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Hacienda La Puente board approves summer programs, tech contracts and a mural after debate on costs and access
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Summary
The Hacienda La Puente Unified School District Board approved multiple contracts including a summer speech-and-debate camp ($87,780), an AI reading-monitoring tool ($22,230), remote IT licensing ($22,001.32), and a $52,480 mural project after discussion about cost, equity and student access.
The Hacienda La Puente Unified School District Board on Feb. 26 approved several contracts for summer programming and district services after trustees pressed staff for more detail on costs, access and student safeguards.
The board approved a renewal with Advantage Communications to provide a July 6–17, 2026 speech-and-debate summer camp for up to $87,780. Vice President Adriana Quinones and other trustees emphasized the program’s academic benefits but asked for transparency around per‑pupil spending and an explicit transportation plan to ensure students identified in the district’s LREBG (Learning Recovery Emergency Block Grant) executive summary can attend. “We need to let the community know what the purpose of the learning recovery funds is and what the current balance is,” Quinones said, pressing for an action plan to preserve grant-funded supports.
Superintendent Roach said staff would provide detailed cost breakdowns and explore transportation options, and trustees directed the district to report back with those numbers. Board members also discussed alternatives—using district teachers and local college students as coaches—to improve sustainability after federal grant funds are exhausted.
Separately, the board unanimously approved a contract with Project Read AI, Inc., to implement reading progress monitoring through June 30 for up to $22,230. Trustees sought a plain‑language explanation and stronger assurances about student-data confidentiality. Ms. Serrano asked for the contract’s confidentiality provisions and for legal language to be shared with the board, saying she was concerned about “exposing heavy data of students’ confidential information” to AI. Superintendent Roach and Dr. Lin described the tool as an analytics aide that produces teacher-facing reports and said the district uses closed models and data-share agreements to limit exposure.
The board also approved GuidePoint Security licensing for BeyondTrust remote-support services (up to $22,001.32) to allow technicians to diagnose and fix staff computers remotely, and a Discovery Education contract (up to $80,800) to supply digital materials for summer programs; trustees asked staff to confirm safeguards and site lists for those items.
A proposal to hire muralist Paul Botello to design and create a mural at Sparks Middle School (cost $52,480 plus field-trip fees) generated the most division. Several trustees and members of the public urged the board to favor local artists and distribute funds equitably across multiple schools; proponents said the selected artist would lead the design and involve students and community members. After procedural maneuvering and a motion to table that failed under Robert’s Rules guidance, the board approved the mural contract by a 3–2 vote.
What happens next: staff will produce the requested budget breakdowns, identify options for transportation to summer programming, provide the confidentiality/legal language for the Project Read AI agreement, and bring back any requested clarifications in a future report to the board.
