Empty chairs on the dais at Stockton Unified Board of Education meetings have become an increasingly common sight.
At least one of the board’s seven trustees has arrived after roll call, departed prior to adjournment, or been absent altogether at every meeting where votes were taken since May 15, 2023, according to an analysis of meeting minutes, video livestreams and board documents by Stocktonia.
At the June 25 meeting, for example, Trustee Alicia Rico left early, missing the last 40 minutes and most of the scheduled votes. Reached that night by phone, Rico initially declined to comment. However, at Stockton Unified’s latest meeting on Tuesday, Rico explained that she left the June meeting because she was ill.
The board’s attendance issues appear to have largely begun last summer. All seven board members were present during 14 of the 18 regular and special meetings held from January 2023 to June 2023, even after the board moved the start time of its meetings to earlier in the day — from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. — in February 2023.
Late arrivals and early departures have impacted trustees’ ability to be present for votes, especially during closed session, where lawsuits, labor negotiations, student discipline and other sensitive matters are discussed. In the most extreme case, Trustee Ray Zulueta Jr. was late by an hour or more on at least 11 occasions and, as a result, missed about 36.9% of closed session votes taken since January 2023.
Additionally, board members have also rarely given reasons for leaving a meeting early — though explanations have been recorded more frequently for absences. Trustee Sofia Colón referred Stocktonia to Board President Kennetha Stevens, who did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The five other members all either declined to speak on the record or did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Unlike other elected officials, being a school board member is not necessarily a full-time job. Trustees often have day jobs and family obligations, noted Troy Flint, a spokesperson for the California School Boards Association. Several Stockton Unified board members also currently have children in the district.
“We do need to allow some grace and sometimes accommodations need to be made,” Flint said. “However, the expectation is that board members are present for meetings and, preferably, for the entirety of meetings.”
Stockton Unified’s board has faced scrutiny in recent years for trustee conduct during meetings.
A 2022 SJ County Civil Grand Jury report titled “A Failing Grade in Public Trust” found that board members often disregarded conflict of interest policies and were ill-prepared for meetings. A year later, the grand jury described in another report the often-contentious board meetings were like “watching your parents fighting in public.” That same year an investigation by state auditors into SUSD financial practices found evidence of possible fraud in the awarding of a contract for air purifiers in 2021 using federal COVID-19 dollars.
The membership of Stockton Unified’s board has substantially changed since. Trustees Kennetha Stevens, Sofia Colón, and Donald Donaire all took office in January 2022, while Rico, Zulueta, and Trustees Cecilia Mendez and AngelAnn Flores have all served since 2020 or before.
But both veteran and newer trustees have exhibited attendance issues, according to Stocktonia’s analysis, which dates back to January 2023. Donaire, for example, was late 10 times — although sometimes by as little as three minutes — and missed around 9.4% of closed session votes.
In other cases, trustees’ complete absences from meetings were publicly explained. Rico, for example, was sick during the June 27, 2023, and January 16, 2024, meetings, according to two resolutions passed by the board.
Flores has also missed meetings due to legal difficulties. She was absent April 23 following her arrest for alleged theft of district funds. The district denied her request to appear virtually. She also did not attend the Nov. 14, 2023 meeting, the same day that a search warrant was executed at her home.
But even the question of which absences are acceptable has been contentious in the past.
According to district policy, trustees will have their pay, no more than $750 a month for a district of Stockton Unified’s size, reduced if they miss meetings. However, the board can vote to have a member fully compensated if they were absent for jury duty, other district responsibilities or other valid reasons.
In June, the board voted to compensate Rico for missing the May 7 meeting due to “hardship(s) deemed acceptable by the board,” but voted against compensating Flores for missing the April 23 meeting days after her arrest. Rico and Flores both had compensation approved in the past without incident.
In part because of their absences, Flores and Rico missed 20.3% and 19% of votes respectively, the most out of all the board members. But both trustees also only partially attended some meetings; Rico arrived after roll call 11 times, while Flores departed prior to adjournment five times.
And despite missing many votes in closed session, board members were generally better at attending votes during the public parts of meetings.
Zulueta, for example, was present for 96% of open session votes, despite arriving after roll call 17 times. Donaire, a latecomer at least 10 times, was present for all but four open session votes.
Trustees Stevens, Colón and Mendez, meanwhile, have had generally consistent attendance, attending at least 94% of votes.
All seven board members attended a June 18 ethics training covering a wide range of topics, including open meeting laws, basic meeting rules, competitive bidding requirements and conflicts of interests. The board also updated its code of ethics last year in May in response to recommendations from the county’s Office of Education, adding sections about governing responsibly and distinguishing between trustee and staff roles in the district.
None of these efforts to improve board conduct, however, appeared to address an even more basic part of the job: being present at meetings.