Classified employees of Coronado Unified School District will receive a 5% salary increase following contract agreements the board approved for the 2024-25 school year.
Classified employees, represented by the California School Employees Association, will see a 4% salary increase retroactive to July 1. According to a district document, there will be an additional 1% increase effective March 1.
In November, the salary for certificated teachers increased 4%, following negotiations between the Association of Coronado Teachers (ACT) and the district.
The board also approved salary schedule updates for management and unrepresented employees — including department directors, counselors, principals and assistant principals — to receive a retroactive 4% increase as follows: 3% increase effective July 1, 2024 and 1% increase effective January 1, 2025. The schedule’s maximum number of steps, or incremental raises based on years of experience, also increased from 20 to 23 steps, with an increment of 2.5% per step.
The three year successor contract for classified employees, permitting the 5% salary increase in the 2024-2025 school year, has ongoing annual costs estimated at $500,000.
The district will need to make $2 million in budget solutions in fiscal year 2026-27 to maintain the minimum required reserve.
In a Feb. 14 letter to Superintendent Karl Mueller, the San Diego County Office of Education advised that Coronado Unified budget reports “must include a detailed plan to maintain required reserve levels in fiscal year 2026-27” within 45 days of board approval.
The financial strain is expected to end in two years, when Coronado public schools will switch to a new funding program, known as “basic aid,” which will generate increased revenues based on property taxes.
“We have our eye on the prize for basic aid, which is scheduled for 27-28, but we have to get there,” said Deputy Superintendent Donnie Salamanca.
Salamanca told the board the Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed education spending plan includes one-time monies of approximately $800,000 for CUSD that could help it remain solvent prior to transitioning to Basic Aid – if the amount is included in the final state budget.
However, if there are cost-of-living reductions or other cuts, “CUSD will need to make budget reductions to remain solvent,” according to a district memo on the employee raises.
