The Riverside Local School District Board of Education voted to engage Stifel, Nicholas and Company Incorporated to serve as underwriter for planned municipal securities transactions and to remove a prior reference to RBC Capital Markets from the district’s certificates resolution. The board also rescinded an earlier certificates of participation resolution that had been adopted in October, clearing the way for new financing arrangements.

Board members voted 3–1 to approve the engagement of Stifel and to remove Section 16 (which named RBC as underwriter); the vote to rescind the October certificates of participation resolution was unanimous, 4–0. Speaker 3 (the board clerk taking roll) recorded the votes and noted Miss Grassi voted nay on the Stifel engagement and the removal of the RBC reference.

The decision followed extended discussion about why the district was changing underwriters at a late stage. Speaker 2 pressed the board on why RBC Capital Markets — which had done substantial preparatory work — was being replaced, asking, “Why are we being asked to change at this late juncture?” The board heard that the district’s municipal adviser, Sustain and Associates LLC, had sent a resignation letter dated Nov. 12 saying that, after discussion with the financing team and legal counsel, the firm concluded the proposed financings “may not be in the district’s best interest” and therefore resigned from the transaction.

Speaker 1 described the situation bluntly: “the whole deal got blown up,” and said the district was moving in a different direction. Multiple trustees asked who would assume the functions normally performed by a municipal adviser if the board proceeded without one; Speaker 3 listed required duties including market analysis, underwriting review, regulatory compliance and coordination with counsel and underwriters.

Board members noted the scale of the financing under discussion. Speaker 4 recalled previous requests around $12,000,000 and that a later board meeting increased that to a $15,000,000 total request, which some community members had framed as a financial risk for the district. The board was told an engagement letter for Stifel had been uploaded to BoardDocs; Tom Wilson of Dins Marshall was referenced as bond counsel and said he would continue in that role regardless of underwriter selection.

Speaker 7 (who identified experience working with Stifel in another district) and others described Stifel as capable and experienced; Speaker 1 said Stifel would handle underwriting responsibilities and related tasks. Speaker 2 and others pressed for more specificity about contract terms, points of contact and the scope of services before moving forward.

The board’s actions remove RBC’s named role in the prior resolution, approve a new engagement with Stifel for underwriting and rescind the earlier certificates of participation resolution adopted Oct. 16, 2025. The board did not adopt additional substantive financing terms during the meeting; trustees signaled that further documents (including any final contracts or engagement letters) remain on BoardDocs for review.