Reader’s Editorial: Cajon Valley’s compensation vote raises questions about priorities

By Alex Welling

February 26, 2026 (El Cajon) -- Last week, the Cajon Valley Union School District Board of Trustees voted to increase its monthly compensation from $630 to $2,000 — the maximum amount permitted under state law for a district of its size. That figure does not include their taxpayer-funded healthcare benefits.

Several months ago, district educators received a 2% raise, and school sites continue operating within tight financial constraints.

Those facts, taken together, warrant scrutiny.

Cajon Valley educators continue working to improve academic outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics. While there have been efforts toward recovery, overall proficiency rates remain well below state averages. Too many students are not yet meeting grade-level standards in core subjects. Teachers see this daily. Parents feel it at home. Academic improvement remains a pressing priority.

At the same time, many educators are navigating rising living costs and ongoing concerns about healthcare benefits and long-term compensation sustainability. They are being asked to close learning gaps, manage increasingly complex classroom needs and deliver measurable results in a challenging environment.

In that context, moving trustee pay to the highest level allowed under law invites legitimate questions about timing and alignment.

Serving on a school board requires time and commitment. Compensation for public service is not inherently inappropriate. But governance carries a fiduciary obligation to uphold educational missions, particularly in a district still working to improve student outcomes.

A fiduciary duty requires more than compliance with the law; it requires a duty of loyalty. It requires careful stewardship of public dollars and a clear alignment between leadership decisions and district performance. It demands awareness of how compensation decisions will be perceived by educators, families and taxpayers. The board's role is to listen to community priorities and lead by advocating for students, ensuring all decisions are made legally, ethically and with reasonable care for the district's best interests.

When educators receive modest increases and school sites continue making difficult tradeoffs, elevating board compensation to the state maximum creates an unavoidable contrast. Whether intended or not, it risks signaling that leadership compensation was resolved ahead of measurable academic recovery.

Public perception matters in public service because trust matters.

Two years ago, when I ran for this board, I emphasized fiscal transparency, restraint and a commitment to putting classrooms first. Although I did not prevail in that election, I remain engaged in the district’s work.

Today, I serve on a local School Site Council and participate in Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) discussions. In those meetings, we routinely confront difficult budget realities — competing priorities, limited funds and the need to direct resources toward programs that improve student achievement. Every expenditure requires justification. Every dollar carries opportunity cost.

Those discussions reinforce how important it is that leadership decisions reflect the same discipline expected at the site level.

Strong school districts are built on alignment, between rhetoric and action, between compensation and performance, between authority and accountability. Leadership sets tone. When outcomes lag or resources tighten, restraint at the top demonstrates solidarity with educators and families.

This issue is not about personalities or partisanship. It is about stewardship.

Cajon Valley serves a diverse community, including many students who require additional academic support. That reality makes focused governance even more essential. It demands urgency around literacy and math proficiency, stability in instruction and budgeting decisions that clearly prioritize classrooms.

Increasing trustee compensation from $630 per month to $2,000 per month, exclusive of benefits, may be permissible under state statute. But permissibility is not the same as prudence. The relevant question is not simply whether something is allowed. It is whether it reflects the district’s current realities and reinforces public confidence.

Cajon Valley’s teachers deserve meaningful support. Its students deserve measurable academic progress. And its families deserve leadership that models the restraint and accountability expected throughout the system.

In public education, budgets reveal priorities.

If student achievement is truly the north star, then compensation decisions at every level, especially at the top, should reflect that commitment.

Classrooms must remain the priority.

Alex Welling is an Emergency Management professional and former candidate for the Cajon Valley Union School District Board of Trustees.

The views in this editorial reflect the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of East County Magazine. To submit an editorial for consideration, contact editor@eastcountymagazine.org.