Chandler teachers, administrators to get 2% raises next year

By Jason W. Brooks
Mail | X: @JasonWBrooks2

Teachers, administrators and other Chandler Unified School District staff are on track to get raises again in 2025-26.

The CUSD Governing Board voted unanimously, at its Feb. 26 meeting, to approve committee recommendations for salary increases for next year’s contracts, which will be tsendered beginning this month.

The recommendation is for all certified staff, which includes teachers, and administrators to all receive 2% raises; for support staff to get 2.4% raises; and for certified, support and administration entry salaries to increase by 1.25%.

“We have the certified contracts that we’ll be bringing to you on March 26 for approval,” district chief financial officer Lana Berry said. “So this recommendation is attached to that.”

The committees also recommended the district commit as much as $500,000 toward an anticipated increase in insurance premiums.

They’re also a “Journey 2025” $600 stipend CUSD educators can earn by meeting metrics in a program previously approved by the board.

Last year, the district’s “Super Q” committee and the district’s budget committee recommended a 2% pay increase for support and certified staff and administrators for 2024-25.

The Super Q is, according to one Chandler labor union, the bargaining team that meets with district leadership to negotiate employee benefits, working conditions and how mosney is spent in the district.

A report from the district’s citizen advisory budget committee states CUSD will likely have an average daily membership enrollment loss of about 850 fewer students this July than it had at the start of 2024-25. District administration has acknowledged a few times that it has dropped a few teaching positions through attrition.

That budget committee also submitted a list of budget-request recommendations for the next school year. Arizona district’s budgets are typically finalized each June, once the state legislature and governor have agreed on school funding formulas and totals.

We invite our readers to submit their civil comments on this topic. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.   Email Jason W. Brooks at jbrooks@iniusa.org.

Jason W. Brooks
News Editor | Chandler Independent

Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.

Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.

Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.

Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.

Community: He supports animal shelters.