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El Rancho Unified School District Board of Education

12 meetings on our record, 8 of them from the past year and 3 with unconfirmed dates · typical meeting 4 h 05 min · 7,110 students · 5 members on our roster

Latest · Sep 15, 2026
El Rancho Unified finance staff report district overspent about $9.7 million in 2025-26Play 2:56:31
Newest meeting we have
Sep 15, 2026 · District's board page ↗ (it may list later ones)
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Watch the board’s yearA decision it made, its hours, its busiest night at the mic and where its time went, each with its source
Recent meetings

What the board took up lately

Board meeting · 4 h 01 minTuesday, September 15, 2026El Rancho Unified finance staff report district overspent about $9.7 million in 2025-26Budget cuts and layoffsEnrollmentSpeakers: Hector LaFarga, Jr., Esther Mejia, Christine Sáavedra, John Contreras and 1 more
Play 2:56:31
Board meeting · 3 h 00 minTuesday, August 18, 2026El Rancho Unified board approves school resource deputy agreement and Hispanic Heritage Month resolutionChronic absenteeismSafety, weapons and policeSpeakers: Hector LaFarga, Jr., Esther Mejia, Christine Sáavedra, John Contreras and 1 more
Play 2:51:07
Board meeting · 1 h 20 minTuesday, July 21, 2026Reading and test scoresSpeakers: Hector LaFarga, Jr., Esther Mejia, Christine Sáavedra, John Contreras and 1 more
Watch
Board meeting · 2 h 29 minMonday, June 29, 2026EnrollmentReading and test scoresSpeakers: Hector LaFarga, Jr., Esther Mejia, Christine Sáavedra, John Contreras
Watch
Who does the talking

No one member stands apart on the El Rancho Unified School District board: 3 of the 4 members we rank could rank first

Minutes speaking per full board meeting · 8 board meetings, Feb 17, 2026 – Sep 15, 2026 · talk time only, never tone or stance

A ranking, with its marginEarly readLess of this board's speech is named so far, so its ranks are wider. Each rank is a 90% range across 8 resampled meetings, so "2nd–4th" means the data can't place them more exactly. The ranges may widen as we name more of the speech.
Coverage: about 77% of members’ speaking time named (57%–89%)

Minutes = time we heard them speak per meeting, from the speech we have named so far, so each is a floor: at least that much.

Runs the meeting
—Hector LaFarga, Jr.President · runs the meeting, not rankedShare19.6min, at least7 of 8meetings heard, of those while seated—runs the meeting, counted apart3.0questions asked per meeting, at least
Members · ranked by minutes per meeting
1st–3rdEsther MejiaVice PresidentShare12.0min, at least8 of 8meetings heard, of those while seated31%of the members’ talking · 12%–54%4.4questions asked per meeting, at least
1st–4thJohn ContrerasMemberShare10.9min, at least8 of 8meetings heard, of those while seated28%of the members’ talking · 17%–42%4.6questions asked per meeting, at least
1st–4thArlene PerezMemberShare7.4min, at least7 of 8meetings heard, of those while seated19%of the members’ talking · 11%–35%7.0questions asked per meeting, at least
2nd–4thChristine SáavedraClerkShare7.5min, at least8 of 8meetings heard, of those while seated19%of the members’ talking · 11%–35%1.3questions asked per meeting, at least

Minutes speaking per full board meeting held while seated; a meeting they missed or stayed silent in counts as zero · bar = minutes named so far · line = our margin: members whose lines overlap may sit in either order · talk time only, never tone or stance · Hamlet

Meetings on our record
All 12 meetings on our record
Clips

What board members said

I just want to get an informational item on looking into getting a crossing guard or an admin out in front of the high school during the first half hour of the release of class, which would be about 3:20 to 3:45-ish.John ContrerasMember · El Rancho Unified School District Board of Education · Aug 18, 2026Watch the full meeting from 2:56:22
Have our coaches experienced any type of challenges that have been met with this new league that are not been met with this new league? Is there any new challenges that they maybe didn't think of, or, or any, any positive challenges that may have come out of this, this new league?John ContrerasMember · El Rancho Unified School District Board of Education · Aug 18, 2026Watch the full meeting from 2:14:21
Meeting time

Where the board's meeting time went

Budget and finance16%7%–27%
Ceremony and recognition7%5%–11%
Public comment2%1%–5%
Safety and discipline0%0%–1%

    The two readers didn’t agree on 18% of the time; it counts toward no topic, so every share above is a floor.

    Not shown: facilities, closures and enrollment, curriculum and instruction, student services and special education, labor and personnel, governance and policy, routine business, other subjects, whose checks haven’t passed

    Public comment

    Of the 12 meetings on our record, we counted public speakers at 9; 5 had at least one.

    4 speakers2 speakers1.7 a meeting on average
    Attendance

    The roll call at 8 of the 12 meetings on our record: the ones where we could read it

    Roll-call attendance, member by meeting
    MemberSep 15Aug 18Jul 21Jun 29Jun 23Apr 21Mar 10Feb 17
    Esther MejiaPresentPresentPresentPresentPresentPresentPresentPresent
    John ContrerasPresentPresentPresentPresentPresentPresentPresentPresent
    Arlene PerezNot recordedNot shownPresentNot recordedNot recordedPresentPresentPresent
    Christine SáavedraNot shownNot shownPresentPresentPresentPresentPresentPresent
    Hector LaFarga, Jr.PresentPresentPresentPresentPresentPresentPresentPresent

    PresentNot shownNot recorded

    Federal district ID 0612180 · student count from the federal 2023-24 count · meeting videos posted by the district