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Community speakers urge board to retain acting superintendent; union urges pause for inclusive review
Summary
Several community members, teachers and district employees urged the Rialto Unified School District Board of Education on Jan. 15 to retain acting Superintendent Dr. Edward D'Souza or to at least delay any permanent appointment until educators and the community are fully consulted.
Several community members, teachers and district employees used the public-comment period at the Rialto Unified School District Board of Education meeting on Jan. 15 to urge the board to retain acting Superintendent Dr. Edward D'Souza and to warn the board against rushing any appointment.
Former district employee Shalimar Hosley said she has known D'Souza for years and described his “love” for Rialto and his long record of collaboration with schools and staff. “He trained under me when he wanted to go into administration,” Hosley said, and asked the board to consider “his sense of fairness and equity for all students.”
Rialto High teacher Michael Thompson told the board he had worked with D'Souza on the Mesa program and credited him with supporting curricular and extracurricular opportunities. “He was always pulling community members, local universities, different groups together to try and give our kids opportunities,” Thompson said.
Several other speakers, including longtime Rialto educators Ophelia Fitzpatrick and Diana Stewart Story, described D'Souza's decades of work in the district and urged the board to prioritize students when deciding leadership.
Speaking for the Rialto Education Association, REA President Tobin Grinker urged the board to “take no action tonight regarding the acting superintendent position,” and asked the board to engage REA before moving forward. Grinker said the district’s prior leadership decisions had harmed trust with teachers and recommended a transparent search process and clear performance goals if D'Souza is evaluated for the permanent role.
Parent and community leader Ana Gonzales asked that Board Member Daquira Williams recuse herself from any evaluation of D'Souza, citing concerns about a potential conflict tied to an ongoing investigation involving Williams’ husband. Gonzales also urged the board to postpone a personnel decision until the investigation into former Superintendent Dr. Avila is resolved.
Acting Superintendent D'Souza attended the meeting; no board action to appoint a permanent superintendent occurred at the Jan. 15 session. Board members moved into and returned from closed session and later reported no action taken on closed-session items. Several speakers asked the board to prioritize a transparent evaluation process that includes teacher and community input.
Ending: The board did not take public action on appointment or evaluation during the meeting. Multiple community members asked for a measured, transparent process that includes educators and clarifies the authority a permanent superintendent would hold pending any outcome of the ongoing investigation into the previous superintendent.
