A 13-page disciplinary file detailing why a Rialto Unified School District administrator was demoted from principal to assistant principal has surfaced just weeks before the November 3 election for San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools, where that same administrator is now a candidate. Alejandro “Alex” Vara, who spent 34 years with Rialto Unified before his June 2025 demotion from Frisbie Middle School principal, says he believes the leak was timed to sabotage his campaign against fellow candidate Cali Binks.
The records, which Rialto Unified released in August 2026 in response to a California Public Records Act request, were later posted publicly on the Facebook blog IE Corruption Exposed, according to San Bernardino Sun. Rialto Unified has not disclosed who originally requested the records, and district spokesperson Syeda Jafri declined to comment on Vara's specific allegations, citing potential litigation, though she said public records requests are reviewed under the Public Records Act and applicable confidentiality laws, and that personnel matters are handled through district procedures, board policies, and state and federal law.
Vara filed a legal claim against Rialto Unified on October 8, alleging the district improperly disclosed his private disciplinary records. Under California Government Code Section 911.2, a six-month deadline applies to claims for death, personal injury, or property damage; other causes of action generally have a one-year deadline. The claim requirement applies before a person can sue a public school district for money or damages, according to Gammill Law.
Pinball Machine With Adult Content Sparked the Investigation
At the center of the district's findings is a virtual pinball machine Rialto Unified authorized for Frisbie Middle School's student recreation room in September 2023, part of nearly $15,000 in arcade-style purchases that also included foosball and air hockey tables and a basketball game, per the same report. The pinball machine included games featuring graphics of Playboy and Penthouse models, and investigators concluded Vara exercised poor judgment by failing to ensure the machine was promptly removed once the games were discovered in June 2024.
Investigators also found that Vara delegated the machine's removal without following up to confirm it had actually happened, and the inappropriate games were reportedly still present as of February 2025. District officials further concluded Vara misrepresented the arcade's intended use; Vara has said he created the setup in a room designated as a safety center specifically to boost attendance, and that about 100 students lined up to use it at 7:30 each morning, with attendance improving as a result.
Disciplinary Notice Cites Judgment and Credibility Issues
Judy White, who issued the June 18, 2025 notice of intent to demote Vara, wrote that he should have requested the vendor's full game list to check for age-appropriate content. The notice also addressed a separate incident in which the district found Vara exercised poor judgment by removing a one-on-one aide from a special-needs student in order to have the aide write a disciplinary statement, after the student eloped during the incident. According to the district notice, Vara recorded and taunted the student during the episode and sought to suspend him despite behaviors the notice says were consistent with the student's disability and documented in his IEP.
The district alleged that Vara recorded the student. Investigators separately found no wrongdoing in the district's approval or purchase of student phone pouches, though they concluded Vara failed to establish procedures for implementing them before the purchase. Taken together, the district investigation found that Vara lacked supervisory follow-through, exercised poor judgment and lacked candor.
The Rialto Unified school board unanimously approved Vara's reassignment on June 25, 2025. He accepted a move to assistant principal at Rialto Adult School under an agreement allowing him to retain his roughly $169,000 principal salary for up to eight school years.
Vara's Response to the Records
Vara, a Highland resident who became Frisbie's principal in July 2023, has said he created the arcade setup in a room designated as a safety center to boost attendance.
Vara says he wants to serve students and families countywide if elected superintendent.
A Wide-Open Race for a Powerful County Office
The contest is unfolding because longtime Superintendent Ted Alejandre announced in September 2025 that he would not seek re-election, leaving the office open for the first time in over a decade; Alejandre first won election in 2014 and will retire in January 2027, according to Westside Story Newspaper. The office carries significant weight: the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools provides educational, administrative and fiscal oversight for 33 public school districts and nearly 400,000 PK-12 students across the largest geographic county in the contiguous United States, per the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools.
Beyond overseeing districts, the office provides direct support and oversight for vulnerable students and preschool opportunities. Binks took 37.4% of the vote to Vara's 29.8%, and the two are competing in the November general election.
Binks brings a markedly different résumé to the race. She has led the Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District since 2013 and previously served as superintendent of Fontana Unified. Binks did not respond to requests for comment on the disciplinary records or the race.
