Elk Grove School Trustees Quadruple Pay to $3,000 Monthly, With Another Raise Likely This Summer
Salary jumps from $750 to $3,000 per month immediately; enrollment trigger could boost compensation to $4,500 per month
Trustees for the Elk Grove Unified School District voted Tuesday night to sharply increase their own compensation, immediately quadrupling their monthly pay from $750 to $3,000, with a second raise expected later this year that could push salaries to $4,500 per month.
The 6-1 vote at the Feb. 17 board meeting makes the $3,000 monthly salary effective immediately, increasing annual trustee compensation from about $9,000 to $36,000. Board President Beth Albiani cast the lone dissenting vote.
The raise was made possible under Assembly Bill 1390, a state law enacted last year that significantly increased the maximum compensation school board members may receive — the first major adjustment in decades.
But the increase may not stop there.
Under a separate action approved by the board, trustees are expected to revisit compensation this summer when the district’s average daily attendance (ADA) is finalized. If enrollment exceeds 60,000 students — a threshold district officials anticipate meeting for the 2026-27 school year — trustee pay would increase to $4,500 per month, or $54,000 annually.
That would represent a six-fold increase from the $750 monthly compensation trustees received before Tuesday’s vote.
Trustees Jennfer Ballerini, Susan Davis, and Sean Yang argued that compensation has lagged behind the responsibilities of governing one of California’s largest school districts. They said the increase could expand the pool of candidates willing to serve, particularly working professionals who cannot afford to dedicate significant time to board duties for minimal pay.
Critics, however, have questioned the timing and optics of the decision as the district faces budget pressures and noting that self-approved raises are often politically unpopular across the ideological spectrum.
Trustees rejected a proposal that would have phased in the higher $4,500 compensation in smaller increments tied to additional attendance benchmarks. Instead, a majority opted for the larger single adjustment tied to the 60,000-student threshold.
The compensation adjustment applies only to trustees and does not affect district staff salaries.
