The Riverside Unified School District Board of Education on Thursday approved a partial 2025 long‑range facilities master plan so staff could meet a state funding deadline for career and technical education projects, and authorized a change order to repair an Arlington High School gym floor.

Staff told trustees the partial plan is a "living" document that will be amended as the district completes further public meetings and technical updates. "The state facilities program requires that we submit a long range facilities plan with our applications for state funding," a district staff member, Mr. Williams, said during the presentation, urging the board to approve the partial plan so CTE applications due in December could be filed on schedule.

The board approved the plan after trustees stressed the document would continue to be refined. "This is a living, breathing document and we will continue to work on it," Trustee Dr. Hernandez Alexander said before the motion to approve was called.

Separately, the board approved a change order for Arlington High School after crews discovered extensive subfloor failure during resurfacing. "The cost of the repair of the gym floor is gonna be 19,200," Mr. Preci, a district staff member, said, describing removal of damaged maple planks, repair of the subfloor and replacement of flooring. The staff presentation noted the contract contained a 100‑square‑foot allowance for unforeseen conditions but the damaged area exceeded that allowance.

District operations leaders also used the agenda slot to outline the scale of deferred maintenance across RUSD. "We have a deferred maintenance need of $298,000,000," Samuel Appresi, who leads the district's maintenance workforce, said, describing the district's prioritization process for projects. Staff reported roughly $11 million in work had been completed in the previous 12 months across 21 projects, $5.4 million was in progress and about $8.8 million was scheduled to start in winter and summer procurement cycles.

Staff gave examples of recent and planned work: replacement of 91 HVAC units on a compressed schedule, multiple roofing projects requiring DSA review, turf and playground resurfacing, a string of painting and flooring replacements, bleacher replacement and parking/drive improvements. Assistant director Juan Jimenez and director of maintenance Reggie Royster highlighted completed sites including Arlington, North High and King High, and described new drought‑tolerant landscaping, artificial turf installations at several elementary sites and updated gym and court surfaces.

Board President Lee and several trustees asked that the district do more to publicize completed projects. "When people drive by and see Arlington or Central, they're like, 'Riverside cares about public education,'" Trustee Dr. Tweed said, asking for broader outreach and social media promotion of the capital work. Superintendent Sonia Yamas agreed the district would amplify communications about facilities investments.

The board approved the consent calendar earlier in the meeting by motion of Dr. Hernandez Alexander with a second from Trustee Vickers; President Lee announced the consent measures passed unanimously with Trustee Kinnear absent. The long‑range plan and Arlington gym change order also passed with no recorded dissent; the board's meeting minutes and the posted agenda list the approvals and next steps.

District staff said the partial facilities plan will be amended after additional review sessions and public input; the board will see the updated version in a future meeting. The staff presentations included project schedules and renderings and said work will continue year‑round rather than relying solely on summer windows to accelerate project delivery.

Notes: the change order for Arlington High School was described in staff materials as a $19,200 increase due to a subfloor replacement; the long‑range plan approval was framed as necessary to submit state funding applications for CTE projects in December.