Employees at Apache Junction Unified School District will be getting a bit more in their paychecks.
The AJUSD governing board voted unanimously Feb. 24 to approve a 1% increase added to the base salary for employees for the 2026-27 school year.
The board last year approved a 2% increase. For an average teacher salary of $63,804 in fiscal year 2024, the 2% increased the annual salary by $1,276 to $65,080 in fiscal year 2025, it states on the district’s website.
The new 1% increase for the average teacher salary of $65,080 adds $650.80.
“I would love to give 10%. I wish we could. But 1% ... shows that we’re doing something,” Board President Dena Kimble said before the vote. “From as long as I’m on the board, we’ve never not gave 1% or 2% in the base, so I just feel that it is important to do that.”
The amount for a 1% increase for the entire district is approximately $215,000, AJUSD Superintendent Robert Pappalardo said before the vote.
“Of that $215,000 ... $99,000 would come from the site fund that we get from the state of Arizona,” he said. “$80,000 to $85,000 of that will come out of (maintenance and operations) and the remaining $30,000 to $31,000 will come out of grant funding. That’s how we’ll get to that 1%.”
Board member Gail Ross asked if it could be a stipend rather than added to the base salary.
“Why can’t we consider doing it as the stipend and the following year putting it in the base to make sure that it’s going to be doable?” she asked.
“That’s a decision for the board. Mine is a recommendation,” Pappalardo said.
“I would request to maybe bring this back the next work session... Of course I want to give the teachers everything we can, but I don’t want to put us under the gun and then not be able to keep it up and put ourselves in a bind,” Ross said.
The 1% increase is needed to attract and retain teachers, Board Vice President Cami Garcia said.
“Times are hard right now, and I feel in order to show the appreciation ... I would want to put it into the base salary because I want to keep those teachers here,” she said.
AJUSD has three elementary schools; a K-5 school designed to provide students with a traditional, liberal arts education; a junior high school; and a high school. The district boundaries run from Meridian Road on the west to the town of Queen Valley on the east and from the Goldfield Mountains to the north, south into the San Tan Corridor. Communities served include Apache Junction, Gold Canyon, Peralta Trail, Queen Valley and unincorporated Pinal County land in-between.
Richard H. Dyer can be reached at rdyer@iniusa.org, or on X @rhdyer. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines, https://www.yourvalley.net/civility-checklist/.
Meet Richard Richard Dyer has worked at Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA since 1987, starting his career in Apache Junction as a copy editor and being promoted over the years to work as the editor of the Mesa Independent, news services editor for the East Valley office in Apache Junction, managing editor for the East Valley office, news services editor for the East Valley office and eventually also for the newspapers at INI’s then-Chandler office, managing editor again and as a news editor covering Apache Junction/Gold Canyon and Queen Creek. He helped start the Florence Independent while the news editor covering Apache Junction and Mesa news. In January 2023, he became associate managing editor for the East Valley newspapers and in August 2023 became managing editor for the East Valley newspapers of Chandler/Tempe, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Florence, Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, while also reporting on Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon.
Community: Since 2009, he has worked as a volunteer to design The Blue Guitar Magazine, Blue Guitar Jr. magazine and Unstrung magazine, which are projects of The Arizona Consortium for the Arts; and since 2014, has been overseeing the art submissions.
Education: University of Arizona with a master of arts in journalism and a bachelor of science in agricultural communication. Also continuing education at Mesa Community College in welding in a metal art sculpture class.
Random fact: Saw his first tornado on May 31, 2010, which was classified as an EF-2, as part of a stormchasing tour group.
Hobbies: He is an artist of welded-steel sculptures, selling his artwork at juried and non-juried art shows.
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