Oxnard School District officials adopted a "living wage" policy for their employees this week but put off actual salary raises until next year.

The move makes Oxnard one of the few school districts in the nation to adopt a living wage, said Trustee Denis O'Leary, who has pushed for the policy throughout his five years on the district's board.

He said he wanted to see it take effect immediately, but that was not financially feasible with public school districts facing steep state funding cuts this year.

In an unanimous vote Wednesday night, the school board set a minimum wage of $10.12 per hour for employees. Playground supervisors, however, are the only covered employee group making less than that. The policy will take effect July 1.

The district's 147 playground supervisors work two to three hours a day and currently receive $9.12 per hour. The $1 raise next year is expected to cost the district about $107,000.

"This shows the district has a commitment to represent these employees," O'Leary said. They are not represented by a union and "often are forgotten," he said.

In the audience, Esther Martinez, a playground supervisor in the district for 16 years, smiled as the board signed off on the new policy. Outside the boardroom, she said the additional money will help even though it's still months away.

If the raise had taken effect immediately, the employees' hours likely would have been cut because the 2008-09 budget has already been approved with a set amount of money for playground supervision.

Full- or part-time employees will be eligible for the minimum living wage, according to the new policy, which excludes groups such as student workers, substitute employees, interns and consultants.

The board also approved a mandatory annual review of the policy. O'Leary said the review process will guarantee that the board has an opportunity to raise the wage annually.

After the vote, Trustee Arthur Joe Lopez thanked O'Leary for his perseverance, saying he "should be commended for waging this campaign."

A proposal first came to the board in August, when it was referred to a committee for more discussion. The committee met twice and included O'Leary, district staff members and representatives from the district's three unions.

Everyone agreed with the concept of a living wage, Superintendent Rick Miller told trustees, but met to discuss how the policy could best be implemented.

After trustees approved the plan Wednesday, O'Leary asked to discuss at a future meeting the possibility of extending the living-wage policy to companies that contract with the district.