TUSD Superintendent donates $17K to two schools

The Tucson Unified School District announced the gifts to Davis Elementary and University High School on its Facebook page Wednesday.

Sanchez and his family will present Davis Bilingual Elementary School with a $7,000 check for the P.E. program to help fund the work of coach Daniel Mejia. The donation comes more than a month after the school’s PTA began an online crowdfunding effort that had raised $2,000.

They will also present a check for $10,000 to UHS for its College and Career Center, where students gather for homework help and meet with college recruiters. The center was created and funded by parents.

The district announcement said Sanchez “looks forward to supporting other endeavors within the district.”

Last week the Governing Board approved a salary increase that would raise his base pay by $70,000 in five years, plus $50,000 not previously written into his contract, among other incentives.

The Governing Board majority, which did not reveal the details of how much more Sanchez stood to earn during the public meeting, only referring to a “slight” increase, justified the spending as a way to retain Sanchez and to pay what the market calls for.

Under the new contract, which commits Sanchez for three more years, he is now the highest paid public superintendent in Arizona.

Last year after receiving a performance bonus of more than $12,000 — bonuses which in the past have been donated back to the school district or the Educational Enrichment Foundation, which supports TUSD students and teachers — Sanchez said he planned to donate the money but declined to say where, stating it was a personal decision to be made by him and his wife, and that it was not something that needed to be publicized.

On Tuesday the Governing Board will consider whether Sanchez is eligible for that same bonus of $12,600. The bonus is awarded based on whether annual goals are met and earlier this month TUSD staff reported that the goals were achieved 100 percent.

The goals focus on curriculum and instruction, communication, facilities, finance and diversity but are not directly tied to improving student achievement by a certain percentage or increasing enrollment.

It is not uncommon for top school officials to re-distribute financial windfalls. In 2009, University of Arizona President Robert Shelton donated his entire $50,000 raise to the UA Foundation to support university priorities, including financial aid. He planned to contribute the same amount annually to the fund before leaving in 2011.