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Board pauses decision on attendance-incentive partnership after vendor pitch and union concerns
Summary
A vendor presentation on the Knowledge attendance-incentive program drew questions about funding, equity, data integration and contract terms; trustees voted to withdraw a related multi-year implementation item (F2) to allow additional union consultation and staff follow-up.
At the June 10 Rialto Unified board meeting, a vendor identified as Knowledge presented a data-driven attendance-incentive program that pairs daily micro-rewards with longer-term college tuition credits. After a 90-minute presentation and wide-ranging questions, trustees voted to withdraw a related multi-year implementation item to allow further review and consultation with unions.
The presenter, who identified himself as Rod, CEO of Knowledge, described platform features and national results: "Lo que Knowledge permite... permitir que las campañas sean automatizadas..." He told the board the program integrates with a district's SIS and SSO, enables micro-rewards that can be issued daily, and includes a built-in limit on tangible rewards: "ningún estudiante puede obtener más de $600 en tarjetas de regalo... eso es por año." Rod cited district and national examples, saying some partners reported an average 8% reduction in chronic absenteeism in earlier deployments.
Trustees and union representatives pressed for clarity on several points: how the rewards are funded (discounts negotiated with participating colleges vs. discretionary district funds for short-term incentives), potential overlap with existing duties performed by classified staff, equity and fidelity of implementation across schools, and whether existing district family-engagement or reading specialists might be displaced or have duties duplicated.
Cristina Acosta (CSA) and other union commenters asked that the board remove item F2 from the agenda so classified staff could review potential impacts. After discussion, President Martínez and trustees including Ms. Domínguez, Carl Williams and Vicepresidente Montes supported withdrawing the item and requesting staff to return with written responses to specific questions about funding sources, staffing impacts, and implementation details. The board recorded a formal withdrawal of the agenda item and asked staff to engage unions before bringing a revised proposal back to the board.
What trustees asked staff to provide: a written funding plan showing which line items would pay rewards, a description of any overlaps with existing classified duties, limits on per-family/per-student awards and safeguards to ensure equity, and sample implementation timelines for a two- or three-year pilot.
The board did not vote to approve a contract with Knowledge at this meeting.
