New Law Provides School Boards the Opportunity for Pay Raise

Here are the morning’s top stories on Tuesday, March 10, 2026

• School boards across California are giving their members raises, which might sound strange at a time when teachers here are striking for better pay. It’s thanks to a new law that gives board members their first opportunity for a major pay increase in 40 years.
• A man who was recently released from custody at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center has died. Immigrant rights advocates say this is the second death connected to the facility in two weeks. 
• Northern California Congressman Kevin Kiley says he will not only run as a no party preference candidate in the upcoming mid-term elections, but will also be an independent the remainder of his current term.

School boards can now give themselves pay raises

California allows school board members to get monthly compensation for their service. A new state law updates how much they can get paid for the first time since 1984.

Previously, they could earn no more than $60 to $1,500 a month, depending on the size of the school district. Now, board members in small districts can get up to $600, and in large districts they can get up to $4,500.

California Assemblymember José Luis Solache, a Democrat from Los Angeles County, wrote the bill. “In many districts, the level of compensation makes it harder for individuals who are supporting themselves and their families to consider serving on school board,” he told the Assembly’s education committee last year. He was 23 when he was elected to his local school board and got paid $400 a month, he said. “This is why young people can’t get as involved and engaged,” Luis Solache said.

School boards throughout San Diego County have given themselves raises since the law went into effect in January. Some have faced opposition from teachers unions and community members.

The South Bay Union School District is preparing to close schools amid declining enrollment. The district plans to send layoff notices to more than 50 teachers and other staff this month. But during the school board meeting last week, the board unanimously approved a pay increase for board members from $275.63 to $1,200 a month. Board member Jose Lopez Eguino said it could allow more parents to represent South Bay’s community on the school board. “Most of the families in our district are struggling to make ends meet,” he said. “There’s no way a parent is going to be able to be here and represent the community. That’s why school boards are usually old, rich, white people.”

In 2025, the California School Boards Association surveyed school board members about their demographics. More than 60% of respondents identified as white. Meanwhile, more than half of California’s students are Latino, and 20% are white.

Advocates seek answers after man released from Adelanto ICE facility dies

A man who was recently released from custody at the ICE Processing Center in Adelanto has died. Immigrant rights advocates said it’s the second death connected to the facility in two weeks.

The Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice said 44-year-old Irvin Cruz-Nape was arrested by federal agents last September and later detained at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center near Victorville. Advocates shared Cruz-Nape was released on bond in late February and died on March 4.

Esmeralda Santos, an organizer with the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice, said Cruz-Nape’s family told advocates he experienced chest pains and symptoms consistent with a heart attack while in custody and was denied medical treatment. “Irvin lived in Montclair for 20 years and has four children here,” Santos said. “His family wants answers to understand exactly what happened while he was detained inside Adelanto.”

Cruz-Nape’s death comes after another recent death connected to the Adelanto facility. In late February, 48-year-old Alberto Gutierrez Reyes died after being transferred from the detention center to a Victorville hospital for chest pain and shortness of breath, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. His family and immigrant rights advocates said Gutierrez Reyes had repeatedly asked for medical care while detained. ICE officials shared he was evaluated by medical staff before being transported to the hospital.

The Adelanto ICE Processing Center has faced years of scrutiny from immigrant rights groups, attorneys and federal lawmakers over detainee treatment, access to medical care and conditions inside the privately operated facility. Members of Congress have also pushed for greater oversight of immigration detention facilities, including Adelanto, arguing that lawmakers must be able to conduct unannounced visits to monitor conditions.

California GOP lawmaker will serve out rest of term as an independent

Rep. Kevin Kiley of California said Monday that he’s dropping his Republican Party affiliation and will serve as an independent, a change he said will take place immediately.

“I will remain caucusing with Republicans for administrative purposes. But in terms of the way I approach my role here, I am independent and as I have been throughout my time here. I’ll be an independent voice fighting for our district,” he said.

The two-term congressman faces a tough reelection battle following the redrawing of the state’s congressional boundaries under Proposition 50. On Friday, he announced he would be running in the Democratic-leaning 6th congressional district without listing a party affiliation next to his name.

Kiley had looked at an array of options after his district’s boundaries were dramatically changed last year. In recent weeks, he was studying whether to run against fellow Republican Tom McClintock in a Republican stronghold or to take his chance in a Democratic-leading district focused in the Sacramento area. He opted for the latter.