Rialto Unified board meeting, Sep 9, 2026
6 public speakers
This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named.
- Who spoke · first speaks at
What happened
What happened at this meeting
Rialto Unified board hears updates on chronic absenteeism and year-end budget 1:47:25
- A staff member reported that the board accepted administrative appointments in closed session, each by unanimous vote. 1:39:15
- A district staff member presented on chronic absenteeism and said the district rate fell from 33.1% in 2022 to a preliminary 20.5% last school year, with a goal of 17.6% for the 2026-2027 school year. 1:48:04
- Business services staff presented the district's unaudited actuals and said the projected combined deficit is $31 million. 2:07:34
- Speakers at public comment raised concerns about how valedictorian and salutatorian are determined between the early college pathway and the traditional AP pathway. 2:37:17
Until Nov 4, lines where a board member takes a side don't name the member. Why →
Item by item (14)
- Opening, closed session and agenda 2:53
- Joseph W. Martinez called the meeting to order at 5:30 PM, and the board moved into closed session before reconvening open session at 7:01. 2:53
- A Rialto Middle School band performed an original piece. 1:35:21
- Joseph W. Martinez read a correction to a renewal agreement with U Science LLC, setting a cost not to exceed $34,350 instead of the original $45,000. 1:40:00
- Student board member sworn in 1:41:38
- Chronic absenteeism presentation 1:47:25
- A district staff member said a student missing 10% of the school year is considered chronically absent and that the state looks at TK through 8th grade. 1:48:04
- Evelyn P. Dominguez asked why high schools were excluded, and the staff member said the district reviews that data internally but the state does not treat it as an official metric. 1:58:05
- Dakira R. Williams asked how Saturday school differs from independent study, and the staff member said Saturday school does not remove absences while an independent study contract would not count toward chronic absenteeism. 2:03:04
- Year-end budget update 2:07:11
- A district staff member said that with all of the changes and transfers from estimated actuals to unaudited actuals, there was a difference of $230,000 in the ending fund balance. 2:17:24
- A business services staff member said the district cut overtime by $800,000 and extra duty by $600,000, and eliminated prepared food for adults at a savings of $300,000. 2:26:48
- One board member asked the board president to work with the superintendent on a plan to help schools use funds before deadlines. 2:32:17
- Public comment on items not on agenda 2:34:50
- A speaker at public comment raised school safety concerns and asked for an investigation. 2:35:36
- Speakers at public comment asked the board to consider separate valedictorian and salutatorian recognition or other limits for the early college and AP pathways. 2:37:17
- A speaker announced college night meetings for families in October and November. 2:47:20
- Public comment on budget item 2:49:25
- A speaker at public comment said the actual deficit was about $1.8 million and that the district maintains more than $200 million in reserve. 2:50:41
- Employee organization comments 2:52:43
- Speakers for employee groups discussed support for inclusion in classrooms, a technology transition and assignments consistent with employee classifications. 2:52:58
- A Teamsters Local 986 representative asked for a written apology over a statement made from the dais and described difficulties in negotiations. 3:02:55
- A managers association representative said its membership reached 89 with a goal of 100. 3:05:18
- Student board member and superintendent reports 3:09:25
- Board member comments 3:18:50
- One board member said the valedictorian and salutatorian issue needs to be revisited. 3:27:36
- Edgar Montes asked whether the student board member has an email address, and a staff member said the student has a district student email. 3:37:27
- A speaker asked whether payroll deductions for scholarships could be set up, and a staff member said the system has the capacity. 3:41:56
- Public hearing on employee contract proposal 3:42:30
- The board opened a public hearing on the initial contract proposal from the California School Employees Association, CSEA Chapter 203, for the 2026-2027 school year, which was read for public notice. 3:42:30
- Consent calendar 3:44:51
- Edgar Montes moved to approve all consent calendar items except E1.5, which was pulled for separate action. 3:45:34
- School safety training contract amendment 3:46:24
- Joseph W. Martinez read the item to increase an agreement with Strategic Solutions for School Safety by $9,600 for a new total not to exceed $21,600. 3:47:24
- Evelyn P. Dominguez asked when de-escalation training for administrators and staff would begin, and a staff member described lockdown procedure training now being rolled out. 3:48:06
- After a staff member said some trainings were already on the calendar, Evelyn P. Dominguez asked that the dates be provided so they could be shared with the board. 3:49:26
- Board member remuneration resolution 3:51:34
- Joseph W. Martinez said the resolution would authorize compensation for Board Vice President Edgar Montes for the August 26th, 2026 meeting. 3:52:02
- Adjournment 3:52:40
- Joseph W. Martinez said the next regular meeting will be held on September 23rd, 2026 at 7:00 PM. 3:52:40
Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.
Other meetings
Other meetings of this board
Video: posted by the district as “Rialto USD Board of Education Meeting - September 9, 2026”