Rialto Unified board approves field trip amendment, contracts and ratifies phone-pouch purchase; several consent items passed

The Rialto Unified School District Board of Education on Feb. 5 approved a series of consent and action items including a corrected out-of-state travel authorization for a high-school spirit team, ratified previously placed orders for student phone pouches at one middle school and approved architecture and construction-related services for campus infrastructure upgrades.

Why it matters: The items affect district spending and operations. The meeting record shows the board revisited several consent items to correct counts and funding allocations and ratified purchases already received by campuses.

Key votes and outcomes (at a glance):

- E 2.1 — Amendment to USA Spirit Nationals travel: The board approved an amendment authorizing 43 students and 5 chaperones from Rialto High (USA Spirit Nationals in Anaheim) to attend Feb. 13–15, 2025, with a cost not to exceed $8,000 to be paid from ASB and general athletics funds. Vote: unanimous yes (5–0).

- E 3.3 — Ratify purchase of phone pouches (cangureras) for Frisby Middle School: The board ratified payment for pouches already received; the combined invoices brought the total to under $13,000. Staff said the purchase will be paid from general funds. Vote: unanimous yes (5–0).

- F 1 — Change order: The board approved Change Order No. 1 (order number and contract referenced in agenda) for Silver Creek Motioner LLC for an academy-modular building project in the amount of $5,500.17, to be paid from fund 25. Vote: unanimous yes (5–0).

- F 2 — Professional services: The board approved a contract with Miller Architecture to provide architectural and engineering design services for compressed natural gas (CNG) station upgrades to support electric vehicle charging infrastructure through Dec. 31, 2026, at a cost not to exceed $69,000 from Fund 40 (special projects). Vote: unanimous yes (5–0).

- F 3 — Deny claim of liability (Claim No. 24-25-15): The board voted to deny the specified claim. Vote: recorded as yes by majority; one trustee changed an earlier vote to abstain in subsequent roll-call corrections (see vote record below).

- F 4, F 5, F 6, F 7 — Administrative hearings, reinstatements and expulsions: The board approved several administrative actions and reinstatements or expulsions as listed on the agenda by case number (cases listed on the agenda were acted upon; details are not specified in open session). Votes recorded as affirmative for those items where the roll call is shown.

Board discussion and clarifications: Trustees and staff clarified funding sources and amounts on the travel item and on the phone-pouch purchase. Trustees asked whether sponsorships or donations might cover the phone-pouch cost; staff said sponsorships were unlikely to be available quickly and that the district assumed responsibility for the invoices after the school accepted delivery. The board emphasized that pilot programs (such as Frisby’s phone-pouch pilot) should return results to the board for review if broader implementation is considered.

Meeting record and procedure: Several items were removed from the consent calendar for individual consideration before the consent vote; E 1.3 and E 1.4 were withdrawn for redrafting (see separate item). The board then approved the remainder of the consent calendar by motion and roll-call vote.

Ending: The board scheduled a special meeting for Feb. 12, 2025 and noted the next regular meeting for Feb. 19, 2025. The recorded votes on consent and action items are included below.