by Andrew Alonzo | aalonzo@claremont-courier.com

Salaries of management, confidential, and other unrepresented employees were declared “indefinite” for fiscal year 2025-2026 while two resolutions regarding the district’s recreation assessment district funds were passed at the May 15 Claremont Unified School District Board of Education meeting.

‘Indefinite’ salaries

Woven into the consent calendar was a “declaration of indefinite salaries for retroactive pay,” which the board approved unanimously.

“As a result of financial uncertainties, negotiations, legislation, and other factors, the Governing Board of the Claremont Unified School District hereby declares that all management, confidential, and other unrepresented employee salaries are declared indefinite for the 2025-2026 fiscal year,” agenda item 15.05 read.

Management employees include superintendents, principals, and department directors; confidential roles include HR specialists and executive assistants; and unrepresented employees encompass a wide variety of employees not part of a bargaining unit or union.

“Education Code Section 45032 specifically allows school district governing boards to set salaries at any time during the year,” said CUSD spokesperson Elaine Kong. “However, to have the ability to grant retroactive salary increases legally, salaries must be declared ‘indefinite’ before the fiscal year begins. This declaration ensures compliance with constitutional provisions prohibiting extra compensations after services are rendered.”

Kong added the declaration is made annually by the board in compliance with California Education Code 45032, which reads, “The governing board of a school district may at any time during any school year increase the salaries of persons employed by the district in positions requiring certification qualifications, such increase to be effective on any date ordered by the governing board.”

“In California, school districts are required to annually adopt a ‘Declaration of Indefinite Salaries’ to preserve the legal right to retroactively adjust employee salaries in the event of financial uncertainties, negotiations, legislation, or other factors,” Kong wrote in an email. “This declaration is not tied to any current financial uncertainties, negotiations, legislation, or other factors … Without this declaration, retroactive pay increases could be legally challenged, as salaries must otherwise be established before services are rendered.”

 Recreation assessment district

The board also unanimously passed resolutions #13-2025 and #14-2025.

Resolution #13-2025 approved an engineer’s report by Fairfield-based SCI Consulting Group that estimated maintenance and improvement costs of “school grounds, playfields, recreational facilities and other permanent public improvements” in fiscal year 2025-26 at just over $2.1 million. Planned projects include asphalt and irrigation improvements, graffiti abatement, maintenance, grounds operations, utilities, incidental expenses, and other services.

With a $826,818 “district contribution for general benefits” providing some relief, CUSD’s recreation assessment district — which covers grounds and facility maintenance — should anticipate to budget $1,292,494 for estimated costs in the next fiscal year.

“General benefits are benefits from improvements or services that are not special in nature, are not ‘particular and distinct’ and are not ‘over and above’ benefits received by properties,” read the engineer’s report. Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association, Inc. v. Santa Clara County Open Space Authority “provides some clarification by indicating that general benefits provide ‘an indirect, derivative advantage’ to properties and result from the overall public benefits of the improvements.”

The recreation assessment district consists “of all Assessor Parcels within the boundaries of the Claremont Unified School District as defined by the County of Los Angeles tax code areas,” per the engineer’s report. The assessment rate for fiscal year 2024‐25 is $88.10 per “single family equivalent unit,” of which there are 13,572 total, according to the report.

Resolution #14-2025, saw the board declare its intention to levy and collect recreation assessment district-related assessments in the next fiscal year. Section four of this resolution stated the assessments to be levied and collected in 2025-26 “are not proposed to increase from the assessments levied and collected for the fiscal year 2024/2025.”

The resolution set a public hearing for the June 5 board meeting.

Recognition

The board honored 2025 Association of California School Administrators Region 15 award winners, including:

• Kevin Ward, assistant superintendent of student services, charter leadership award
• Megan O’Mahony, information services coordinator, administrator of the year – classified leader
• Andrea Deligio, San Antonio High School principal, administrator of the year – continuation/educational options administrator
• Eduardo Acevedo, Sumner Danbury Elementary School principal, promising administrator and an ACSA Region 15 retiree charter scholarship recipient
• Claremont After-School Programs, partners in educational excellence award

The next CUSD Board of Education meeting is 6 p.m. Thursday, June 5 at the Kirkendall Education Center, 170 W. San Jose Ave., Claremont.