In 3-1 vote, school board votes to boost paid days from 10 to 30

The Mingus Union High School Governing Board voted 3-1, with Austin Babcock opposed and Board President Taylor Bell absent, to increase the paid maternity and paternity leave for teachers from 10 days to 30 during its board meeting on July 9.

Babcock said he opposed it because leave is often a choice. He said he has an associate who lives in Finland, who gets at least nine months of paid leave.

“They took the first three months to stay at home and the last six months they were in my office, they were traveling around,” he said. “I understand most people aren’t maybe going to abuse it and take a worldwide vacation, but again, why is it a taxpayer’s problem to pay for a choice they didn’t make?”

Board member Will David said that, according to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, mothers are guaranteed at least 12 weeks unpaid leave without the risk of losing their job.

The issue with having only 10 days of paid leave after childbirth is that other school districts are more attractive to teachers because of their benefits, like paid leave, David said.

“There are 14 states that do [paid maternity leave] well, we’re not one of them,” he said. “The national average for paid leave is 8.4 weeks, based on the Department of Labor Statistics. If you include unpaid leave, it’s 9.3 weeks.”

The average teacher salary of about $76,000 at MUHS isn’t enough tomake living in Arizona with the low maternity leave options attractive, David said.

“Twenty six percent of those in the country who earn $75,000 or less forgo maternity leave entirely because of cost-of-living concerns,” he said, adding it becomes 58% at entry level teacher pay.

MUHSD Superintendent Melody Herne, Ph.D., said she’s spoken with staff, who want to raise it, and with one-on-one meetings with board members.

“I did have to make choices in my career,” Herne said. “Where was I putting education and advancement in my career versus starting a family? So I am very much an advocate for giving additional days for family medical leave.”

Budget

The paid leave vote came after the budget’s public hearing, during which no one from the public spoke.

The budget itself was not changed since the last time it was presented, and was approve 4-0, with Bell absent. Periodically throughout the year, the board had the right to adjust the budget based on actual revenues.

Governing Board

The board approved Mingus Union High School District Superintendent Melody Herne’s, Ph.D., evaluation following an executive session on Thursday, July 9. No discussion took place in the public portion of the meeting.

The board voted 4-0, with Board President Taylor Bell absent, to approve board member Frank Nevarez as the board’s Arizona School Boards Association representative for the 2026-2027 school year.