recommend a raise despite several financial challenges.  

The 2% raise would be distributed across funding sources. A large portion will be covered by the Classroom Site Fund, particularly for teaching staff. Enterprise departments such as Nutrition Services and Community Education will fund their own raises, while the remainder will be funded through the maintenance and operations budget and other grant sources. 

Additionally, GPS officials are considering an extra 1% raise beginning Jan. 1, 2026, contingent upon enrollment losses being lower than projected. If approved, that would bring the total salary increase to 2.5% for the year, Chief Financial Officer Bonnie Betz said. 

The budget projection anticipates a loss of 1,300 average daily membership, an enrollment-based figure that is a key figure in the state’s funding formula, a figure that district officials see as a safe projection. 

That would result in a $3 million reduction in the district’s total funding compared to the current year.  

For fiscal year 2024-25, GPS had a revised revenue control limit of about $273.3 million. The 2025-26 projection drops that figure to $270.3 million, despite an anticipated 2% increase in the per-student base funding from the governor’s proposed state budget. 

"It's like planning for the worst and hoping for the best, and we've been outperforming our projections, which is good,” Betz said. “I would rather over project and then receive some of that money back than to have to give money back if I under projected." 

Added Superintendent Shane McCord: "It's kind of like filling out your W4 for your taxes. How much do you want taken out and then do you want to pay at the end or do you want to get money back?" 

To balance the budget, GPS plans to reduce 44 full-time equivalent positions, saving about $4 million. The reduction is expected to occur through natural attrition rather than layoffs. 

 Additional savings come from lower Arizona State Retirement System contribution rates, which are projected to save a combined $2 million.  

The district is also increasing FTEs for gifted and English Language Learner teachers, amounting to a $1.1 million investment. These hires were recommended following a board presentation on the academic performance and needs of those programs. 

The budget also factors in inflation risks and uncertainties at the state level, including the pending status of Proposition 123, which is set to expire June 30, 2025. GPS leaders are cautiously optimistic that the state will fund it for another year. 

The 2% raise was unanimously approved by the board at the meeting. The final budget will be adopted in June, with adjustments made as enrollment and state funding become clearer. 

 We would like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org. Tom Blodgett can be reached by email at tblodgett@iniusa.org or follow him @sp_blodgett on X.

Tom Blodgett
Senior News Editor | Gilbert

tblodgett@iniusa.org

Meet Tom
Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.

Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.

Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism. 

Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.  

Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).