Modesto School Board Voted Itself a 293% Raise — While Worrying About Layoffs

shutterstock_1127431418 — Photo: Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock

A new California law just helped one local school board nearly quadruple its own pay while teachers and taxpayers watched in anger.

Story Snapshot

Modesto City Schools trustees voted to boost their monthly pay from $765 up to a possible $3,000, using a law signed by Governor Gavin Newsom.
Assembly Bill 1390 raised legal pay caps for school boards by as much as five times, based on district size, and Modesto quickly moved to the new maximum.
Teachers, school workers, and residents blasted the move as a “questionable priority” during tight budgets and concerns about layoffs.
The Modesto decision is part of a growing pattern of California boards voting themselves big raises under AB 1390, feeding taxpayer fury.

How Newsom’s Law Opened the Door to Massive Board Pay Hikes

Assembly Bill 1390, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2025, drastically raised the legal pay ceiling for school board members across California. The law boosted maximum monthly compensation up to five times the old limits, with the exact cap based on a district’s average daily attendance. For districts the size of Modesto City Schools, with attendance between 25,001 and 60,000, the allowed maximum jumped from $750 per month to **$3,000 per month**. Supporters claimed the change “modernized” pay levels for the first time since the 1980s and was needed to reflect inflation and added responsibilities for trustees. Legal summaries stressed that boards could still choose lower amounts and that any raises must be approved in public meetings, not behind closed doors.

Once AB 1390 took effect, boards that wanted more cash had a clear path: vote in open session to move their stipends up to the new cap. Legal analyses highlighted that existing law already tied pay to district size, but AB 1390 multiplied those limits dramatically and kept annual percentage bumps in place. This gave many trustees a powerful incentive to seek higher pay while still claiming they were simply staying within what the state now allowed. Critics warned early that the bill would invite “big raises for school board members” at a time when many districts were facing budget pressures and asking taxpayers for more money. That prediction is now playing out in Modesto and other communities, raising serious questions about priorities, local control, and respect for the public’s hard-earned dollars.

What the Modesto Board Voted For — and Why Locals Are Angry

The Modesto City Schools Board of Trustees voted this summer to boost member pay from the current stipend of **$765 per month** all the way to **$3,000 per month**, the maximum allowed under AB 1390 for a district of its size. Reports show the plan starts trustees at $1,500 per month and then phases the full $3,000 amount in by the 2027–2028 school year. That means the eventual increase is nearly four times the old pay level—about a 293 percent jump from $765 to $3,000. While the law makes the raise legal, community reaction has been intense. Teachers, school staff, and residents packed the public meeting and voiced outrage, with one local teacher leader saying, “Just because you can raise something to the max, doesn’t mean you should.” A taxpayer advocate from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association called the move a “questionable priority” at a time when “school district budgets are under pressure.”

Local press and national outlets described the increase as “insane” and “nearly 300%,” capturing the shock many felt when they realized board members had voted themselves such a steep pay bump. Critics pointed out that the district has faced concerns about budget deficits and possible teacher layoffs, making the timing of a huge raise look tone-deaf and self-serving. One resident argued that a “nearly three-fold increase approved all at once” does not match the values the community expects from its leaders, especially when families are already dealing with high taxes and cost of living. While supporters of AB 1390 say higher pay can help attract more diverse candidates and keep experienced trustees in office, the Modesto board has not produced clear public evidence of new duties or hours that would explain such a large raise. That lack of transparency feeds the sense that political insiders are putting themselves first while regular citizens tighten their belts.

A Growing Pattern of Big Raises and Growing Taxpayer Concern

Modesto is not alone. Around California, other school boards have quickly moved to the new AB 1390 caps, often sparking the same kind of anger. In San Diego-area districts, trustees reportedly hiked their own stipends by 300 to 400 percent, with workers “fuming” over raises of up to $3,000 per month while budgets were strained. In Elk Grove, board members voted to raise their pay from a cap of $750 to $3,000 per month at the same time they approved layoffs, a combination that struck many parents and teachers as deeply unfair. Fresno Unified trustees also used AB 1390 to double their salaries, with the law allowing them to move up to as much as $7,500 per month based on enrollment. Together, these cases show a clear pattern: once Sacramento opened the door, many local boards chose to walk straight through to the maximum.

A Northern California high school is refusing to quietly surrender nearly a century of tradition after a state law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom forced schools across California to abandon Native American-themed mascots. Marysville High School, a fixture in Yuba County for…

— Common Sense with Chad Law (@chadparkerlaw) July 8, 2026

For conservative readers, the lesson is simple and familiar. When state lawmakers like Gavin Newsom expand government pay and power, local officials rarely choose restraint. They follow the money. AB 1390 may have been sold as a way to “modernize” school governance, but in practice it has become a tool for rapid pay hikes while parents worry about basics like classroom safety, reading scores, and protecting traditional values. The Modesto case underscores why close local oversight matters. Public meetings, clear records of board rationales, and honest budget reports are essential if citizens want to stop self-dealing and realign priorities back toward teachers, students, and families. Until that happens, taxpayers in places like Modesto will keep asking why government insiders deserve bigger checks when the people they serve are already stretched to the limit.