Highlights
- Kyrene's governing board approved a 4% salary increase for teachers and certified staff for the 2026-27 school year.
- Support professionals including bus drivers, aides, and custodians receive a 2% raise; psychologists and therapists get market-adjusted pay.
- Retention stipends of up to $1,000 are available for eligible staff, with higher, earlier stipends for hard-to-fill roles in dual language and special education.
- Superintendent Laura Toenjes declined a salary increase and had her contract extended through 2029.
The Kyrene School District governing board turned the financial logic of school closures into a staff compensation package, approving raises and retention stipends at its May 12 meeting that were made possible by eliminating positions tied to six campuses scheduled to close.
Teachers and certified staff will receive a 4% salary increase for the 2026-27 school year. Education support professionals, a category that includes bus drivers, teachers aides, custodians, and administrators, will see a 2% increase. The board also approved adjusted pay for psychologists, speech-language pathologists, and occupational and physical therapists, and authorized retention stipends of up to $1,000 for eligible employees. Stipend structures for hard-to-fill roles, including dual language and special education teachers, were updated to offer higher amounts earlier in the year, according to the Arizona PBS report by Roxanne De La Rosa.
The district currently enrolls 12,000 students. Enrollment is projected to fall to 11,000 within five years, a decline that accelerated the board's earlier decision to close six schools. Four elementary schools, Kyrene de la Colina, Kyrene de la Estrella, and Kyrene de las Manitas, along with Kyrene Traditional Academy, are scheduled to close by the end of the 2027-28 school year. Two middle schools, Kyrene Akimel A-al and Kyrene del Pueblo, will also close at the end of that same year. The district's infrastructure was originally built to serve 20,000 students.
Superintendent Laura Toenjes asked the board not to increase her own salary, directing those funds toward staff raises instead. Her contract was extended through 2029. The Kyrene district's own announcement framed the compensation package as aimed at attracting and retaining educators while maintaining long-term financial stability.
The pay increases were confirmed by azfamily.com and KTAR, both of which reported the same figures following the board's action.
Kyrene is not alone in managing enrollment contraction. The Mesa Public Schools district, the largest in Arizona, projects a loss of nearly 5,000 students within three years. Falling birth rates, the state's ESA school voucher program, and housing costs are among the factors cited.
Why did Kyrene have money to raise salaries now?
Closing six schools reduces the number of positions the district must fill, freeing payroll budget that had previously been spread across a larger footprint. With fewer campuses operating, Kyrene was able to concentrate compensation dollars on the staff it intends to retain.
The raises take effect for the 2026-27 school year.
Sources
Every factual claim in this article traces to one of the sources below. See how we work for the editorial process.
- azpbs.org retrieved 15/05/2026 23:35
Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 15/05/2026 23:35. Every claim traces to a source.
