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Public speakers press RUSD trustees over UCR STEM lease, transparency and conflicts
Summary
Multiple public commenters at the May 8 Riverside Unified board meeting urged transparency after a closed-session decision on the UCR lease for a STEM center. Speakers raised conflict-of-interest concerns, questioned record requests and liability premiums, and urged engagement with the STEM campus community.
Several community members used the board's public-comment period May 8 to press trustees about a closed-session action related to the University of California, Riverside partnership and a proposed STEM center.
Joshua Zonker, a Riverside STEM Academy teacher, said he was "shocked and deeply disappointed" by what he called a lack of transparency after trustees voted in closed session to move away from the UCR lease agreement. "You made no effort to speak to STEM Academy staff...the entire STEM community feels blindsided," he said.
Sarah Simpson, co-founder of the Riverside STEM Academy Foundation, defended the long-running partnership with UCR and disputed public allegations that parentage or attendance alone constitutes a disqualifying conflict of interest for trustees. "I don't for a second believe that that means that you have a conflict of interest," she said, urging the board to keep community engagement.
Other speakers alleged the closed-session vote removed public transparency and sent project decisions directly to the UCR regents without further community input. One commenter said he will pursue form-700 disclosures and campaign contribution records to test conflicts and flagged rising district liability premiums, noting a reported jump from about $880,000 in 2017 to $2.9 million in 2023 across district coverage.
Trustees and staff responded in public session: Trustee Kinnear said his vote was consistent with long-held concerns about the project's cost and priority and denied attempting to "sneak one past anybody." Trustee Vickers said her closed-session strategy was intended to pursue transparency, saying she had asked for a vote because she believed public discussion was constrained. Board members said they would continue facility and process conversations and that questions about records and timelines would be addressed through formal requests.
No formal action on the UCR lease was taken in open session during the meeting; trustees directed staff to follow up on records requests and to consider facility needs at Riverside STEM Academy as part of future facilities planning.
