We understand that their job is their livelihood. That is why I never want this district to be in a position where we have to let staff go due to financial challenges. So it might be a little difficult with reduced substitute coverage. It's a sacrifice that we have to make now because there are few other areas where we can sacrifice. And finally, to protect that sense of security that we want our staff to have in their jobs, we ask people to try to find out the facts. I know sometimes facts are not welcome, but if you hear something concerning or if you're not sure or if there's been a miscommunication, because that happens, did happen. Please reach out to the people who should know. Please reach out to the administration. We're here to provide the facts and support you. Mrs. Bassford, due to um the fact that I'm conflicted >> um on the substitute uh on Kelly education, um I'm going to ask Miss Kusalevich to just give a little more detail on the substitute coverage reduction.
That fact alone should give the board pause. When employees feel unable to attach their names to concerns without risks, it reflects not a communication breakdown, but a breakdown of trust. The concerns raised are not isolated complaints or resistance to change. They reflect a systemic erosion of confidence in how decisions are being made, how information is communicated, and whether leadership actions are aligned with ASDB's statutory mission and obligations to students. Stakeholders are increasingly perceiving decisions as predetermined, insufficiently transparent, and disconnected from those delivering services and those receiving them. Loss of confidence matters. It affects staff retention, morale, and recruitment. It affects family trust and willingness to engage collaboratively. Most importantly, it affects program stability and the educational experience of students who depend on ASDB for specialized missiondriven services. This is not a request for the board to educate individual personnel matters. It is a request for the board to exercise its governance and oversight responsibilities.
Um and that is really the substantial jump that you see here. Our total aggregate uh spending budget sits at about 152 million. And I'm happy to answer any questions you may have. Can I get a motion, please? >> I move that the governing board adopt the 2025 2026 revised school district annual expenditure budget as presented. >> Can I get a second? >> Second.
No matter what they tell you, we got a surplus and it gets divied up and just people spend it, which I I have a problem with because we never get to >> Well, I I like that we put that to OPE. I mean, I I don't know how we're ever going to pay that off. I think it's over $50 million, right? Some other towns have a plan and they're >> they're they're coming along and I have not in quite some time heard >> what the real plan is for that. So, so if there's surplus and it's going to things like that, um I I think that's okay. I mean, I I wish we were more proactive about handling the OPE, but >> yeah. >> Um >> I just wish people had more of a say. This was set by the powers of pity. And again, you know, we're supposed to be part of the government even though it doesn't seem like it.
Um the increase is $2.9 million. We would be needing $175 million. That would be our ask to the city for 2026 2027. And I will break that down for you. So overall, we would need about 106 million $106 million in salaries, 27 million in benefits. That number drops significantly. We'll walk you through that. 7 point 4.7 million in professional services about 2 million in purchased property about 24 almost 25 million in purchase services 6.3 in supplies 1.6 in enrollment and 839 in dues and fees. So these are the categories that you see in your financials when we have the finance committee meetings. So those are the same buckets and so we're just wanted to make sure you saw where those fell. The drivers within that number are as follows on this on this slide. So contractual increases are 5.4 million and I have a slide for each of these.
It places impossible demands on class classrooms, disrupts learning environments, and ultimately undermines the district's responsibility to provide an appropriate I pardon. I lost my pace. This is what happens when you're passionate. Um I'm sorry. [cough and clears throat] It places impossible demands on classrooms, disrupts learning environments, and ultimately undermines the district's responsibility to provide an appropriate and equitable education for all students. These layoffs send a clear message that the needs of students who require the most support are being deprioritized. The decision is not just a staffing issue. It's a direct threat to student learning, inclusion, and well-being. Our students deserve better. Our classrooms deserve the resources necessary to meet their needs. Please reconsider these layoffs for the well-being of all our students. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> All right. [clears throat] Next, we have Jenna Kadili Contrarus and then Hector Guzman and then Mike Mayo.
>> 100%. Thank you, Dr. Roberts. >> Much Levich, >> thank you. As Dr. Roberts just shared, Kelly has done an outstanding job for us in filling substitute coverage for nearly two years to a level that we have never been able to sustain when we manage substitutes on our own. So what they've done is do too well because they not only provide our substitutes for our perdeium short-term absences, they also provide long-term substitutes in areas where we cannot find a teacher until we can find the appropriately certified person. and they're currently providing nearly 80 para profofessionals for our very hard to fill special education program. We have many paras that work for us but there are also many that we cannot find or fill whom have been filled with Kelly. So when you put all of those com components together, PEDDM subs, long-term subs and paraprofessionals, that has increased the amount of money being spent with one vendor.
At minimum, stakeholders deserve acknowledgement that this level of >> minutes are up. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> [applause] >> The next person on deck is one moment. >> Louise Marine. >> Louise Marie. >> Mardini. >> Torres. Hello, I will try to make good use of my time. My name is Brandon Decker and I have been working at ASDB for 30 years. However, I also was a student at ASDB for 13 years. I wrote a letter and planned to read it, but after much thought and deliberation, this isn't really what I want to say tonight. I only see one path where everyone is included and the community wins. this is that we need to work together. Unfortunately, decisions have been made and have led to a community fighting against ASDB. I'm sure the community would rather work with you. That is the preference. We have three options.
>> Any discussion? >> Thomas, I just want to clarify something on something. Page two of three, it has my name as president from the following year, but the date is February 5th. >> So that's just a clerical error. >> Yes, sir. That's a clerical eras's name. >> All right. Any other discussion? All those in favor? >> I I >> I. >> Motion carries. J2, Mr. Bane, the Posi Yaki Grant. >> Yes. Thank you. Good evening, President Micronis, Vice President Raymond, members of the board, Dr. Strereer, senior staff, and those in attendance. I'm here tonight to request governing board support to submit a competitive grant application on behalf of MUSD, specifically Morirana Middle School. Typically, competitive grants grant applications are brought to the board for approval after application process is complete and an award has already been granted. However, the POSaki tribe gaming revenue sharing funds program requires governing board approval at the time of application submission rather than after an award has been granted.
I really feel like you want to include people, you want engagement, you want community. You can't lock people out so they're banging on the door. Let me in. Uh >> and that goes back to one of our I think our maybe even our first um conversation on the podcast about how Framingham passed a bylaw to have citizen input on the budget and I think I think we need to work at that Ashland. >> Yeah. And that of course reminds me there's been two recent budget they were called budget workshop meetings and uh both of them were unfilmed. I asked for them to be filmed. I asked for a Zoom link. Couldn't even get a Zoom link. Um, and I'm like, it's like we're going to, it reminds me of a unveiling. You hire someone to do a painting and then they take the veil off and you're like, that's not what I want.
So we'll go over what constitutes each one of the drivers. Um new positions which is mainly driven by the um the last phase of DHS West and some other incremental positions across the system are about 1.14 title grant absorption. So taking into account for any dip in the grants that we might receive where we also have staff. We're taking into account about $500,000. Transportation costs have definitely gone up. We have 2.7 million there. Tuition for special education and other programs. Professional services up 1.5 million. Other across the system which is really incremental um and some adult ed is 321 mil uh 21,000 pardon me. And then all of that is offset by a total benefit reduction of 6.79 million. So that's is a real uh change in how we're managing uh the projection for benefits. Um and we've also taken some um of some of our staff and we are offsetting them and sliding them into grants.
Thank you. Okay, if you don't mind, I'm going to skip the pleasantries because quite frankly, I'm angry and I'm scared. $337,000. That's the amount that the superintendent makes in this district. It would take 13 CSAs to equal that job. To propose that 241 people in this district will be cut is ridiculous. Do you know who makes that amount of money? Highle CEOs, surgeons, VPs, regional managers, asset operations managers. Um the list goes on and on. And I would like to point out that those people, if they were fiscally irresponsible, they would be the first ones gone from their companies. Our assistant superintendent, you guys make pretty good money, too. Around $250,000. It would take five CSAs to equal your one um annual income. There's so many people in that other room that are scared and angry. How dare you? How dare you guys? What you're proposing is a band-aid on a gaping wound.
There are not, as Dr. Dr. Robert Toy said many places that we can cut from and unfortunately that high fill rate for the perdm subs is one of the very few places where we can scale back in order to recoup some savings. We are not eliminating our usage of Kelly. We are not eliminating our usage of subs. But we are scaling back very much as a stop gap measure for all of the reasons that Dr. Robert Toy just outlined. We are not looking to make life more difficult for our teachers because this has been something that we've worked towards for many years. We finally got there and unfortunately due to all of the other financial circumstances, this is the one place that we do need to pull back. That being said, we're going to continually monitor every week and every month revisiting the scale back.
Options A, B, and C. If we continue along path A or C, this is not an if, but a when. This is a guarantee that the school will crumble and disappear eventually. Option B is the best and only way forward and I understand that administrators have already been lobbying legislators. However, we are a huge community and you are only one. We have parents, staff, community, family, and friends not only who are here but surrounding the state of Arizona. In other counties, people have been reaching out as former students, former staff. All over the nation, people have reaching out asking how they can help. They are ready and on deck, willing to help us. Many schools for the deaf and schools for the blind are also willing and have reached out and simply say, "Tell me what we can do." You've said that we've tried, but once is not enough.
For the current grant cycle, we are proposing to submit an application in partnership with Miranda Middle School. This opportunity is especially meaningful as the idea originated last year from an eighth grade student leader who participates in the A sc who participated in the A science class in the 21st century grant after school FFA program together with his father. The student not only brought this funding opportunity to our attention but also drafted also drafted an initial version of the grant application. Upon review, we confirm that Morirana Unified School District and Morirana Middle School are eligible to apply as a public school district. Therefore, in the grant application, we will be seeking three uh $35,86.34 in funding from the Pasco Yaki tribes gaming revenue sharing grant to purchase a compact tracker tractor. This equipment will give our students hands-on experiencing experience in farming, land stewardship, and livestock care.
Um, so now we have one more that was very interesting because we both went we were both at the um, what was that meeting? >> Housing production. >> The housing production meeting. Can you because you asked a really great question about they had interviewed people. >> So we we are on a shorter time frame if they want to comply to get it submitted to the state before it expires which would be May 2026. And um I think uh they hired the firm Jam Goldson to do I think I think the housing production plan does need you know outside support. >> Yeah. Sure. Um, and that was a good pick because it should line up with a comprehensive plan. So, I at that forum though it was they done some pre-work of interviewing people and I I asked of who those people were >> because I feel like if you don't know we we have no idea what stakeholders were or were not represented like what were our interests at the table or not.
We happen to have some room in alliance. There are some strategies that we weren't doing because we couldn't get some of the staffing. So we were able to slide in some positions into alliance. Um and also um Alliance was able to absorb its own increases uh for next year. I'll walk you through each each one of these in the preceding slides, but the total of that the wash out is $3 million and that would be our ask to the city to cover that. So looking at contractual increases, you can see that we have um almost all of our contracts up to date. There's been a tremendous amount of work in negotiating those contracts. Those have been very robust conversations around recruitment and retention and we think we've developed a really fair and balanced and measured approach to our contracts across the system. Um we have nurses that are almost ready to be to be finalized hopefully.
It does not fix the problem. It's my understanding that um Superintendent Tray, you've been here for approximately 10 years as a superintendent, give or take. that's too long um to be making fiscally irresponsible decisions. And maybe it's not just your fault um but the board as well and also this um assistant superintendent. You guys all oversee the budget and you're all at fault. And it's not it's not our fault. 241 people, 241 families. How can you guys sleep at night? That is just we are all angry. You guys need to go out there and see the support that came for all of us. That's all I have to say. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> All right. Next we have Hector Guzman, then Mike Mayo, then Jodie Suarez. All right. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Hector Guman. I am a campus security in this district and I have been for the past seven years.
We've made interim plans that we've used in the past for grades 6 through 12, which does include having our um students going to the auditorium working on Chromebooks, which we never had before. In the past, when students would go to the auditorium in the absence of a teacher, they just sat there. Now, they can access through the Chromebook the substitute plans and lessons and activities in their Google classroom. So we are hopeful that this process that has been used previously is going to be used again in a better more effective way for our elementary schools. We are still providing substitutes in many areas and we'll be providing as many alternatives as we possibly can. We do understand that teachers still get coverage payments, but we're still recouping a savings by doing these drastic cuts. At the same time, we have done this before and it h and we have gotten through this and we will be able to do this again.
We have to try again. The only way forward is for us to work together in order for all of us to win. I ask that you please table this vote in order to give the community time to work with you so that we can see what happens. Thank you. Thank you. [cheering] [applause] Next up on deck will be one moment please. Next on deck is Randall Kidd. >> Hello, my name is Louise Marie Torres. I am here today as the parent of a first grade student and as an educator. I find it very hard to stomach both personally and professionally that there is a plan of reduction in force with what I know. Thank you. with what I know um based on my own personal experience with a loss of funds and reimbursement that should be captured. Like I said, I am a parent. I have seen my son's Medicaid data.