Performance pay plan approved for Apache Junction school district employees

By Richard Dyer
Mail | X: @RHDyer

Performance pay plans were approved recently for Apache Junction Unified School District employees from teachers to principals and assistant principals.

The AJUSD governing board on Nov. 25 voted unanimously to approve the 2025-26 pay plan to allocate funding from the Proposition 301 classroom site fund for staff. It includes certified classroom teachers, teachers on assignment, instructional coaches, instructional specialists, intervention specialists, district-level certified staff, counselors, social workers, nurses, psychologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists and speech language pathologists.

The major components of the performance pay plan are:

• Evaluation performance, 40%
• Professional development/professional investment, 30%
• Quality service goal, 10%
• Site goal, 10%
• School state letter grade, 10%

Those meeting all goals are to receive $2,500 minus taxes, retirement, etc.

“Approval of this plan ensures compliance with state law,” Board President Dena Kimble said prior to the vote. “All schools voted for this 100%.”

Administrators

Principals and assistant principals in the district doing well in the annual Arizona Department of Education state accountability labels will again receive performance pay.

The AJUSD governing board on Nov. 25 voted unanimously to approve the 2025-26 principal and assistant principal pay plan, the third year of the program. The bonuses are the same as last year and are $1,300 each for an A school grade, $750 for a B or $500 for a C. No funds will be received for a D or F.

“Approval of this plan ensures a transparent and accountable process of distributing funds, pay; (and) reinforce the district’s commitment to recognizing and rewarding strong leadership that positively impacts student outcomes,” Kimble said prior to the vote.

Principals also can receive pay based on an evaluation from the superintendent: $450 if the administrator is considered “highly effective,” $250 if “effective” and nothing if “developing” or “ineffective.”

Apache Junction Unified School District has three “B”-rated, one “C”-rated and one “D”-rated school grade in the 2024-25 state accountability labels released Oct. 29. That is a decrease over last year where AJUSD had one “A”-rated, three “B”-rated and one “C”-rated school grade in the 2023-24 state accountability labels.

AJUSD has three elementary schools; a K-5 school designed to provide students with a traditional, liberal arts education; a junior high school; n 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/.

Richard Dyer
Managing Editor | East Valley

rdyer@iniusa.org

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.