Meeting highlights: student pledge, ethnic-studies debate, STEM options and audits
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Summary
Quick highlights from Riverside Unified’s Dec. 18 meeting: student pledge and recognition; robust public support for ethnic-studies as a graduation requirement; STEM Academy expansion options including a $134M UCR proposal; clean 2024–25 audit and enrollment decline projections.
Key moments from the Dec. 18 Riverside Unified board meeting:
- Student recognition: Sixth-grader Delfino Murillo led the Pledge and received a certificate. - Ethnic-studies debate: More than a dozen community members urged the board to keep ethnic-studies as a graduation requirement; the board moved the item from action to discussion for more data and community input. - STEM Academy facilities: Staff presented options including a proposed UCR preparatory campus (8.3 acres; estimated $134 million); staff will return with detailed cost, transportation and environmental analyses. - Finance: Auditors issued an unmodified opinion for FY 2024–25 (GASB adjustment of roughly $33M for accrued absences); King Consulting warned of an enrollment decline tied to lower birth rates; the board accepted audits and approved the first interim.