Staff pay increased as school district budget decreased

The Castro Valley Unified School District’s budget for the 2025-2026 school year went down 5.1% to $159,729,201 this year. However, while the overall budget is shrinking, teachers are to be paid more amidst staffing changes as funding for supplies and books decrease by more than a third of last year’s.

One thing to keep in mind when interpreting the budget is that it covers not just CVHS, but all of CVUSD, including schools at the elementary, middle, and adult level. So, CVHS only receives a share of the figures mentioned below.

An important part of student education is the staff behind it. This school year, Castro Valley Unified School District certificated salary expenditure for all credentialed staff rose by $1,870,282. Classified salary expenditure for all non-credentialed staff rose by $1,728,023, and benefits by $1,290,351.

Salary and benefits for teachers generally increase every year due to a step and column system of salary calculation, where step represents time at the job and column represents level of education. So, generally, as the teaching body spends more time at the school, their salary as a whole will increase.

“Because all staff are public employees, we are paid with tax dollars. In general, when times are good and the state gets more tax revenue, more money is budgeted for schools,” said Castro Valley Teachers Association VP Mark Mladinich. “Our union bargains for health care for our members as well as salary increases…so we can serve our students best. Management does not always share our priorities which can lead to difficult bargaining.”

In a similar vein, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Suzy Chan said that “there can be difficult budget discussions that typically center on how to balance limited resources with many competing priorities…Even in those moments, our shared commitment to students ensures we move forward with consensus.”

The books and supplies fund is a model example of a lack of resources, as its decrease by $2,254,411, 37.8% of last year’s $5,960,530 is mainly attributable to a lack of the related one-time grants CVUSD received for the 2024-2025 school year.

An issue that hits close to home for a lot of the people at this school is funding for the arts and athletics.

“Both Performing Arts and Athletics, as extra-curricular activities, are minimally funded. The district pays Visual and Performing Arts teachers’ salaries…the rest of the funding…comes almost entirely from community donations and entrance fees,” said Principal Chris Fortenberry.

It is difficult to say by how much the money for these programs will decrease, as said community donations and entrance fees are intentionally not taken into account for the 2025-2026 budget document.

“I am very proud of how our district manages limited resources. Our staff work diligently to seek matching funds and to account for and steward our financial resources responsibly. At the same time, I share the concern of many that California does not invest as fully as it should in public education,” said school board trustee Mike Kusiak.