Board of Education — January 14, 2025

We call this meeting of the Redlands Unified School District's Board of Education. The January 14th, 2025 meeting is in open, is in session.

At what time is it? Seven o'clock. Six o'clock, sorry, six o'clock.

Okay, first, Pledge of Allegiance. Our student trustee rep is not here, so Superintendent Kerbal, will you lead us in the pledge?

Yes, please stand.

Ready, begin.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Is there a motion to approve the agenda with one change? The agenda item 13G will be pulled from the agenda and brought back at a future meeting. Do I have a motion? So moved. Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Patty. Thank you, Candy. Is there any discussion? Okay, I'll call for the vote.

Board Member Olsen. Aye. President Rendler? Aye. Vice President Hollihan? Aye. Board Member Ayala? Aye. Clerk Wilson? Aye. Motion carried, 5-0. OK, roll call.

Candy Olson? Here. Jeanette Wilson? Here. Melissa Ayala-Contero. I'm present. Patty Hollahan. Here. And I am also here. So we do not have a student trustee rep, so no report tonight. Board committee reports. Does anybody have anything they need to report?

Oh, I did not.

Minutes.

No, I missed it. I'm sorry. I missed the approval of minutes. Is there a motion to approve the minutes from the December 17, 2024 Board of Education regular meeting? I'll move. Second? Second. Second. Second. Thank you, Melissa and Patty. Any discussion?

I'll call for the vote. Board Member Olsen? Aye. President Rendler? Aye. Vice President Hollihan? Aye. Board Member Ayala-Quintero? Aye. Clerk Wilson? Aye. Motion carried, 5-0.

We were on to board committee reports. Anybody have anything they'd like to report?

Did not meet in January. We resume back in February.

I had a, okay.

Was this the month where you were going to go for me? Yes. Did you go? And I did. Okay. And I had my paper and I just can't find it in here. It was too late of notice for me to make it due to my work schedule, so.

So just the one thing that they were talking about was The Arts Alive and Evening of Appreciation, that's coming up in April. The window is open for teachers to nominate people and for kids to turn in their artwork so that they can be showcased at that. So that's about all they had to report.

Okay, with nothing else, we'll go on to Superintendent's report.

Thank you, yes, good evening everyone. I wanted to update the board and the public on our Title IX requirements that we've been working on all school year. I'm proud to say that we've made a lot of progress and you have participated in some of that. mandates was to update our policies with respect to anything that is under Title IX and you've seen a lot of those come forward. There are some on the agenda tonight. One very important requirement was to survey our students to ask them about Title IX and Over 8,000 students from grades 6 through 12 participated in the survey that was given in December. Results of that survey were reviewed with the committee of parents, Dr. Wilson led that. And the results are available for the public to view on our website. And when you view that, you're looking at data that 8,000 plus students participated in. So it's really strong data. We're looking at some of the questions that were asked that we think maybe produce a little bit of vagueness with respect to what the students may have been thinking when they answered it. And those came from comments from parents who felt like, are they talking about the school, or are they talking about students at the school, or are they talking about administrators at the school? And so we're going to look a little bit more into that, but we're proud of that. We also are very close to rolling out the videos that are also a requirement for every single student of every grade level to view a training video that is centered on Title IX and how to identify harassment. The videos are age appropriate. We're very proud of the work that Dr. Wilson's division has done with respect to these videos. I think we're finishing the edits of the high school version, and then we'll be able to roll those out. If we remember, one of the updates I gave in the past, we have pilot schools that we're going to go to first, Judson and Brown, Rev, and the middle school I believe is Clement, is it Clement, Dr. Wilson? Those are the first three schools that are going to participate in the trainings. And of course, we'll show all of the videos to the board before that happens. And then we're very excited to invite the public to a family workshop that Dr. Wilson is leading that will allow for parents to join us this Thursday, 6 PM, right here in this room. If you have any questions regarding Title IX, where we are as far as all the mandates, where we're headed, Any questions that maybe you've been thinking about, you're welcome to join us at the family workshop this Thursday at 6 PM right here in this room. And there's a lot of postings that are advertising this, but I'd like to point that out. And the board is also, of course, welcome to join us on that evening.

Sorry, can I ask how long is this workshop expected to just- I think it's scheduled from 6 to 7. I think it's 6 to 7.

Is that accurate, Dr. Wilson? 6 to 7 30. good question okay thank you that's my report for this evening thank you Actually, sorry. I have some facts I wanted to share. So we do have a couple of facts that are important for the public to know and for the board to know with respect to our Title IX cases. We have currently 176 active Title IX cases. A case begins with a report from a student, a parent, a staff. There are several avenues for anybody in the public to let us know of a situation that needs to be investigated. We get on it immediately. There's not only an investigation that's triggered immediately, but there's also a response to whoever has submitted that concern. 176 is a lot, but that means that the system is working. It means that folks are letting us know when things need to be investigated. The other part of it, when you look at a Title IX, Title IX can include any student of any grade level. And of all of these cases, they all involve students who have reported things that students have done. None of them have any reports of staff having done anything. Student on student harassment gets reported through Title IX. That is what we're seeing. That's the number when you look at 176 and we're working those through. So that's just a number I wanted to make sure to share. Thank you.

Okay, we have a presentation tonight, 2023-24, Redlands Unified School District Audit Report from I. Bailey, LLP.

Who's doing this?

Good evening, everyone. My name is Laura Liz Vilches, and I'm the senior manager at that is in charge of the district's audit. And I'm here to present the 23-24 audit results with you. So there are three main sections that we take a look at when we conduct your audit. One of which is the financial statements, the other is the federal compliance piece, and the state compliance side as well. And all three of those comprise of internal controls that we take a look at as well. I do want to give everyone a reminder that the audit is designed to provide reasonable assurance of the financial statements being free of material misstatements, and not absolute assurances that would require us to look at every single transaction that you guys partake of, which would be not feasible. With that said, I am happy to report that the district did receive an unmodified opinion on each of the three sections I just mentioned, the financial statements, federal compliance, and state compliance. That is the highest, cleanest opinion that a district can receive. So again, the district received an unmodified opinion. There were some findings that we found throughout the audit, which can be looked at in more detail in the audit report. But with that, are there any other questions?

Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you so much.

Now we're on to the superintendent recommendations, business services consent items. Is there a motion to approve item 16A, consent items B through J? Moved. Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Candy. Thank you, Patty. I'll call the vote.

Before discussion, we want to make sure to ask the clerk if there's anybody in the public who had a comment on any item under this section.

So sorry, new thing.

Section 11. No, okay.

Okay.

Then call discussion with- Okay, any discussion?

Okay, I'll call the vote. You found one? There is one?

Okay.

Okay, I'm sorry about that.

There are three people who wanted to speak to the additional dates for meetings.

Not there yet.

They're not there yet.

Okay, so Candy made the first and Patty made the second.

So I'll call for the vote.

Member Olsen? Aye. Senator Rendler? Aye. Vice President Hollihan?

Aye.

Board Member Ayala Quintero? Aye. Clerk Wilson?

Aye.

Motion carried 5-0.

This is to help the public speak into the mic as clearly and as loudly as possible. We do have folks also listening at home and we're getting some comments. I got a text message that folks can't hear. So please speak into the mic.

Okay, we're on to business service action items. So I think we have three speakers.

Yes, so the first speaker is Sam Trad.

Might just have to allow for a minute, since I think people are outside. Yeah.

Nope. Nope.

Somebody checking outside?

Oh, yeah, I can switch to somebody else.

Just so that the next person is prepared to speak.

Oh, okay. So the second one will be Tricia Keeling, and third would be Valerie Tabor.

So someone's getting Sam? Here she comes.

Hello, school board. Sorry.

I'm sorry. One thing we forgot is for tonight's meeting, all speakers will have two minutes. Oh, one and a half. I'm sorry. One and a half. One and a half. I'm sorry.

Thank you. And I'm sorry. I was outside and I couldn't hear. Which item is this? Is it the flag and celebrations? This is the additional dates. Thank you. I apologize. So thank you so much. I will just speak very quickly. I would really encourage you not to add any more dates. I think a lot of us have already looked at the calendar. I know a lot of thought went into making the calendar. And we would encourage you to try to keep the meetings the way that they are and not add dates. It's really hard, I think. I know tonight a lot of people wanted to be here who couldn't. I'm a parent. I have students in the district. My daughter's here actually tonight with her homework because she felt passionate and wants to speak on one of the items. And so I really encourage you to have the most efficient meetings that are for the benefit of the majority of families and students in the district and not add any more school board meetings. Thank you.

Thank you, Sam. OK, Trisha Keeling.

So I'm here to speak in opposition of adding more dates to the schedule. This has already been voted on and agreed upon. People have important times that they have to find time. I'm worried as a member of this community that the additional dates are to pass some of these more controversial policies quicker, and I don't think we need to do that. I saw that one of them was for March, and the additional date would be during spring break. When teachers aren't here, people won't have the equal say and the time and their First Amendment rights to speak for something they believe in. Thank you.

Trisha, thank you.

in this district, and I am here to speak in opposition of the additional meeting dates. We are well aware that our new MAGA members on the board are going to try and push more controversial issues just like tonight. And like my compatriots, I also do not agree to have more meetings on days when people cannot participate, like on spring break. Please vote against this. Thank you. Thank you, Valerie. Thank you.

And Valerie Tabor? It was Valerie. Oh, sorry. So someone else is asking to speak. I didn't hear what you said, sir.

They're searching.

They're looking. Oh, they're still looking for the card. Christine.

Should we just?

We want to make sure that folks get a chance to talk before we go up again.

There's not a card in there.

Maybe I've got three.

My weight is on the bottom.

Just call the order that they gave you.

Next, Michael Pastner.

And after him will be Kayla Anthony.

Thank you, Michael Paisner. I also wanted to voice my opposition to adding more meetings. It is very obvious that some members that have been elected here feel they have a mandate to pass some extreme policies and adding more meetings is just a way to do that, particularly adding meetings during spring break when it's more difficult for the community to be involved. It is not appreciated. that these tactics are being used to pass extreme policies that the public does not want, as evidenced by the large turnout here this evening in opposition to some of the items that are already on the agenda. It is not appreciated, these extreme policies. The public should have an opportunity to participate and voice their opposition so you appreciate how vigorously the public disagrees with what is going on here and what you, Ms. Olson, and you, Ms. Wilson, are trying to do. It is not appreciated.

Thank you, Michael.

It said Kayla Anderson. Anthony, sorry. Kayla Anthony, is she in? Kaya? Does anyone know if she's outside? Okay.

No, we do think that we're in action.

Thank you for your patience. We are just making sure that everybody gets an opportunity to speak for the item that they've asked to speak for, okay? And there are different action items that we have, and so we appreciate your patience. Thank you. I believe those are all the comments for this business. We have one? For action? For this, for number 12. Business action. Okay, what's the action? 12E. 12E, okay.

We'll call Curtis Dyson.

Thank you.

Good evening, board president, superintendent, and board members. My name is Curtis Dyson. I am a RUSD parent, and I'm also a product of Redlands Unified Schools, graduated from RHS in 1985. I want to Just let the board know that I'm opposed to the additional board meetings being added. I feel, as we can all tell, these are important issues to our community and we need to take it slow. Give everybody a chance to think about this and digest what's going on and to hear from the community. And adding these meetings feels like it's being rushed and i don't think that's fair to redlands i don't think that's fair to our kids and i urge you to vote no on this thank you very much thank you curtis 24 25.

Oh, I'm sorry. Adopt resolution number 27, 24, 25, resolution of the Board of Education of the Redlands Unified School District. Adopting guidelines relative to citizens' oversight committees for general obligation bonds approved pursuant to Proposition 39 and related law. Is there a motion? So moved. A second? Okay. Thank you, Patty. Thank you, Candy. Any discussion on this?

Can we take each item separately? We are.

So no further discussion. I'll call the vote.

No further discussion. We apologize because Jeanette and I were trying to sort out some.

So can we repeat? We're taking, there's a motion and second. And now it's discussion time for the oversight committee only. You're only voting on the oversight committee.

We're taking them all one at a time. Okay. So we're good?

Okay. I'll call the vote. Member Olsen? Aye. President Rendler? Aye. Vice President Hollihan? Aye. Board Member Ayala-Quintero? Aye. Clerk Wilson?

Aye.

Motion carried, 5-0.

Okay, moving along. Read adopt resolution number 28, 2024-2025, resolution of the Board of Education of the Redlands Unified School District, declaring intention to reimburse expenditures from proceeds of issued debt. Is there a motion? Move. Second.

Second. Any discussion on this? Okay. Thank you, Melissa, and thank you, Patty. I will call the vote.

Member Olsen? Aye. Vice President Redler? Aye. Vice President Hollihan? Aye. Board Member Ayala-Quintero? Aye. Clerk Wilson?

Aye.

Motion carried, 5-0.

C, adopt Resolution Number 29, 2024-2025, Resolution of the Board of Education of Redlands Unified School District to approve the Zero Emission School Bus and Infrastructure Project on behalf of California Air Resources Board and California Energy Commission at no cost to the district. Authorize Jason Hill, Deputy Superintendent, Business Services to sign related documents on behalf of the board. Is there a motion? So moved. Second. Any discussion? All right, I'll call the vote.

Member Olsen. Aye. Vice President Redler. I mean, President Redler. Aye. Vice President Hollahan. Aye. Aye. Board Member Ayala Quintero. Aye. Clerk Wilson.

Aye.

Motion carried, 5-0.

Accept the 2023-24 financial audit report as presented by I. Bailey, LLP. Move.

Second.

Thank you, Melissa. Thank you, Patty. Is there any discussion?

All right, I'll call the vote. Member Olsen? Aye. President Rendler? Aye. Vice President Hollihan? Aye. Board Member Ayala-Quintero? Aye. Clerk Wilson? Aye. Motion carried, 5-0.

E, approve additional board meeting dates. Is there a motion? So moved. A second. Second. Thank you, Candy. Thank you, Jeanette. Any discussion on this?

Melissa? I have been on this board for four years, and I think we do a great job of getting the job done when we need to. Should an emergency board meeting need to come up, we've always found and looked for dates that... we are able to make. I don't know that this is very transparent to the community, only because it does seem like an attempt to pass policies faster, and I don't think that that is fair. Because during a regular board meeting, all that needs to happen is we need to have a quorum, which is how many? So in order to be transparent with the community and give the community the opportunity to voice those opinions, I don't think we should be having extra meetings during months when we are off school, months where we don't already have one plan. If we want to explore this for the next board calendar, I would absolutely be open to that. But right now, this just doesn't seem fair. Also, we have already committed to this calendar. I've submitted my dates to my employer already and I've kind of, this is time away from my family. This is time away from work. And while I don't mind doing this and I actually love doing this and it's part of my service to my community, it is a little bit upsetting to be asked to spend more time than I already do give. for the sake of passing policies that I may not agree with. So in that aspect, I am not in favor of adding dates. I will always make myself available should we need to have an emergency meeting or find, but to add it to the calendar like this, it doesn't seem right. Thank you, Melissa. Anybody else?

Okay, Patty. Patty. I'm in my 19th year, and I haven't had a problem the last 19 years with meeting dates. We've been able to work on everything, even when it was time for our, during COVID, we weren't meeting. We had 24-hour notice. We met. We always had a quorum. My schedule dates, vacation dates are planned, as I'm sure a lot of our teachers and our staff have already planned out what we have. So I'm good with what we have. Thank you. Any more discussion?

Did the TBDs get put on for the meeting or were those on before to be determined on the calendar?

Those are our workshop, the workshop ones, those are workshop dates.

Okay, they don't have stars by them, so I didn't know they were. Asterisks on the bottom will show workshop days. Second or fourth. So we did know, I mean, I'm new, but you guys did know that there would potentially be a different additional meeting. No, this is new. This is just being edited. I mean, because the TBDs are there. No? They are new to this meeting. Oh. That's what I was asking. Okay.

I thought you were referring to the workshop date.

No. Okay. So the main thing I want to say is that I think it's kind of short-sighted for people to think that the only issues that need to be discussed would be the policies that some of the members have spoken about. We have the DOJ policies, which are on a very strict timeline that need to get into DOJ by certain dates. And I don't know if the community is totally aware, but any policy needs to have a first and second read. So that extends out the time for us to get work done. And so As a new board member, I see many areas where we could, if we met more often, get more work done

I agree, and I think that I was elected to do some work, and this doesn't just involve the policies that I like or want to see. It involves actually working for the good of our students in this district. I want to improve academics. I have a lot of ideas for different things for our district. It's not just about controversial issues. I want to do some work. And it's always been traditionally the second and the fourth Tuesday of every month. So this is a unique situation where there has been only one meeting planned for the first three months after January. So I would like to go back to how it says in our board governance handbook. It's the second and fourth Tuesday traditionally. So I'd like to see some dates. I have... I have a lot of ideas to help this district and hopefully improve the quality for the students and the teachers. So I would really like to work for my money and let's get some things done. There's a lot of compliance issues like Jeanette mentioned also. that instead of being bogged down in one meeting per month, perhaps spacing it out will be easier for the public to digest also. And during breaks in summer, I mean, we do meet. So it's not something that's forbidden to meet while we do meet over the summer as well. So I think everyone can input. They can email us. They can put their advice if they can't get here in person. So I would like to see it go back to two meetings. Thank you, Candy.

I think the only two dates that were proposed that I see even working, not really even February, the May one is the one I see that could work if we wanted to do another meeting.

But I think I would propose maybe to wait until we do the meeting dates for next year and then add them then.

And so then we're all more prepared if that's what we want to do.

Which is when? Which is when?

Which is closer to the end of the year.

So basically- School year. We'll have one meeting a month for the first three months of this year. Yes.

Yeah, because we have spring break in there.

Is the May meeting for the honoring retirees, is that a regular meeting also? Okay. Yes.

Well, I feel like that's a disservice to our constituents. I agree.

I think most of the parents that I know, they can barely keep track of when the next meeting is, much less months down the road. And I do agree, a lot of parents are used to the second and fourth Tuesdays, and they can email in should they not be able to attend.

I also think there's, sorry, is it okay if I? Go ahead. Sorry. I also think there's an opportunity. We have a lot of students and a lot of parents that want to be civically engaged, and there are many days where our board meetings coincide with city council meetings. And I think leaving things the way they are for now would actually help us to make sure that we are giving our constituents an opportunity to voice their opinion, not only here, but at the city council, because a lot of the times you have to pick either or. And like I said, I have no issue discussing the next calendar, but we were talking about it being the beginning of the year. This is the middle of the school year, so it's not exactly like it's anything new. This is a really, especially doing it in May, we have staff that would want to come and be representative, but that is during finals. It is a hard time for us to be able to throw another meeting at staff and students. It's a stressful time. So I don't know that it's the best choice to be not looking at actual dates right now. Any more discussion? Any more?

All right. I'm going to call for the vote.

Member Olsen? There has to be a motion. There hasn't technically been a motion. I'm sorry. The motion at this point would either be to add dates or not add dates. Somebody has to motion to one or the other.

Either add or don't add.

I would motion to add dates.

Is there a second?

Second. All right. Thank you, Candy and Jeanette. Now we did the discussion. So I will call for the vote.

Member Olsen? Aye. President Rendler? Aye. Vice President Hollihan? No. Board Member Ayala-Quintero? No. Clerk Wilson?

Aye.

Motion not carried with the ayes. With the nays being President Randler, Vice President Hollihan, Board Member Ayala-Quintero.

Moving on to educational services consent items. Do we have any cards for anybody wishing to speak?

Yes. Okay, the first person would be Kimberly Hillier. Do I list what they want to speak on?

Okay. And following Kimberly would be Juanita Taylor. Is someone in charge of doing that?

Could someone in the back there check for Kimberly Hillier? I can't hear what you're saying.

We're on to the educational consent items, right?

Yeah.

That's in this section, African American studies.

That's what we are speaking on right now. So if you have, yeah, it would be any of the agenda items in this whole category.

As a parent of two students in Redlands District, I'm addressing concerns for December's board meeting about the potential denial of the AP African American study curriculum for Redlands High School. Delaying or denying this course perpetuating exclusion and ignorance. This course aligns with national academic standards and follows an easily accessible college approved curriculum. The notion that new board members were unable to review this curriculum is concerning. It suggests at best their inability to look up something easily accessible or at worst, a reluctance to support a course that reflects the American foundational values of a diverse and inclusive society. This course is not just about enhancing our students' understanding of history, it's about providing a more inclusive and accurate description of American history that acknowledges the cultural and social contributions of African Americans, which can foster empathy, reduce stereotypes, and prepare all students to navigate and contribute effectively to our diverse society. While this board was quick to approve courses on popular culture topics like Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings, the hesitation to approve AP African American Studies raises serious concerns. Unlike these fictional works, this course is grounded in the real and impactful history of African Americans in our country. To Ms. Candy Olson, as an ER nurse, you understand the importance of triage and addressing urgent needs. Redlands is spelling its African American students as reflected in one of the data points in the LCAP statistics showing their low enrollment.

Thank you very much, Kimberly. Thank you.

President, superintendent, board meeting, my name is Juanita Taylor. I'm a concerned grandmother. I have children that attended schools in the Redland School District. I'm very concerned regarding the possible removal of the AP African American Studies course. It seems like it's been put on the back burner. And I find it, I'm kind of offended that the courses for Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings took president over the AP class. And I firmly disagree with the board's opposition, it seems, to diversity and inclusion measures. This is what makes our incredible country amazing. Although the course is entitled African American Studies, I'm sure the course would be open to all who want to pursue it. African American history has taken a back seat in American history. In its time, it was more thoroughly included. All students could benefit from this course. The experiences of African American people are not ideological and should be valued. It appears that our experiences are being censored. There are a multitude of views taught, not just slavery, such as culture, literature, and political and social movements. Our history is often underrepresented in history classes. It is an important area of study because a lot of African American history is is erased, and lately there are attempts to even rewrite it. This class is a step to solve this issue. Therefore, I ask that the board reassess their stance regarding the course and not remove it from the curriculum. Thank you.

Michael Paisner. Michael Paisner and then Kayla Anthony, or Kaya, can't tell.

Hello, Michael Paisner. I wanted to speak in favor of the AP African American Studies course as well as in favor of the Constructing Fantasy Realms and the Magical Worlds course as well. When I was growing up, I didn't learn about things like the Tulsa Massacre growing up. I didn't learn about that until I was an adult because people tried to erase history. And that's, if you try and deny the African American study course, you are trying to deny history. We need to study history accurately, admit our mistakes. Things have not always been perfect. And I know some of you may feel threatened by studying history accurately, but we can only learn from our mistakes if we look at it accurately. We need to study African-American studies. We need to include these other courses that excite kids, things like fantasy realms and so forth, magical worlds. They cover the same common themes that are covered in classic literature. And if kids are excited to learn about those themes and study and read, even if it's in a topic or a context that maybe you are not comfortable with, I urge you to set aside your personal discomfort and do what's right for the kids. Thank you.

Michael.

Kayla.

Hello. My name is Kayla Anthony, and I am an alumni at Redlands East Valley and currently a junior in college. I remain very active in my community, volunteering in food and toy drives, and I'm even involved in celebrations as Juneteenth and MLK. I can confidently say that AP of African American Studies is an important subject to put in schools. As a college student, I have taken African-American studies courses in every single semester I have attended college. And I wish I was able to take such courses when I was attending Redlands-Ease Valley. I feel as if... AP African American Studies will change the courses of many students' lives, whether they be African American, white, Asian, any race. I feel like knowing the knowledge of your country and where you are, it is rooted in where we live. I also want to speak on the policies that are limiting cultural celebrations.

There's a separate time for that. Okay, that's a separate thing.

Okay, then I will talk about that later. Then I am done speaking on AP African American Studies. Thank you.

And Jordan Santana, just on the African American Studies aspect.

Hello, my name is Jordan Santana. I'm a Redlands High School alumni and was president of our RHSBSU and currently the president at Umoja SBVC. I strongly urge everyone to rethink creating policies to limit or get rid of AP African American Studies. Growing up in predominantly white schools, I never felt like I truly belonged. Feeling like an outsider at your own school is horrible. At RHS currently, there's about 6.8% of black students in most of my classes. I was either the only black student or maybe there was one other. I didn't have my first black educator until I got into college. In my K through 12 classes, we did not learn about black history until February when it was our month. Every year, what we learn gets shorter and shorter. AP African American Studies is important because everyone deserves to know that we are more than just enslaved people at once. We are inventors. We are NASA workers. We are doctors. We are the culture. These statistics matter. We cannot, as a society, take away these courses for Redlands students. These courses make us feel seen and give us opportunities to share our culture, ultimately bringing us closer together, which our schools currently aren't doing that well. What you are proposing will tail that down and drive us further apart and leave us open for expensive court cases. to be young, gifted, and black, though. Thank you. Thank you, Jordan.

I just want to clarify. Michael, did you speak to the other course fully? OK. Is there a motion? I'm sorry, there might be another one.

It's hard because there's got more things than one. Jordan Santana? Just went. Okay, so I put her back there. Okay, got it.

Is there a motion to approve items 18A, consent items B through W?

Make a motion. Second.

Any discussion?

Any discussion? I'd like to say something. Regarding the AP African American class, there's a lot of misinformation that's got out there. There was never any problem with the class. The situation was that in the agenda, all of the other courses had the uh... curriculum and uh... you know the course objectives all of the description of the course included but that one particular class it was probably an accidental overlooking accidentally it didn't get included in the agenda that's why we were able to vote on it last time and had nothing to do with anything against that particular class it just I don't know, there was an oversight somewhere, obviously, and mistakes are made sometimes, and it just wasn't included in the agenda. So that was the only reason that we couldn't vote on it, because you can't vote on something if you don't know what it is, right? So I'm all for it, and I love diversity. I think it's great to have a diverse population. I really do. It makes us better as people if we can all have a lot of different perspectives in life.

Yes, you can, but I just want to remind everybody that's here tonight, just please be respectful. Respectful of each speaker. Respectful of your board. Thank you.

Just wanted to add, kind of piggybacked onto what Candy said.

We are being very diligent trying to do our duties and we are not able to vote on an item if the required attachments are not there. And I just learned this so it might help others. Once an agenda has been made public, We can't just call Juan and say, hey, there's no attachments, because the public then wouldn't have them, even if we got them. So that's a legality that we have to make sure that the public is seeing in advance everything that we're going to be voting on. Thank you. Thank you.

Is there any more discussion? Okay, I'll call for the vote.

I will add, I mean, I as well am in favor of the class.

Okay, all those, oh, we're going to call the vote.

Board Member Olson? Aye. President Rendler? Aye. Vice President Hollihan? Aye. Board Member Ayala-Quintero? Aye. Clerk Wilson?

Aye.

Motion carried by vote.

Next section, educational services action item. Do we have any speakers? Clerk Wilson?

No?

OK. OK, so we're going to take items 19A through 19C together. Do we have a motion? Moved. I'll second. Thank you, Candy. Thank you, Melissa.

Any discussion? I'll call the vote. Member Olsen? Aye. President Rendler? Aye. Vice President Hollihan?

Aye.

Board Member Ayala-Quintero? Aye. Clerk Wilson? Aye. Motion carried by vote.

Okay, moving on to human resources consent items. Is there anybody here to speak on any of these items? Clerk Wilson? No. No. Okay, is there a motion to approve item 15A, consent item B through Z? So moved. Second. Thank you, Candy. Thank you, Patty. Any discussion? Okay, I'll call for the vote.

Member Olsen? Aye. President Redler? Aye. Vice President Hollihan?

Aye.

Board Member Ayala-Quintero? Aye. Clerk Wilson? Aye. Motion carried by vote.

Moving on to human resources action items. Any speakers? Thank you. Management, ratify, approve contract of employment for Patricia Buckmiller, Assistant Superintendent, Educational Services, effective December 18, 2024. So moved.

Second. I need to finish reading this. I'm sorry.

We will now present the oral report of the summary of the recommendation regarding the approval of the agreement for Patricia Buckmiller, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services, pursuant to a recently enacted requirement to the Brown Act, codified in Government Code Section 54953, The Board, prior to any approval of any employment agreement, must summarize the recommendations regarding compensation and benefits before considering and taking any action on those recommendations. The summary of the recommendations regarding the assistant superintendent's compensation and benefits is as follows. The proposed contract is for a term of two and a half years. with an annual salary of $238.05, health and welfare benefits, and term life insurance is equal to other management employees of the district. A fringe benefit of a monthly expense reimbursement of $350 for miscellaneous expenses incurred in the course of assigned duties. That concludes the summary of the recommendations regarding compensation and benefits. Is there a motion to take action? Item 16A. Oh, no. So moved. Second. Thank you, Patty. Thank you, Melissa. Any discussion? All right. I'll call the vote.

Member Olson. Aye. President Redler. Aye. Vice President Hollihan.

Aye.

Board Member Ayala Quintero. Aye. Clerk Wilson.

Aye.

Motion carried by vote. Congratulations, Patty. Yay!

Yay! Moving on to public participation. Are there any speaker cards? Clerk Wilson. Yes, but I don't have them yet. I want to thank the over 300 people who submitted comments through our online meeting input system. Your comments have been reviewed by all members of the board and will be captured in our meeting minutes. This is the time that any member of the public may address the board on anything that falls under the jurisdiction of the Board of Education, provided the person submits a completed registration card to address the board form to the clerk of the board or his or her designee prior to the time the chairperson calls the item for the board's consideration. This is not meant to be a debating period. Complaints and problems related to policy matters will be referred to the superintendent. the person wishing to address the board shall when recognized by the chairperson of the board step up to the podium and the microphone and announce his or her name the chairperson shall in the interest of facilitating the business of the board limit the amount of time which a member of the public may use in addressing the board to one and a half minutes unless the chairperson or majority of the board determine that a different time limit is appropriate

Okay, so we're ready. First speaker would be Patricia Molnar, followed by Jen Yahubian.

Good evening, board. I am Patricia Molnar, and through my 28 years of teaching, I have never felt more moved to speak before you than tonight about this policy. As an English and French teacher, a GSA advisor, the country flags, college banners, and pride flag in my room I'll communicate values of academics, curiosity, and diversity. This photo is of my trans son Rowan, who is now a successful college student. But this flag and the GSA club it represent helped keep my son alive when he doubted the value of life. This student and other students who are often bullied, exist they're not an ideology they're not a political maneuver and they deserve to not be a statistic president rendler you said that you would pursue the health and well-being of all students and staff and that you value and respect the diversity in the community i believe you and i ask you to consider how one will feel if this flag is yanked down what message will that send to the community And what of the inevitable lawsuits, perg complaints, and fiscal jeopardy as happened in Chino and Temecula Valley that this policy will bring? The people who see this policy and understand it are angered. This vaguely worded policy purports to avoid the controversial and political, but whose definition of controversial in our socially, culturally, and religiously diverse community Is this policy going to force to follow? Thank you. Thank you Patricia.

Hi, I'm Jen Yagubian. I am a proud counselor at Mentone Elementary School, and I also am a homeowner in the trustee area one. I came to speak much like Ms. Molnar just did about the policy to remove all flags that are not US or California. I know, well, first, fiscally speaking, I think it's a misuse of taxpayer funds, as it will lead to lawsuits, inevitably, because it is denying free speech. But more so as a counselor who has worked in the mental health area, the message that it gives to our students and to our community members is that we all belong here. They belong, and it is not divisive, that has been the word that's been used, but rather very inclusive. And that has been the message that people have received and that we are trying to give is that you belong, you matter, and every single student who is in our classroom and who is a part of our community and every family member who interacts with us within our community, that they matter. And that is the beauty that makes up this beautiful school district and that we have always been working towards. So for myself and my co-counselors, We're deeply saddened by this because we've been moving so far and we know the numbers and the statistics of the LGBTQ plus population and suicidal ideation and completion of suicide. So we beg you to not move that forward.

Thank you very much. Next we have Elizabeth Amtos followed by Margaret Hoganson.

Hi, my name is Elizabeth Antos. I live in Trustee Area 1. This is actually some words taken from a letter written by my husband. He is a lead member of the San Bernardino City Schools Crisis Team. He has responded to numerous suicides of LGBTQ youth, giving death notifications to teachers, to staff, and to, of course, the students who are the friends of these children. He also gives counseling and education. I hope that none of you ever have to attend a death notification. I am writing for a student who commits suicide because of who is also a member of the LGBTQ community. I am a resident of Redlands, parent of students enrolled in RUSD schools, an educator in a neighboring district. I'm writing out of concern for the policy. First of all, this is not a zero-sum situation. Acknowledgement of one group does not diminish another. Only one group is attempting to force their beliefs on others, and it's not those in support of inclusivity. Much of this religious oppression disguised as concern for liberty and child safety. Secondly, those talking most vocally about liberty appear to be the ones most dedicated to dictating what people are allowed to read, what flags can be flown where, and where individuals are allowed to express themselves. Finally, some people appear to believe that they themselves are victimized by even the acknowledgement that someone different from them has the audacity to exist. This is ridiculous. Acknowledgement, acceptance, recognition of LGBTQIA plus populations does no demonstrable harm, unlike the hatred spewed by those who would erase the acceptance and progress of recent years. I implore the board to resist the vocal minority that seeks to trample the freedoms of our community, to deny our students humanity, and crush the rights of our students and our staff to exist openly as they are. Thank you, Elizabeth. Thank you.

I am Margaret Hoganson. I am in trustee number two. I am a parent of children that attend the school district. That was a really difficult act to follow, so I'm sad you drew my name next. I think with regard to the flag policy, there's a very simple question before this board today. And that question is, is this policy going to promote the good for all Redlands Unified School District students? And I think the answer is no. It's very clear that all of us have more in common than we have different, but our differences are incredibly important. Diversity is incredibly important. We all benefit by working with, living with, and engaging in ideas from people different from ourselves. And to try to indicate or facilitate that we should all be the same is problematic. Students who feel celebrated rise. We as a district rise by lifting students up. School needs to be a place where students are fostered to feel good about themselves. People who feel good about themselves make safe choices. They contribute to their community. They are good friends and they are good students. Students who don't and aren't accepted have higher rates of unsafe choices that have been mentioned by some of the speakers before me. This is a policy, is an attempt to marginalize and dismiss students. Thank you, thank you. Margaret, thank you.

Next up we have Dorothy Loman followed by Braxton Foley.

Thank you. First of all, I'd like to say thank you to you guys for clarifying what went on at the last board meeting. I saw an appalling post by Together Redlands trying to incite some sort of a come together with everybody trying to saying that you guys were racist and and wanted to get rid of the AP class. And I knew that wasn't the case. If you watched the meeting, you saw in the meeting that it was being tabled because of not having enough information. But together, Redlands was spreading disinformation, which I don't appreciate at all. The second item I want to talk about was the American flag and the California flag being the only flags at the school campuses. I applaud that. Our schools have veered off track. They are no longer a place to learn, but have become a place to push special interest agendas and identity politics. It shouldn't matter what race you are, what your sexual preferences are, or what color you have for your hair, or how you dress. Character is the only thing that counts in a person, not what group they identify with. Identity politics... should not be something that the schools focus on. The schools are here to teach the basics, and I applaud the efforts to get back to that. Our school district has abysmal scores in all of the learning skills. Maybe that's what we should be focused on instead. Regarding the LGBTQ flag specifically, I'd like to see the policy adopted at the district that states that any adult that speaks to a minor child about their sexuality or their sexual preferences without the explicit permission from a parent That teacher should be dismissed. Thank you, Dorothy.

Hello, school board. I see there's a lot of passionate people here tonight. As we know, I mean, our school district has a pretty big problem with a lot of your guys' coworkers. sexually harassing children. And so I think it's quite funny that we are advocating to keep flags in the classroom that show what your sexual preference is. Obviously, lots of the people that are proposing this and about half of the people in this building didn't even stand up for the Pledge of Allegiance. So obviously, it doesn't show... You're addressing the board. I am addressing the board right now. And so I'm saying that this... Oh, yeah, I don't think they're allowed to talk to me either while I'm giving my... Show him some respect. Thank you. Yeah, you're welcome. And so I think that this measure is quite ridiculous due to the fact that the only flags that matter are our California flag and our United States flag. We're not advocating to put a straight flag in the classroom or another type of flag in the classroom. We are simply just saying that we pledge of allegiance every day and the California flag. That is all we are advocating for. We aren't saying you can't like who you like or you can't love who you love or your skin color matters or anything else matters. What we are saying is that this gender ideology is absolutely ridiculous, and it shouldn't have a place in our classrooms. Our teachers should be teaching math, history, and science, and that's it. Thank you for your guys' time, and I urge you to vote against this measure, because to vote for this, thank you.

Thank you, Braxton. Okay, next we have Jermaine Miles, followed by Corrine Payton.

Good evening, board. My name is Jermaine Miles. I'm the proud parent of a 2003 graduate and the proud grandparent of a current kindergartner. Despite what some people say, the purpose of Pride is to recognize the impact of LGBTQ community members and them on history. Pride's purpose is to encourage greater acceptance and support for all including those who are LGBTQ. This proposed policy uses terms like inclusivity and maintaining a non-exclusionary and welcoming environment. Yet, exclusion of the pride flag and pride month recognition does exactly the opposite. The proposed policy states that celebrations or recognition which, quote, promote or advocate for political, social, or ideological movements will not be permitted. Well, under that definition, MLK wouldn't qualify because Dr. King's entire life was devoted to social and ideological movements. Many of us, many of our national holidays are based on what were and perhaps still are controversial issues. Erasing history and erasing certain groups serves only one group's desire, and that group has made it clear it wants to allow only those celebrations or flags which represent cis, white, straight Christians. And our district is, in fact, made up of far more religions, ethnicities, and genders.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Hi, I'm a student at Redlands High School, and I oppose the proposed flag and prohibited activities policy changes. Banning flags that represent community and cultural groups only harms student clubs, hindering their ability to educate their members. Additionally, vague language within the prohibited activities section, prohibiting anything the board deems political and controversial. enables the board to abuse its power by defining anything they want as political or controversial so they can ban it. Banning students from certain activities because they do not fit a specific political agenda only harms our education and involvement in the Redlands community. Furthermore, similar policies in Temecula and Chino led their districts to pay $100,000 or more in legal fees. Why are we wasting time and money for something that is bound to be overturned just like it was in Temecula and just like in Chino? Considering the documentary made about our school district, I think we can agree that we don't want any more lawsuits associated with RUSD. As a student, my teachers have frequently paid out of pocket for school necessities because classrooms didn't have the budget to cover what we needed. In the last four years, high school programs budgets have been cut annually by thousands due to constant budget restraints originating at the district level. With all due respect, I am disappointed in our district because instead of focusing on actual issues affecting us, you have decided to prioritize flags and harmless communities. When you look out into the audience today, I hope you remember the students who are here prioritizing their academics over their survival.

Thank you, Corinne. Thank you.

Next, we have Corinne Payton and then Samir Oh, that was Kareem. Sorry. Sameer Margava. And then after him, Isabella Pastras.

I'm a student at Redlands High School and I oppose this policy. Lawyers argue that existing policies like this in the Temecula School District violate California's anti-censorship statutes due to their ambiguous definitions and sued them. If this policy is passed, the lawyers will do the same thing here and RUSD will be bombarded with even more lawsuits which severely hurt students. The district has to dip into school funds to pay for lawsuits, which comes at the cost of our education. Due to recent lawsuits, in my school at RHS, one of our librarians had to be let go in order to cut costs. And now instead of having access to a safe, quiet place to study until 5 PM, students only get half an hour before and after school. In my speech and debate team, we now struggle to transport students to tournaments we have attended for decades because this district recently slashed our transportation budget in half. Twice. In August, hundreds of students at RHS had incorrect schedules because so many teachers were laid off that the remaining ones couldn't fit every single student in their class. Our schools are barely holding it together and so many students are at risk. 62% of students at RHS are economically disadvantaged and need extra resources from public schools to succeed. And approving this policy throws that money, our money, away to legal settlements. Our students don't need protection from controversial agendas, quote unquote. They need protection from poverty and access to a well-funded education. Our entire district is hanging on a shoestring, and this policy will cut that string completely, leaving more of our funding to bleed out to lawsuits.

Hello, everyone. My name is Isabella Pastras. I am a sophomore at Redlands High School, and I'm also treasurer of the Redlands speech and debate team. And I would like to use my time to strongly urge you to vote no on this policy on the flag in celebration policy or 6-1-1-5. As a student, I was very appalled to find out that this policy was even being questioned whether or not to be voted on. I feel like this is just Just to know, it is limiting students' freedom of speech. It is limiting so many forms of expression. It is limiting people's ability to feel comfortable at school. I personally spend almost all of my time at school due to clubs and literally organization or excuse me literally my education and I as much as any other person would like to feel comfortable at my own school and something even as little as a flag can help not me but not only me but so many other people feel so much more comfortable at school and also I think it is very ironic how this how this policy is also trying to push the American flag when isn't America all about the land of the free didn't people come here creating America to be free When you are literally now trying to make this, our RUSD, not free anymore. You're trying to push all of these policies that are making schools so much more oppressive. And thank you, because that's the end of my time. Thank you. Thank you, Isabel.

Next we have Aya Francisco and followed by Sam Trad.

That's fine.

I stand here today not as some sort of political revolutionary, but as that of an ordinary student opposed to this policy. Just like you, I am a citizen of this city of Redlands. Just like you, we have these same day-to-day problems. How do I make the most out of my time? How do I save the most money? How do I live a better life? And just like you, I hope for a better future, not just for myself, but for those I care about most. Yet in many respects, we are also different. Unlike most of you, I am an immigrant. Unlike most of you, I am Asian. And unlike most of you, I am a trans person. In all my life, these differences, at times minute, at times extreme, have made me feel many different things. Most notably, shame. Shame for who I am. at Redlands High School, I was welcomed, celebrated for these differences, which I had always detested. Out in the open, I could be proud for who I was, but I stand here today knowing that any and all of this support might very well be ripped away from me. I apologize for that. by those in charge at that very same school to ban any and all things described as obscene. To what extent will you erase the things which define me as who I am? To what extent is my existence to be deemed inappropriate? I stand here today not just for myself but for those like me, for the voices of all my fellow classmates you wish to extinguish. We are not your political punching bags. We are people living our lives and we will not let you deface our struggles right in front of us. I will not stand with this item, nor should anyone in this room.

Thank you.

Sam Trad is next.

Board members, my name is Sam Trad. And I'm one of the organizers for Together for Redlands. And I just wanted to clarify that we didn't spread any disinformation. We haven't said anything disparaging about any of the members on our Together for Redlands social media, any of our newsletters. In fact, what we've done is we actually quoted the policy on flags and celebrations. And we have friends in Chino and Temecula who have shown us that they have almost the identical policy that we're discussing tonight. And what happened in those school districts, as you've heard from some of the speakers tonight, is it costs the school district hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees because it limits freedom of speech. The Bill of Rights very clearly states what our freedom of speech is. And this policy is vague. It goes against those freedoms. I, as a parent, I am very angry that we would be spending our money on lawsuits that are so clearly going to happen instead of funding our schools. I'm a third generation, or actually my child is a third generation student in the district, and I've been amazed at the funding that's been cut. The Redlands High School band program is one of the best in the state. The Redlands High School speech and debate program is one of the best in the state. And yet, they keep cutting the funding. And if this passes, then there's undoubtedly going to be numerous lawsuits. I don't even know how a teacher could teach. I don't even know what would happen with speech and debate. The way this is written is that you're trying to take politics out of school Speech and debate teaches students to speak respectfully to others about political things, about things that can make us uncomfortable. We need to be teaching our students to be respectful.

Thank you. Thank you, Sam.

Next up is Tricia Keeling and then Stacey Rodriguez.

Good evening members of the board and Superintendent Cabral. My name is Trisha Keeling and I'm a parent of two students in Redland schools. I'm here tonight to speak in opposition to the proposed flags and observations policy. A similar policy was passed in Temecula Valley Unified School District and was just recently rescinded because it was a violation of the contracts of the staff and teachers in that district. The Public Employee Relations Board ruled to overturn the policy as the language within the flag policy was vague enough that it had the potential to infringe on employees' rights. I'm here tonight to speak in opposition. Sorry. And the same is true for this policy. Who decides what is ideological? What is too political? What does that even mean? The policy that Candy Olson has proposed is purposefully vague so that a few people can diminish the freedoms and rights of teachers, staff, and students. Additionally, an estimated $100,000 was spent on legal fees within Temecula Unified specific to this fight with the perp decision. And they ultimately lost. That is money that many students within our district could use for things like art programs or teachers' wages. If you choose to move forward on this policy, not only will you be creating significant division But you will be impeding on the free speech and First Amendment rights of students, staff, and volunteers within Redlands Unified School District. As far as the community is concerned, together for Redlands, we've sent over 400 emails for people in the community that are in opposition of this. Thank you. Thank you, Joseph.

Thank you.

Good evening. My name is Stacy Rodriguez Sarmiento.

I'm here today to speak for those who can't. Coming from parents who built themselves up when they had nothing, one life lesson that I always learned was, ser diferente no es algo de lo que debas avergonzarte. Es algo que deberías celebrar y amar. Meaning, Being different is nothing you should be ashamed of.

It's something that you should celebrate and love. With schools and districts encouraging the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, I'm able to learn more about my culture and others as well. Taking this away from students all over the district allows for the diversity in education on different communities and countries to be diminished. which all students should be able to access. All I ask for you guys today is to think about the education and lives of students that you will affect by changing this policy. This is a form of oppression that the community will not stand for. Thank you.

Thank you, Stacy. Next up would be Emma Vara, followed by Juno Bates.

There we go. Okay.

Why did you start the time? I haven't started. No, you needed to fix your hair. Whoa.

That's rude.

My name is Emma Vara. I'm a student at Citrus Valley High School, and I chat GBT for the opinion on this matter. But I started with some questions like Trump or Biden to see if chat GBT was biased. It said, I don't take sides or pick between political positions. So I asked something not political to see if it was capable of making a decision. Apples versus chips. It said, apples are a healthier choice than chips. Then I said, should schools celebrate cultural heritage months? And it said, yes, celebrating cultural heritage months in schools promotes diversity, inclusion and education about diverse community contributions and histories. Obviously, this is a straightforward topic that was dealt with already in July of 2024. My dad and sorry. So please tell me why we are trying to debate it now. Thank you.

Thank you Emma.

Hello, my name is Juno and I work with a nonprofit called Inland Empire Prison Collective. The authors of this policy preach about academic success, but we have been fighting for LGBTQ pride and education on school campuses for exactly this reason. LGBTQ students often have low rates of academic success. Many LGBTQ students face higher rates of bullying and mental health challenges because of the prejudice and exclusion they face. A policy that erases the visibility of these students sends a harmful message to them. That their health and academic success are too controversial to acknowledge. Ignoring their realities doesn't protect them, it isolates them. Regarding divisiveness amongst students, when students learn about LGBTQ issues, it normalizes those experiences, reduces stigma, and builds empathy. And even if the students cannot always agree with each other on these topics, at least they have the tools to create informed opinions rather than defaulting to ignorance or prejudice. And if anything, teaching skills about compassion, understanding, and respect will serve them far better than policies rooted in exclusion. This policy also fails to uplift student voices. I don't think any effort has been made to survey all students in RUSD and to hear their stories. Instead, this policy feels like a political statement, one that uses children as pawns in a divisive game. I urge the board to reject this policy. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you. Next up we have Erica Ruiz followed by Nancy Glenn.

Hello, my name is Erica Ruiz. I am the Community Organizing Director with Inland Empire Prism Collective. We are a local org that focuses on LGBTQ advocacy. Let's be real. We can sit here and pretend that this conversation is about flags and observances, but this is the exact conversation that we had back in 2023. when the policy attacks against transgender students first arose. Reading over the proposed policy, it is clear that embedded into it are right wing dog whistles that intentionally exclude marginalized populations. It's funny that the policy claims to uplift a non-exclusionary environment when it is being proposed to censor the safe spaces that LGBTQ youth have on Redland school campuses. Ms. Olsen, I want to be clear that we see what you're attempting, and we will continue to show up and fight against your anti-LGBTQ agenda. President Randler, I ask you to please take into consideration how voting for this policy may affect how the local community perceives you. Do you really want to be viewed as a political extremist, or do you want to continue to stay in good standing with the constituents you represent? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Erica.

Good evening, Council. My name's Nancy Glenn. I'm a resident of Redlands. Labeling and banning certain flags in classrooms in the Redlands School District is chilling. It can have dire mental health consequences on our diverse population and the LGBTQ plus community. Many of our students are navigating their identities and seeking signs of acceptance from adults around them. The data is staggering. 70% of LGBTQ youth who responded to the Trevor Project survey said their mental health is poor most of the time, and 42% have considered suicide. Schools that have welcoming spaces lower suicide attempts among youth. Research confirms that closeted students are especially vulnerable when pride flags are taken down. These students especially need to know that they can come out or talk to who they can talk to in an emergency. When you were elected to this school board position, you were elected to advocate for, support, and celebrate all students who enter a classroom in the Redlands Unified School District. This flag ban is a waste of time and resources. Those resources could be sent directly to the classrooms to reduce class sizes. Ask any teacher here and they will agree with me. Vote no on the flag ban and make sure Redlands is known for its welcoming diversity.

Next speaker is Lorraine Enriquez, followed by Monica Joseph.

Good evening, Superintendent and Board members. My name is Lorraine Enriquez, and I'm a proud mother of a 2013 RUSD alum. I'm opposed to any changes to the RUSD holiday and recognition policy. The current policy follows the guidelines for the California Department of Education and is deemed to be neutral and non-religious. The proposed changes to the policy are vague and give a The board allowed discretionary power regarding what is or isn't considered appropriate regarding observance. In other words, the board is exposing itself to liability lawsuits that the district cannot financially afford and would cost taxpayers thousands of dollars, not to mention will rob our students and teachers of much-needed resources. You may know these sorts of Project 2025 projects. Policies have been tried in Chino and Orange school districts, which were costly due to thousands in legal fees. In Temecula, the school district had to rescind their flag because the California Public Employment Relations Board ruled their policy had not been negotiated with the teachers union. With the rise of Christian nationalism locally and nationally, I support the AP course. I won't go into that one. But as a Hispanic woman, a Latina, I'm proud of my culture, and I wish that you would all consider what you're doing to our students.

Thank you, Lorraine. Thank you.

Hello, I'm Monica Joseph. And welcome to all the new members in the board. And congratulations, Ms. Wilson. I'm from Area 4. I'm here to represent the typical Indian mother. You know, a typical Indian mother. Every day morning, we wake up and we think about one and only thing. How to send our children to UCs and Ivy Leagues. The moment our children are born, we don't think about fancy homes, we don't think about fancy purses, fancy dresses, not even our husbands. The only thing we think about is our children and how to send them to Ivy Leagues. We don't spend money on anything but 529 plan. We save every penny hoping one day our children will go to Ivy Leagues. And dear members, I'm expecting you to think like us, to send all the RUSD children to the best universities here in America. Give them the opportunity. to be their best. And please don't drag our children into Fox News petty politics. One last thing. Redlands is a beautiful town. I have been a Redlands resident for 17 years. Thank you very much. Please don't turn Redlands into Springfield, Ohio. Thank you.

Next speaker is Rue Whitmore, followed by Valerie Tabor.

My name is Rue Whitmore, and first of all, Jeanette, you can't even get your cards together for these speakers. How dare you talk to that child about her hair? Student coming up to their board talking about their concerns to you deserves your respect, so maybe practice what you preach. Ugly looks natural on you, ma'am, but it's still ugly. Excuse me? Now, instead of trying to force a policy that was fed to you by extremists, we could be tackling important issues. Kids' mental health, dual language immersion programs. special needs accommodations, but here we are discussing free speech that you're trying to dictate based on what is acceptable to you. This is a thinly veiled replica of Chino and Temecula. We already know it cost a ton of money. You're doing it here over and over and over again because you don't have an original thought. It's just a replica. I will address directly, literally seeing a flag doesn't hurt anyone, and accurate history is essential for a well-educated society. Pride is part of that. And black history and Latino history and Indian history. I am a queer parent of a biracial child. Every part of his ancestry and identity is worth learning about, signaling, and acknowledgement without whitewashing or shame. If you decide it's not worth teaching, perhaps a community should congregate in public sidewalks outside your homes to remind you, pride is not about sex. It is about the ability to live authentically, free of police and state brutality, and to be treated like every other citizen should be. With care and respect, also how you should treat students who come up to speak to you, ma'am. Thank you. Thank you.

I forgot the first time I was up here, but I know you all know me. My name is Valerie Tabor. I'm a resident of Area 5 and a parent of a student in our district. Ms. Rendler, you assured me and several other members of the community a few months ago that Redlands is not Chino. And yet this new flag and observance policy is the exact blueprint of Chino and Temecula. This proposed policy is incredibly vague, infringes on freedom of speech, and frankly is a thinly veiled attempt for the new extremist board members to discriminate against our LGBTQ students and community members. I ask you to do the right thing, the just thing, by not supporting this new policy. Pride is not about sex. It's not gender ideology. It's not divisive. It is about honoring the struggles of the LGBTQ community and encouraging acceptance. Candy, you are my representative and yet you do not represent me. I have no doubt that you will continue to fail many of our community who rely on that seat to properly advocate for their education. You're unqualified for this position and a threat to our community as demonstrated by this policy. You said last meeting that this is our seat and you're just sitting in it. And you're right, it is our seat, not yours, to do what you wish with it. And the majority of our community is not behind you. When I look at the room behind me and all the folks gathered outside, I see hundreds of folks who disagree with your bigoted goals and people who will fight to keep our schools safe and inclusive to all. This is, in fact, our seat. Thank you. Thank you, Valerie.

Next we have Simone, and followed by Milo.

Hello, my name is Simone St. Pierre Nelson, and I'm here to urge you to vote no on the flag policy. To pretend that this policy is a question of neutrality or of preventing extremism is deeply dishonest. The erasure of a group of people in our community is not a neutral act. It's also not an act of quality education. Where this policy passed, the RUSD's lesson to its students would be overt discrimination is OK in our community. And then when the RUSD gets sued and loses thousands or even millions of dollars to legal fees, then those resources that could go to disabled students or after school programs or to rugs or to books, you're also teaching our community's children that the eradication of queer voices and that the discrimination against those students is more important to you than they are. And so I ask you to reflect on that when you consider this flag policy. Thank you.

Thank you, Simone.

Hello again. My name is Milo Easley and I am a student of the Redlands School District. I want to thank the prior board members who are still here for students after the last election because your job just got a lot harder. I want to address the discussion regarding the flag policy. As any sane person, I am against it. I deserve to feel safe and welcome and unafraid in any atmosphere. And this room for one is not off to a good start. I urge that members of the board aim to at least remain neutral against the pain, My bad. Against the pain and hate and suffering of innocent youth and to continue to fly the pride flag in classrooms where certain teachers would like to. Rather than condoning the oppression of your students who should be able to walk into the future proudly. The pride flag's presence is now more than ever important. in redlands oh i'm sorry now that redlands students will be attempting to learn and thrive under fascist school board members like candy olsen who is directly responsible for sending grown men to harass me a child at my home and at my school to reiterate candy olsen who now sits on your board is friendly with hate group members and sends them after children children who go to your schools

Please refrain from attacking school board members. Thank you.

Remember that when she puts something or anything on the agenda, all of you. Thank you.

Thank you, Milo. Next we have Margaret Mayo and Frederick Jones following.

evening board members my name is margaret male and i am a 2024 graduate of redlands high school sibling to a current student and resident of area 2. simply put the proposed version of policy 6-1-1-5 clearly violates the rights of students and faculty under the first amendment Per the 1969 landmark US Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines, students maintain the constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression while at school. Prohibiting the displays of flags other than the California and US flag violates the rights of student affiliates to display identity and nationality based flags. As a student, I wore pins representing my identity as a citizen of both the US and Canada and as a queer student. Such a blatant contradiction of US legal precedence leaves the district open to a lawsuit if passed. Legal fees that this district cannot afford, which would further harm the quality of education that RUSD students of all ages would receive. This policy is a blatant attack upon the diversity present in RUSD students and staff. With the rise in reactionary conservatism and hate, this board must take action to protect the rights of its students and employees. The proposed flag policy is ignorant of the wishes of RUSD students and faculty. I urge you to protect your constituents, all of them. Thank you. Thank you, Margaret.

We had next was Frederick Jones. Following Frederick, Evelyn Ruiz. Jennifer Kim. Guess we're on to the outside people.

I've got to take a five minute recess.

Drick Jones is up next. Followed by Evelyn Ruiz. There must be quite a few people outside. Should I keep going?

No, just wait for them to come.

Yeah, we can let them come in and sit. Could somebody please check if Frederick is outside?

Frederick bounced. Frederick bounced. Next.

Evelyn Ruiz? Okay. Jennifer Kim?

Good evening, my name is Jennifer Kim. I'm a resident, a mother, and an educator in Redlands. And I am just here to implore you to please don't pass this policy. I think we all know this isn't about flags, just like it wasn't about books in 2022. It is about trying to exclude a very vulnerable group of people. And as an educator, I applaud hearing so many students so passionately tonight speak out, use their voice for what's most important to them, not just themselves, but for other students. They're speaking for everyone. And I just want to encourage them to continue that sort of energy. Whether it's at the city council or at the school board, I've attended a handful of these kinds of meetings where it's about excluding our queer community. And you hear very similar things. You hear passionate speeches from people who personally experience it or compassionate speeches from people who really care about their neighbors and So there's nothing I can say that's any different or any more wise or anything. But what's sad is I'm afraid that it's falling on ears that no matter how much data we show or prove, you're still going to continue to feel the same way. This is not inclusive. Please vote no. Thank you, Jennifer.

Next, we have Juanita Taylor, followed by Jesus Cisneros. Does anyone know if Juanita Taylor is outside? No? Well, we'll hear from Jesus Cisneros.

Hello. Jesus is narrow. Sorry, I was standing outside freezing for two hours, but I'm happy to be here. So I'll explain one thing. There's only one flag that represents everyone, and I do believe in diversity. I believe in equality, and that's the American flag. The American flag represents every single person here, not just a small minority. And I will say it is a small minority. Let me tell you why. There's a reason Candy Olsen won by a landslide. There is a reason that Jeanette is up there. Everybody is replaceable. There's a reason we flipped Congress. There's a reason we flipped Senate and the presidency. So there's more people that think like me. There's more people that couldn't be here. Why? Because we work. We work long hours. A lot of those people happen to be the Hispanic people that are not a majority of Redlands Unified. But they can't be here. And they're not involved in politics. But soon they will be. Why? Because we're tired of the gay agenda. We all are. That is the reason we are here. And again, that is the reason Candy Olsen won. And that is the reason Janae Olsen won. So thank you and God bless you. Thank you for having me.

Thank you, Jesus.

Next we have Brian Whitehead Byron, sorry, followed by Christine Collingsworth.

Hello, my name is Byron Whitehead. I'm a resident of Redlands, more specifically North Redlands. And as my day job, you would say, I am the Director of Teen Programs at the YMCA Camp Oaks. And I'm here to say that in consideration of all policies that have been put together here, The first thing, especially in my position, especially working with teenagers, is that we must have a consideration of the actual lived experiences of people who are actually in these schools as well. And the actual lived experiences of people who are in these schools are diverse, and they're lived experiences that are multifarious amongst culture and amongst nationality and origin. So that's why I say, and I applaud the board for confirming the AP African American Studies courses, but I would say we also can go further. And I say by ignoring such important dates and such important times such as Black History Month, it's certainly ignorant of the histories that we have here in Redlands. Redlands has a rich history of not only just its own history, but black history here. For example, myself, I carry the name Whitehead, who also comes from the name Howard Whitehead, who was not only a Redlands firefighter and a Redlands police officer, but was also the first man to sail the seven seas during the Korean War. So if we don't have the education through Black History Month or through APM African American Studies, we lose this history not only exclusive to Redlands, but so important to Redlands. Thank you.

Thank you, Byron. Christine Collinsworth. Can we have someone check to see if she's outside? We need a person to do that apparently. Also, I see a few empty seats. So if you guys could raise your hands, we could let the people standing outside know that there's a few seats available if you have a seat next to you that's vacant. So we have one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. At least, oh, okay, about 10.

Okay, maybe she left. Michael Paisner.

Thank you. We have about ten seats available. Okay. Thank you.

Hello, Michael Paisner. There is some misinformation that I need to dispel. Some of you think Pride Flags and Pride Month is about sex. In fact, Pride is celebrated in June to commemorate a historic event, the Stonewall Uprising that took place in Greenwich Village June 1969. To say being gay in the 60s was a crime doesn't begin to describe the trauma the LGBTQ community was subjected to at that time. Being identified as gay at that time not only led to people being arrested, but the arrest would be printed in the paper, resulting in people losing their jobs, being ostracized by their families, leaving them with no way to support themselves, and people were committed to insane asylums without any due process for being gay. The Stonewall uprising galvanized the LGBTQ community. They realize they are not alone. There's nothing wrong with them. They are a vibrant community, and they don't deserve to be criminalized just for being who they are. June 69 could be described as their declaration of independence, but still required decades of struggle to gain their rights. I've heard the argument that the American flag represents everyone. Where in that flag is the LGBTQ community represented? I'll give you a hint. It's not. How about my freedom? How about people stop telling me what symbols represent me? Because I'll tell you, that flag doesn't tell my story. And anyone who tells me it does is insulting me, and I don't appreciate that, and I don't think you should stand for that. Let people choose their own symbols. Thank you.

Thank you, Michael.

Next up, we have Kayla Anthony, followed by Jordan Santana. Okay, thank you. Next up then we have Rachel Ugly followed by Lawrence Hebron. Does anyone know if they're still outside? You have Rachel Ugly? Okay, thank you. Lawrence Hebron.

Hello, my name is Lawrence Hebron, and I live in Area 3 of the Redland School District. I just heard a speaker say that trans is not about sex. Well, you know what? This policy is not about trans. It's about fairness. It's about equality in how we treat people. I was a teacher, and I remember... coming in one morning when two parents and their daughter were standing outside my door. And they said, Mr. Hepburn, would you please tell our daughter that such and such is true? Because she won't believe us, but you're her teacher. She'll believe you. We must not ever underestimate the power that teachers have to influence kids. And just hanging a flag in a classroom is enough to do it oftentimes. And that's something that is the parent's business, not the school's, not the teacher's. So we need to remove these coercive elements. And another aspect of this is, when the parents are unhappy, they have other options. They will vote with their feet. They'll go to private schools, they'll go to homeschooling. And I've seen a lot of this. As a result of this, there are hundreds, maybe thousands of classroom seats that are currently empty because of the decision of these parents. And when you drive away parents, you shrink attendance, which means that you get less ADA money from the state, which means that you cannot afford to pay many teachers, custodians, food service workers, bus drivers, security guards, et cetera. And that is the dirty little secret of a promiscuous flag policy. I urge you to vote yes on this policy. Thank you, Lawrence.

Thank you.

Next up, we have Greg Britton and then Ken Hunter.

Good evening, everyone. One minute and a half, I'll get started. When American Marines landed on Iwo Jima in World War II, Mount Suribachi towered over the landing field. It was honeycombed with bunkers and tunnels, and the Japanese soldiers rained down rifle fire, machine gun fire, artillery, and mortars on the Marines. And at great cost, the Marines fought their way off the beach, up the mountain, and what did they do when they got to the top? They planted the one flag that represents all American citizens, the American flag. And those are the proper flags. And people can say whatever they want to. They can take different opinions. Students can voice themselves. It's all fine. But the point is here in the school district, this is a school policy of what flags are going to be flown at school. The school is paid for by all of us. And the flags there, because of their unique nature, should be flags that represent all of us. And that would be the American flag and the California flag. The gay flag, which is most of the discussion tonight, represents a small minority. We should not have one flag for one minority being displayed in our classrooms. It should be everybody or nobody, and that's the only flag that does it. Thank you.

Thank you, Greg.

Yes, hello board, everyone here. My name is Ken Hunter. I'm from Redlands. And I've heard a lot about pride, pride, pride. What about pride in America? What about pride in our flag? That's the most important thing that we should be concerned about. Our kids are very vulnerable. They're easily distracted. When I was a kid, which was a while ago, I had to move a lot. My parents moved a lot. I had to go to seven different schools in elementary school. And every place I went in Florida or California, every morning we started our day with a flag salute. And that's one nation under God, indivisible. So diversity, I've heard that term a lot here. Diversity is the definition of disunity. We're all Americans. There's only one flag that represents all of us. And I like this agenda item, the 6-1-1-5, I think you call it. I think it's a great idea. It's based on sound, foundation ideas. foundational principles of good education and being good Americans. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Kent. Next up we have Miley. Do you know the name? Miley? Miley? Miley? 7 Templeton you can come up

Hello. I am Seven Templeton. I go to Redlands East Valley High. I'm here to address the flag ban policy, as I believe it is necessarily a violation of the First Amendment to our Constitution. As much as I do indeed believe the American flag represents us all, it also represents something important, freedom of speech. And also the freedom from lawsuits that would rob taxpayers of their money. I understand American pride. I understand what you're trying to prevent. However, I wholly disagree with it. I find it quite disgusting that the right-wing parties, the people who are supposed to be anti-state, decide to become statist whenever it suits them. As someone who considers myself part of that group, I would like to see less of that, because you should have values that you stick to. Thank you.

Thank you, Simon.

Next we have Megan Garcia followed by Bruce Lakecook. Yes, please. Are you Bruce? Yes. Yes, please.

Good evening. The draft flag and celebration policy speaks to providing an environment that is appropriate and welcoming to all. It also says this policy serves to protect children from ideological and politically divisive observances and practices. I ask you, how will you teach our students to thoroughly and respectfully consider issues that are complicated, and yes, sometimes even divisive, if you protect them from participating in activities that address those same issues? It seems to be a clear violation of the First Amendment because it abridges the rights of faculty, staff, and students in RUSD to speak freely at an organized event facilitated by or at an RUSD school. This policy would effectively muzzle free speech and illegally prohibit conversations about the most current, important, and politically relevant topics. My wife is a retired English teacher who taught at Rev for 25 years. During those years, she was the faculty advisor for the speech and debate team. Addressing ideologically and politically divisive observances and practices was one of the major activities her students engaged in during those tournaments. Would you ban speech and debate tournaments at RUSD schools? Do you really want to prepare students to become productive participants? Thank you, Bruce. If so, vote no. Thank you very much.

Did Miley come in? Okay. Next, Megan Garcia, and followed by Ruins Rosso. OK, come on up. Thank you.

Oh, my gosh. Sorry. I was not prepared. I'm so sorry. I'm just trying to pull it up. Good evening. My name is Bruins. I grew up in Redlands and the surrounding areas. I'm also a former foster youth. So while I was in Redlands school districts for a little, it was only a little. So as I grew up, I had these celebrations, the GSA, all these wonderful things. And various kinds of flags show our pride of our identities and our communities. And it's a celebration of who we are as people. I remember these celebrations and events giving me confidence in who I was and providing me with life saving community. I would not be here without my GSA of my previous schools and I would not be here without the queer teachers who were allowing me to feel safe in their classrooms. I'm asking Michelle Rendler and all of the school board to listen to the students and community members that you have heard tonight and vote no on this policy. The students of your district deserve to feel happy, loved, and safe in your schools. Furthermore, oh, sorry. Finally, I'd like to call attention to the fact that this is the erasure of marginalized groups, and erasure is one of the first steps, or not the first step, is one of the many steps in oppression and genocide. Thank you. Thank you, Caroline.

Megan Garcia, did she come in? Okay, thank you. The next person up is Dina.

I'm a little short. I just wanted to say that banning pride flags and cultural acknowledgements is deliberately discriminatory. And the community will pay for it fiscally and our kids will pay for it mentally. I'm a Christian. I went to Catholic school my entire life, but I made the choice to send my kids to public school because I appreciate the freedom to teach my kids my own values. It isn't fair for other people in Redlands to force the rest of us to go without acknowledging pride in diverse cultures just because it doesn't align with their own religious sensibilities. For the record, I find the religious sensibilities of some of the people here to be decidedly anti-Jesus and bigoted. As a Hispanic Latina, They don't represent me. Our founding fathers wrote clearly on freedom of religion and separation of church and state. The fact that we have to show up and defend our children's rights proves that they were correct.

That's it.

Thank you, Gina. Next up, Eric O. Grossman and followed by Nicholas Riley. Okay, and next after that is Tim Ormsby, followed by Ellen Grunbaum.

Well, thank you for letting me speak. I'd like to thank the board for facilitating this. My name is Nicholas Riley. I have friends and family that live in Redlands and attend Redlands schools. I just... Wanted to read a little bit from Policy 6.115. The verbiage is very interesting. RUSD will not sponsor, endorse, or facilitate events, celebrations, or activities either in person or online that promote or advocate for political, social, or ideological movements. The Civil Rights Act was spurred by movements in all three of those categories. Should the school not endorse the celebration of civil rights? Most of the policy is shrouded in vague language that doesn't address logistical or enforcement concerns. Students not reciting the Pledge of Allegiance shall maintain a respectful attitude and silence. And I ask, or what? What is considered respectful? This district would also be inviting legal action, given the court precedents. So I strongly suggest the board reject this policy, not merely for its social ramifications, but also for its ambiguity and the many difficulties this district will face in its implementation. Thank you.

Thank you, Nicholas.

Hello, I'm Tim Ormsby, Redlands High School class of 76, and my son is Redlands High School class of 2021. So we've been around for a while. I've been reading the policy, especially the paragraph about prohibited activities, a lot of times. I keep reading it and reading it and not understanding it. It seems to me really vague, and I think other speakers have pointed that out. But to say, for example, that recognition is prohibited of ideological or controversial positions is seems to me so vague that it's like stifling. Like if I were a teacher or a district employee, I would be afraid to open my mouth. And the other thing that I wanted to say, like while I totally appreciate what Monica Joseph said about getting your kid into a good school, and that was important for me too, I also believe that high school is... It's not just education. It's also social growth and social experience. And that's where kids become adults. And they start to figure out what they really believe. They start to separate themselves from their parents. They start to form their own ideas. And they start that journey of forming values and beliefs that's lifelong. And I think you need controversy there. Thanks.

Thank you, Tim.

Ellen Grunbaum. Okay, next up, Nayara.

Sorry if I'm ruining these names.

Hello. My name is Nayeta Modro, and I'm a senior at Rutlands High School. And I came here today to emphasize the importance of representation within our district. I've been part of RUSD since I was in preschool, and I'm part of the 55% Latino students within the district. I'm Argentino, and seeing cultural representation, whether in my AP classes, Mecha Club and their events, or simply seeing the flag and spaces that I cherish is something that I hold dear to me. And just like me, many other students within our district feel this way when it comes to other symbols of their identity and culture, including the LGBTQ community. It is these symbols that foster connection, pride, and belonging within our schools, and banning them would erase this vital representation. Our schools should be a place where all students feel seen, valued, and safe. And while the proposed flag policy claims to be neutral, in reality, this practice targets flags that represent marginalized communities. As a senior, I've taken AP government, and in this class, we learn about Tinker versus Des Moines, a landmark case that protects students' rights to symbolic speech. We are taught to value freedom of expression, yet this policy undermines that very principle. This policy also contradicts the district's commitment to diversity and inclusivity. Representation isn't just educational. It's essential to creating an environment where all students are seen. As a senior, it would deeply hurt me to see this policy pass in my final year. But beyond me, this decision will impact future generations of students who deserve to see themselves represented and respected. I urge you to say no. Thank you. Thank you.

Next up we have Danielle Guillen and then followed by Chiava. Oh, sorry, sorry. Followed by Briley Guillen.

Good evening. My name is Danielle Guy, and I'm here tonight with my sister, a current senior at Redlands High School senior, to call out the harm and divisiveness of the proposed policies targeting the pride flag and so-called ideological observances. As a Mexican-American woman and product of Redlands Unified, I am proud of the education I received in this district, the very education that got me into Yale University. But these proposals threaten to undo the progress that has made Redlands Unified a place where all students are supported and valued. Let's be clear. Targeting the pride flag is not about neutrality or fairness. It's a direct attack on queer students and their right to feel seen and safe. These policies are rooted in the same ideology that seeks to erase history, ban books, and silence marginalized voices.

Ooh.

As someone who's worked in education policy across the nation in states like Texas and Georgia and in the largest school systems in America, I can confidently say that this is not what progress looks like. This is embarrassing, and it will have real consequences. I urge the board to refocus this responsibility to all students. Follow the California Department of Education guidelines, which are designed to ensure equity and inclusion, not division. And our students deserve better, and so does this community. Thank you. Thank you, Danielle.

Good evening. My name is Briley Guillen, and I'm a proud Latina student involved at Redlands High School as the president of the Mental Health Club. I'm also working with Stanford faculty and professors at the Stanford Center for Youth Mental Health and the California Commission of Mental Health Oversight and Accountability. But today, I'm here to strongly oppose the evaluation of ideological observances and the district's flag policy, specifically targeting the pride flag. The pride flag is not a sexualized symbol. It's a celebration of inclusivity, diversity, and love, and removing it would send a message to queer students that their identities are shameful or unwelcome, further isolating an already vulnerable group. Back in July, some supporters cited statistics about bisexual youth at a school board meeting and those bisexual youth being three times more likely to attempt suicide. Yet they painted mental health struggles as an issue to queer students. This is not only factually inaccurate, but also deeply harmful as it frames that queer identity is inherently pathological rather than recognizing the societal hostility that contributes to these mental health challenges. Policies like these would make our schools even more hostile, and we already experience campuses where bullying and discrimination are far too common, and removing symbols of inclusion like the pride flag would only embolden this behavior. The mental health toll for students who are told their very existence is up for debate is immeasurable. The policy should focus away from real issues that desperately need addressing, like improving school climate, reducing bullying, and ensuring all students feel safe and supported. So please, prioritize the well-being of every student, and don't target the pride flag. You're creating a culture of intolerance. Thank you.

Thank you, Riley. Thank you.

Up next we have Chiava Lane Lucas followed by Juanita Watkins.

Good evening, I'm Shara Lucas and I'm a proud Filipino and Indian student at Redlands High School. I'm speaking tonight because the proposed policies targeting ideological observances and reviewing the flag policy are deeply concerning to me as a student who values inclusivity and respect for all. As someone who comes from a multicultural background, I know firsthand how meaningful symbols of acceptance can be. The pride flag is not just for LGBTQ plus students. It stands for the idea that everyone belongs, no matter their identity. This policy goes beyond flags. It undermines the importance of creating visible support for all students, particularly those who already feel isolated. When policies like this are introduced, they fuel division. Our schools already face challenges with hostility and bullying. We see it daily, students being ridiculed for who they are, whether it's for their race, religion, or sexual orientation. Removing symbols like the pride flag only gives bullies permission to believe that their behavior is acceptable. Instead of making campuses safer, this policy would make them more hostile. What concerns me most is that these policies distract from the real work our schools need to do. We should be talking about how to reduce bullying, improve mental health resources, and make campuses welcoming for everyone. Instead, we're debating policies that will take us further away from these goals. This is a misuse of the board's time and focus. I hope the board will listen to the students who are here tonight. We are showing you what we care about and what we need. I urge you to put your energy into solving real issues that impact all students, not policies that divide us further. Thank you very much. Thank you, Sarah.

The next speaker's name is Maria Brunner.

Good afternoon, my name is Maria Bruner and I am from the office of Senator Eloise Gomez-Reyes. And I am here on behalf of the Senator to show our opposition to this agenda item. Research consistently demonstrates that students drive academically and socially in environments where they feel safe, valued, and seen. Policies that restrict the acknowledgement of identity, culture, or inclusion can unintentionally discourage students and hinder their sense of belonging, ultimately impeding their ability to succeed in school. Moreover, banning flags that symbolize equity and justice contradicts our shared responsibility to teach students about the values of democracy, mutual respect, and community. Schools are meant to be spaces where we model the ideals of freedom of expression. I urge the board to reconsider this policy and adopt standards where students can creatively and freely express themselves regardless of political or social ideological movements. Thank you. Thank you, Maria. Thank you.

Next up we have Ayumi Endes and followed by Joshua Hall.

Good evening, members of the Rutlands Unified School District Board of Education. I am Ayumi, and I oppose the banning of flags. I am a Japanese and Spanish student, and culture means a lot to me and to students in the Rutland school districts. It's a symbol of representation of who we are and how we express our identity, our backgrounds, and our experiences. I urge you to vote no against the elimination of flags at our school. As a co-president of Mecha, a Hispanic club at RHS, it's our role in our school to celebrate the different Hispanic cultures that students are. Specifically this year, Mecha has hosted our first ever Hispanic festival at RHS, focusing on commemorating who Hispanics are. Seeing the joyous faces of the community joining together to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month is what makes me proud to be Spanish and also Asian. If you pass this policy of banning flags, you're taking away part of my culture, but also the other cultures in Rutland. Growing up, I was taught many things, but one thing that resonates with me the most is that we were made to be role models for the future generations. We leave footprints of our legacy to those who can follow along and make good decisions. Being a senior leaving in six months, I want to continue to set a good example for the younger generations and know that the freedom of expression will not be limited. I speak on behalf of the students in the Rutlands District who feel that if this policy is passed, we will be forced to hide our true cultural identity. This ban is restricting our freedom of expression in speech to our students and staffs and sets a dangerous precedent. Thank you.

Thank you, Iloney.

Joshua Hull. Ingrid Garcia, and followed by Daniel Tina Harrell.

Hello. Good evening, members of the RUSD board. I am Ingrid Garcia, a current senior at Redlands High School and the co-president of the Magic Club. I am speaking here tonight on behalf of the Latino community, standing alongside the LGBTQ plus community as an ally, opposing the flag ban policy. The banning of the pride and cultural flag goes against what I stand for as not only a student in the RUSD community, but as a friend, as a daughter, as a sibling, and as a human being. Flags represent a token of identity and a form of expression. To take that away is essentially taking away what unites us as a community. Our differences in our unique diversity and backgrounds is what brings us together. Why take that away? To be able to have the freedom to express yourself regardless of how you identify should not be a privilege but a right. In Mecha, it is a club that focuses on uniting the Latino communities alongside other communities, including LGBTQ, to bring awareness to our cultural backgrounds no matter who you are. As mentioned earlier, recently our club celebrated a cultural fair for Hispanic Heritage Month that even the board members present here tonight attended. It was the first event seen like this in Redlands celebrated at RHS ever. RHS was established in 1891. It took Redlands 134 years to have an event where Latino kids like myself were the center of celebration. If you take that away with the flag banning policy, who knows if it'll take another 134 years to see an event like this ever again in the future. I hope you reconsider this policy. I've seen firsthand minority communities such as Hispanics be discriminated and neglected here in Redlands.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Thank you, board members, for giving me the opportunity to speak. Me, as a Latino father, I don't agree with most of the Latino people that stood up here and talked about the pride flag. Me, as a Catholic man... don't have anything against all the ideologies, sex preference, and none of that. On the contrary, if that's something that they like to do, we'll just keep it at home, like I do with my kids. I teach them the Catholic teaching, and I teach them about sexuality. I would say that the only flags that should be displayed at schools in every level of government is the American flag and the California flag. Me, as a foreigner, somebody who was born here, I'm proud that this flag is here because that represents... something that my country did not give me, which is freedom of speech, which I'm expressing right now, and the ability to have my kids to grow up in an environment that they will be safe. And I strongly believe that having the pride flag displayed in the classroom will cause confusion to the kids, and it will not bring good citizens in the future. So I really thank you for your time, and I will consider you to please getting the flag out of the classroom. Thank you.

Thank you, Daniel.

That's our last speaker. I just wanted to ask if anyone has come in that filled out a card prior. I could read all these names, but that would take a while. Is there anyone here that had already filled out a card and is back? Okay, thank you.

Thank you, everybody who came to speak. We are going to move on to board comments. We'll start with Jeanette. Do you have any comments tonight?

OK, yes, I would like to make a couple comments. I wanted to remind everyone, Michelle had brought this up before, but the Redlands Compact meetings, I will be attending them. I haven't attended one yet. However, they are having an event. It's a mixer for the students that are in this club. And it's being held at the Casa Loma room.

And do you have the date memorized? I want to say the 14th? 13th? 13th of February. If anyone has questions, they can email me.

I just think this is a really great event for young adults to be able to interact with adults in the community, business owners. where they can learn how to socialize and learn some techniques on how to communicate. I know a lot of businesses are suffering because young adults and teens, I think it's partly because of COVID, are not displaying a good work ethic, don't know how to have eye contact.

There's just a lot of little tips and tricks that adults in the community could provide to these kids.

So if you're interested in coming, it's a dinner mixer, and we do need an RSVP, so you can contact me if you want further information. And then secondly, I wanted to just state that one of the areas I'm really interested in pursuing is the reading scores of our students. And we attended a conference a couple weeks ago and learned, a month ago I guess, and we learned some information on a variety of programs that are being utilized in the United States that are research-based, and they've had really good success. So I'm going to be asking the superintendent to provide more information on those types of programs. There was one in Mississippi that was amazing, the results they had. And I guess that's it.

Thank you, Jeanette. Melissa?

This is obviously apart from the discussion item. But I wanted to welcome everybody back to a new semester. This is the beginning of the fastest part of the school year. This is just going to blow by everybody. And I appreciate all those parents who had to drag their kids out of bed on Monday because it was difficult for me and my own. One thing I would like to say and I would like to point out is if we can please get away from this narrative that we have the worst test scores in the country. Any teacher will tell you that tests are not indicative of a student's abilities. We have incredible students that excel in many different areas and they cannot be measured by tests that are not inclusive. Unfortunately, they are state mandated and that is why we continue to administer them. But when you come to slam our district, please do so with respect to the hard work our teachers, parents, and staff have put into it. Thank you.

Patty. Thank you. I, too, want to welcome everyone back to the 2024-2025 school year, specifically this year, this semester. I hope you had a nice break with your family and your loved ones. I want to welcome our Assistant Superintendent of Ed Services, Patty Buck-Miller. Congratulations and glad to have you here in this seat. And then most of all, just thank you all for the speakers who came here today. Specifically, our students. I've never been more proud today than I have in the many years that I've been sitting here because of each and every one of you who came and spoke. It's not easy to come and speak in front of adults, in front of people all around. It's nervous. I know that. And I am so proud of you. Please continue to do that because you make us shine. And have a great second semester. And for you, a lot of you seniors, it's going to go by. Enjoy it. Thank you.

Oh, I didn't get to go to my first meeting because I, unfortunately, right after we were sworn in, we got assigned the committees, and I was working the night, the first meeting. But I've been given the dates, and Michelle can report on the first meeting that I missed. I think it's the, I forget the acronym. What is it? Rep, rep. Rep. Rep, R-E-P, because there's a R-O-P, too.

I'm learning them all.

Okay, a lot of acronyms. A couple things moving forward, I'll make it quick, it's been a long night. I'm really interested in improving our reading literacy scores. And I think that we're doing great as a district, but we can always do much better. So I'm excited. I'm looking into some programs that hopefully are financially affordable, maybe doing a small pilot program if it all works out. I'm just doing a lot of options that I think we need to look into as a district. And I'm hoping to present something like this moving forward that we can really see some tangible improvements in our reading literacy. Another thing I'm also looking into, just so you know what I'm up to, I really would like to come up with some creative ideas and some thinking outside the box as to how to deal with the bullying situations. We have a lot of kids that are having issues with being bullied and I know we're doing a great job with Rudy on board, Dr. Wilson. He's doing a great job with policy and procedures, and so is our superintendent. But I think that also we may need to come up with some more ideas or different ideas to how to handle the situation so we can keep all kids safe. Those are two of my priorities moving forward, just so you're aware of what I'm working on.

I just want to also welcome everybody back. So nice to see so many people here tonight, too. Students, you were amazing, and everyone who spoke. I'm looking forward to getting back into some classrooms and see what's going on at all our school sites, because that's the fun part of this. So thank you. I hope you all have a good night. We're going to finish up our meeting here.

Yes, thank you. First, to get a little personal, because it's my first opportunity to say thank you. Last semester was tough, personally. My mother passed away on October 14th, and then six weeks later, my father passed away on November 26th. It took a lot of time away from work. I leaned on my deputy superintendent a lot. I want to say thank you for allowing me the time with my family. To the executive cabinet, who also really pitched in. And then to, of course, the board, who are very understanding. I missed the first meeting of our new board members. My father's funeral was actually on that day, and so I really appreciate the time that everybody gave me. And to everybody who has shared condolences and who has reached out to me on behalf of myself and my family, thank you.

Happy New Year. 2025 is going to go fast for you seniors. Senioritis probably hit in like two months ago. So hopefully we'll get you through. I do want to say there are a couple of things coming up. Superintendent's Awards, our first one for 2025, is coming up on the 28th. We look forward to celebrating our students. The workshop this Thursday, again, I talked about it a little bit earlier, 6 to 7.30 here in the boardroom if you'd like to learn more about Title IX and the work that we're doing with that. A resounding thank you to the entire community for the passage of Measure D. Measure D is going to provide much help for our facilities at all of our school sites. We will send out information regarding the committee that was approved tonight. I'm also going to start a superintendent's advisory committee that will also help inform how we move forward with respect to some of the expenditures and some of the things that we're doing as a district. The wind is supposed to be worse this evening, not as bad as last week, but still bad. And so we still are on alert in many areas in Redlands, in Highland. We are watching closely. Should we have any power outages, we hope that everybody can stay safe. It will impact school. Any school site that does not have power, we likely will not be able to have school. And so we will send notice to the community as soon as anything happens and with instructions for staff also. So thank you so much for your patience. And thank you for your patience this evening. This is our first opportunity to try a new process. We have our clerk who's calling out the names. If you've been in a meeting before, we haven't done that. And so we appreciate your patience through it, Ms. Wilson, because we'll get it right. And we're also doing roll call votes, which is a little bit different than we've done before. And so welcome to 2025. We're doing the meetings a little bit different. So thank you for your patience for that. And then lastly, new executive board, next executive academy member, Patty, welcome to the team. You're going to go to work now. We've got a lot of work for you. Thank you so much, everyone. Thank you, President Renler.

All right, moving on to discussion items. Discussion on flags and observances.

Okay, would anybody like to start this discussion?

Well, I would like to... speak to something that really wasn't addressed very much.

And that is that one reason this issue has come forward quickly is because many, many, many of the community members that voted for Candy and I, this is one of their top issues that they talked to us about. And they really wanted to hold us to our word that we would work on this issue. They do feel that they don't want their children being needing to worry about what the beliefs are of their teachers, and they feel their children can be easily influenced by their teachers. And so I did want to mention that is one of the main reasons that we've brought this forward, that many people in the community have asked us to.

Anybody else?

Of course, I'd love to talk about this issue. I think it's a great issue that brings a lot of promise and positivity to our district. There's been a lot of talk about cutting budgets and budget concerns, and everybody wants a well-funded education. What a lot of people aren't understanding is that having teachers portray certain certain ideologies, certain personal beliefs or political beliefs really drives parents away. And it's one of the one issues that makes some parents so heated that they'll actually pull their kids out of this district. And with decreasing enrollment, we have a decreasing budget, and we can have less things and less well-funded classrooms. So I hear you, all of the people that were opposed to this policy. I see you, and I support your beliefs and your desire to live your life how you choose and whichever it may be. However, I am here to also represent all of the community. And there is a lot of parents out there that don't agree. And whether or not you or I believe, we have to respect everybody's beliefs. And there is certain religions, certain Christians, certain Catholic groups, certain Muslim groups that are very much opposed to religion. different ideological beliefs that having a teacher portray it is very offensive to them and it's something that they're teaching their children at home one thing and then they come to school and they learn a different thing or they're influenced and I'm just here because I want to make all kids and all parents feel comfortable we need to support and respect all of our community members all of you, every minority group. And in doing so, we can value each other. And in valuing each other, that means respecting not just one group, but respecting all groups. And this has nothing to do with shaming anybody. No one should ever feel ashamed of how they live or what their beliefs are, what their family's beliefs are. I certainly would never want to shame any child. And I would want all children to feel included. I don't have any problem with the clubs that are on campus. I know that was talked about. I would never want to limit a student's free speech. That's very valuable. That's the foundation of our country. So this doesn't have to do with students. expressing their beliefs or their opinions. Students can do as they choose and express themselves. It's just that having from a position of authority influencing a child one way or the other I feel is not something a lot of our community wants. For example, I can imagine that if a teacher put up a pro-life flag or a Christian flag, I know that there's many people out there. I may love a Christian flag personally, but I'm sure there are some atheist families, some agnostics, and perhaps Muslim families that would feel very offended and not appreciate the teacher flying a Christian flag personally. What?

We're not commenting with the public. We're having a discussion here.

So anyways, I feel that that would be very disrespectful to a family's wishes. Same with any type of hot topic. And there is nothing also against speaking on controversial issues. That's another misnomer. We have a board policy already in place for that. So if you want to discuss a controversial issue in your classroom, you're more than welcome to. You just need to present the opposing side, that's all. So just to make it fair and balanced, and I think that's all I wanted to say. Regarding There's a lot of concern about legal issues, and I want you all to feel comforted that we spoke to both of the union presidents. We included them in this process and adopted a lot of their suggestions, and they had fantastic input, I'll tell you. We really valued hearing from them. and took into consideration everything that they said. So just so you can feel more comfortable about that. Also, a legal team will be reviewing the policy before it's voted on as well. So to avoid any of the potential issues that some people have brought up. And that will be it for my comments.

Anybody else like to comment?

Sorry. I've been struggling with this since I found out about it, which apparently the public found out about it before the board did. I do know that our unions did have input on the most problematic parts of it. And I know those parts were removed from the language. I don't know to assume that the unions have had input on this is a fair assessment. And I will let them, when they find the opportunity to, come and speak on it. I just don't think we should be speaking for the unions right now. But I won't read what I wrote. I apologize if it's not very cohesive. I've gone back and forth and edited it and flipped things around, so I apologize. In our world, many things are unappealing or sometimes even fatal to others, but when the benefits of those things outweigh the risk, we proceed. If a person is uncomfortable with someone's position on a topic, like support of even a sports team, they should be encouraged to have meaningful dialogue with the person of differing opinion. Maybe you can present a viewpoint that that person has never considered or vice versa, while also accepting the fact that we will never all agree, but healthy conversation and discussion is paramount to how we coexist. Tolerance and acceptance are needed more than ever to move not only this board, but this country forward. In 50 years, in 500, people will have progressed so far. In the last 50 to 500 years, how many horrible things were allowed to happen and why? Because their mere existence made people uncomfortable. But we slowly progressed to a much more tolerant society. And I hope we can continue to learn past our differences and appreciate each other for the quality of our character. While there are people in the population that deny the Holocaust and the moon landing, we don't stop teaching them as factual events in history because they happened. Not believing in something doesn't make it cease to exist. The efforts, struggles, and battles won in our collective history, whether centuries or decades ago, need to be told however uncomfortable they make us. School is where we send our children to learn about different things and where we give them the freedom to make up their own minds as to what they believe in. We respect people whether they are one or 100 and we allow them the space to voice their concerns. We give students the grace to voice their opinions because we respect them as people and they deserve such acknowledgement. I agree there's much misinformation about this policy. There is no flag flying outside our buildings beyond the American and California flag, and as always, the American flag flies higher than any other. The policy is incredibly vague, which is why I assume there's so much confusing, leaving much to be left to interpretation. It isn't fair to our students and staff to be leaving such undefined guidelines. I also don't think making decisions like this without input from our students and staff is rather deceptive. They are directly affected by this policy and therefore should have a voice in whether or not this is something they feel has an actual impact on their everyday life. Also, to suggest that our staff spends their time indoctrinating students to believe anything beyond the curriculum is disrespectful to the years of education, years of experience, and the time and money they've spent to educate our youth who are the future of this planet. Imagine if you were a student that had moved across the world to a new foreign place and your first day of school in a new class and quite likely in a new language. And you look over and see your country's flag being represented, the breath of relief that it could give that student. I don't think this is a big thing to ask of the district, but it could mean the world to that student. I'd actually like to see us expand on our social media posts. If we are bringing attention to Patriot's Day, any sort of Heritage Month, or even Pride Month, there should be something attached to that. And we should be using it as an opportunity to educate not only our students, but anyone reading those posts. An explanation, a video as to why that day exists would be paramount in really educating our community. If you don't agree with a celebration or observation, do not celebrate. It probably wasn't for you anyway. Thank you.

Most of you know I've been sick and it took everything I had to come to come today for this reason and to be here to make sure that we voted for the right things. And one of them clearly is what we're about to do in the future. Sitting in this seat for 19 years, two of you that come in right off the board with agendas, that's fine. People have that. But you have to be clear that when you're there and people, you have to advocate for the people you want and the ones who you are advocating for, which are our students, our teachers, our staff, and our parents. And today I see those people that are here today advocating. I don't see a lot of the people that you are saying that you are advocating for today, maybe a handful. My phone's been blowing up. There must be over 400 emails of people who say we need to keep this. One of the things we have to do is identify ourselves with someone, whether it's a flag, whether it's a friend, someone, a club, whatever makes you fit in is what you should be able to do. One of the things I do when I see a breast cancer flag because I battled breast cancer. I can relate and right away I start praying for that person with that flag because I know what it means for them and what I went to. Flags mean a lot of things. There's certainly our American flag that's number one but then there's other things that you can go to relate to and that's what I'll do and I will continue advocating so that everybody has a voice and everyone Meaning everyone has an opportunity to come to be who they are. And I'm kind of offended that you named out and you called out Catholics. I'm a Catholic. I'm a practicing Catholic. It's my turn. And so is this Rendler. It's Christian. And so, you know, it's my turn. It's my turn. And so as Catholic, we are taught to love everyone and anyone that you love is fine. And so. Just remember that we're all Catholics, we're Christians, and that we love everyone. We're not singling out anyone. Thank you.

I've been thinking about this topic for the last week and haven't slept a single night. So it's a very hard topic to discuss. And being a Catholic who is a Christian... So just get that straight. Catholics are Christian. It's something hard that weighs on my heart a lot. But I did get on this board because I do respect everybody. I want the well-being for all students, every single student, whether I agree with what they're doing or not. I respect them. I respect everybody. And I think that all our students are important. They're important for our future. We need to teach them growing up in a loving community. We need to love everybody. That's just what we're called to do as people. So this is just really difficult and this is just a discussion tonight. There is no voting on anything. We are just talking about this. I do have a suggestion. that possibly we do a survey of our students who this affects the most in our school district, middle and high school kids maybe. I think maybe even elementary, I think they're a little young, but surveying the middle and high school students.

Also maybe getting a committee together to actually, of different people in the community, in our schools, our teachers and parents on both sides, to look at this policy

give their input we did that with a resolution a few years ago when we did that we had a committee that that looked at it I think maybe that's a good compromise in this situation and we can maybe get to some some real parts of what it could really look like and this is just a discussion so does anybody have anything else they want to talk about and superintendent can we do that can we get maybe get a committee to get a survey going for the students

Yes, I mean yes, the short answer is yes. What does everybody think about that? With the consensus of the board, we can definitely do something like that.

What do we think about that, surveying our students?

I think parents would be the most important person to survey. Because they're in charge of their children's education. We could do a couple kinds of surveys, right?

In an effort to be fair, if we're going to do a student survey, a parent survey, but I also think a staff survey would be necessary. Because this does affect them.

We could do, yes, we could survey all groups.

Okay, I think that would be important. I do have one more piece to add because I'm sure people are curious. I did, I wrote down, so the cutoff was 4 o'clock, right? For our... Public comment. 4 o'clock yesterday. Yes. I thought it was today. No, yesterday. OK. Well, then the numbers are going to be slightly askew. As of 4 o'clock today. And we've still continued to get emails, even though the meeting was going on. But as of now, as of 4 o'clock today, and I apologize if we're not counting those. we received 461 emails regarding this topic. And I did read every single one, and I did write everyone's name down. I even went as far as checking for people who were sending repeat emails under the same email address with a different name. I was thorough with this. Out of those 461 emails, 401 were against this policy. 60 were for this policy. 24 of those 401 against this policy were out of our area, but I will not discount them because some of them could be staff that live outside the bounds of our district. The other... The pro did not actually include their addresses, but most were that I could tell from within the district. That equates to 87% of our, I'm not going to say the population, but of the people that did take the time to email in, were not in support of this. And I'm not going to say that that is indicative of how the entire population feels, But just in case anyone was wondering, that is how the emails have gone so far.

Yeah, I would like to add, just based on what some of my co-board members have said, Melissa, you had said that we should give students and parents time to have input. I thought that's what we're doing. Isn't that the steps, the process?

But this was added to the agenda over break. Most people are either out of the country or, honestly, I mean, how many of us were taking mental health breaks just to deal with any of this that's been going on? it's only fair to assume that we should only be making these decisions, important ones like this. I mean, if we're talking about paying bills, I don't know that that's something that we need to survey our community. But if we're making decisions for students, for parents, I do think we need to give them the opportunity, ample opportunity to speak on it.

I just am confused because I really understood that we're following the proper course, that the parents will never know what's going to be on the agenda until it comes out.

But yet we were receiving emails before the agenda was released.

It's because I had suggested it to come on this meeting's agenda in the last meeting. And not everybody watches the preceding emails.

Then how do they know to start sending emails? If they want to engage, they can. But I don't know that if it's fair to our students. Our students don't watch our meetings. These are incredibly boring to students. I'm sorry, but... If a student... You're okay making decisions for students without their input. We're not making decisions. We're having a discussion. And if this discussion had gone a different way or however this discussion proceeds, if our students aren't okay with it, you're okay with proceeding without their input? We have a student board member for that exact reason. We haven't even given them a time to... propose this to their constituents to then come and give their input.

That's why I suggested maybe let's do this.

No, exactly, but she's asking as to why we would wait for that.

I think my overriding concern and point is that, and I've heard it several times tonight from board members, parents need to have more of a say. And that is what I am trying to represent, are the parents of the kids. Now, maybe high school kids, it's a different situation, but you even said we could survey maybe middle school and high school, and the elementary are too young for that. I don't know if you meant too young for the survey, but they're not too young to have a teacher telling them what

a certain flag means. So some of our secondary students do take high school classes. Are we to exclude them? No, I said that. I was talking about elementary. We can limit it to just secondary.

I'm just talking. I'm just discussing. I'm discussing with you. Well, you're asking me to answer a question. That's a discussion.

And I think surveying parents, because a lot of those parents who couldn't be here tonight, couldn't send an email in for whatever reason, that survey might be what they respond to, right?

And we may get some more information.

I'm not super confident in the results of the survey. I mean, I think it will provide good information, but I also know that they're always skewed. Surveys are always skewed because a lot of people are busy with their children and their work. And a lot of people don't have time to come or to do surveys, which is why a lot of people that support the policy aren't here speaking because they're working or they have family obligations. So I mean, it's not quite a representation, although I think it would provide good data. I think that it can also have the potential for having skewed data, because as you can see, and the people who were able to attend tonight, uh... it's not a clear representation of our population certainly not in my district nor engine x and also patty you can rewind that tape i clearly said some groups of christians and some groups of catholics i absolutely know that not all groups are the same we had a speaker talk about his catholic faith how he did feels differently we're all different there are some groups of different religions that believe one way and another but you cannot say that there Everyone is okay with all of this because they are not. They are clearly not. Some agree, some don't. So we need to be respectful of everyone's beliefs. That's what I am aiming at.

I'm not sure how to capture all that if somebody's not willing to fill out a survey or send in an email or whatever.

You know what I mean? I understand everyone's got their belief. Some people just are quieter about it.

I was just answering to her saying that I accused all Christians and all Catholics. I was just saying that's not what I said. I said some groups. And also, we're relying on a secondary source of information with the survey. We just went through an election, and I put this was one of the main issues on my platform, and everyone voted for that. Everyone votes in the sanctity of their home. So that's something to consider.

Do you have an idea that we could do that would maybe get those people to voice their actual opinion?

They all vote, they all work hard, and they're busy with their kids. So I think that we can look at the results of the election, or we can do another type of survey. We can do a secondary survey, which may or may not be as accurate.

I think it's a little odd to say that not everybody would take the time to fill out a survey, but you're not saying the same about people coming to the board meeting. It just says they haven't all had the opportunity to come to the board meeting. This is only the second day of school. I'm sorry, but some of us did not readjust our thoughts until just this week. So I think giving them an opportunity to do a survey, well, I mean, this is just a survey. This isn't what we're voting on. This isn't anything, but this is a survey just to see how our public feels. But at the same time, yes, you and Jeanette were voted in, and that is the will of the people, and that is fine. However, Patty and Michelle's seats were not up for election. So what about the people in those districts? Whether they side with you or whether they side with something that Patty and I believe, why are they not being represented here?

I can't speak to your areas. I can speak to Redlands overall in general, though. So you saw quite a shift in Redlands. But I can't speak to your areas, those two areas.

You just did. That's the thing. You said that the will of the people that voted you guys in.

I'm talking about my area only and Jeanette's. That's all I'm talking about right now.

And that's what I'm saying. And you have done a fantastic job of representing those people and your perspective today. And I'm just saying that there has been a great difference in those opinions. Just as everybody in your area and my area and Michelle's and Patty's had the opportunity, we want to give them more of an opportunity to voice those opinions while respecting our students.

Maybe a survey will help. I just don't think it's a totally accurate assessment. So we can, something if you want to do.

I think it's worth a try. Okay. It's worth a try to see what we get. Okay, Betty.

I just have one more comment. How many people here tonight work? A lot of people do work. You kind of made it sound like the people here don't work because they're home working. Sorry about that. I didn't mean to imply that.

Do we have any more discussion on this? Yes.

We are discussing, and I just wanted to clarify that people here are hard workers or are retired. Thank you.

Thank you.

Just one quick thing that I wanted to add because we've, I think, been skirting around it is looking at how are we going to address other flags. There are many flags that people have brought up that community members may want to have in school, in classrooms, that Again, not everyone's going to agree on. So are we going to have a policy for every single flag there is that could potentially end up in a classroom?

That's another part of it that we really need to consider. I don't know that we're having a discussion about many other flags. We're having a discussion about one flag. Well, the policy is covering... Okay, the policy doesn't cover college flags. The policy does not cover sports teams. I know there's some diehard Raiders, Lakers, Dodger fans, staff who has flags in their classrooms. And it doesn't indoctrinate our students to have them... see that flag. I mean, if anything, it encourages dialogue because my son would argue with any Raiders fan or Cowboys fan because he's a Niners fan. It encourages conversation. So you're okay with a Nazi flag? That is a hate symbol. Would you not agree?

No, I was asking you the question. Well, that is a hate symbol. Why would I want that? Not to the people that believe in it. It's representing their group. I mean, it's representing a group. There's a flag for other religions, for pro-abortion, against abortion. Those all, many groups now have flags, and it's a part of what we need to take.

It's just very vague and very subjective, because who gets to decide what flags are appropriate? That's my point. You're trying to decide on who gets, we're trying to say that the board gets to decide what flags are appropriate. Yes, I understand that to be part of our responsibility. Well, we've taken things on a case by case basis. Can I ask, how many times have we had, other than board meetings and public comments and even this past election, how many times have we had students complain about seeing a pride flag in a classroom?

I don't have exact data. I don't recall a complaint coming in, though. But I would have to look at all of our processes.

Well, I do know that some kids feel uncomfortable. I'm not going to say anything to anybody because they don't want to look like they don't like people and whatever, but they are uncomfortable.

I'm not going to go there, but I was going to say if they've attempted to have a dialogue with that teacher, because our teachers are wonderful, and if there's something making a child uncomfortable, I would imagine that they'd be willing to compromise over that. I don't know what that compromise would mean, but I would imagine that's, again, on a case-by-case basis. And it's really just about being respectful, not only to the students that would like to see it and identify with it, but also the ones that don't.

I don't think most kids would confront their teacher about something that makes them feel uncomfortable. And I know a lot of kids won't even tell their parents it makes them feel uncomfortable because they want to stay in school with their friends. They want to be in school. They don't want to get pulled from school to be homeschooled.

I have a personal experience with that, too, of a kid in Rev who told me that her and all of her classmates don't tell their parents about all of the ideological flags in the classrooms and the libraries because their parents would get so mad they would pull them out of school and they want to stay with their friends. That's a truthful story. I've heard many stories. I've had the experience with my own daughter who loved her teacher but felt very uncomfortable teaching. with a flag that was displayed, and she did not want me to talk to the teacher because she loved the teacher very much, but did not want something coming in between the relationship and distancing each other. So just because we're not hearing complaints from the students very much or the parents, it doesn't mean that they're not there. They are there, and they do not want to be called names. I've been called a lot of names. by a lot of people here. And I'm not a hateful person. I don't hate anybody. I just want to do what's right for all of the community. We need to respect the parents and all of their beliefs. So some agree, some don't. So let's just keep it neutral. That's, I think, the best policy moving forward.

But just respectfully, that your definition of neutral and my definition of neutral are not the same, correct? I suppose.

What do you think is neutral?

I think what we've been doing when respecting everyone is neutral. There are students that show up with MAGA hats and Trump flags, and I don't stop them from expressing themselves.

Those are students, and that's their right to wear what they want. We're talking about staff and students, staff and teachers.

Okay, so how far does this go, though? Because we're already going to start restricting staff. So when do we start restricting students? We never restrict students. But we're stepping on our staff's freedom of expression.

A teacher is in a position of authority and influence over children. As are you. As a board member, as are you. What's your point? Thank you.

I'm sorry, please let's not do that again. Thank you.

So the idea is for the teachers to not influence a child in a way that parents may disagree, to be respectful of all families. That's the idea. Kids have the freedom of speech to wear whatever type of hat, pin, button, whatever they like.

I also think, is there something, I don't know if this is true, but is there something where a teacher has a personal space like a desk or a bulletin board that's theirs to put their own personal, like they can put family pictures or whatever?

Yes, they have a portion of their desk or their workspace that they can personalize with family and things like that.

I mean, there's a compromise there. That pride flag could go right there and not have it up on a wall in their classroom. I don't know.

This would remove that completely. And so I know there are plenty of staff members who have scripture on their desk. And we're respectful of that, whatever their religion may be. They just can't talk about it to the kids. They don't.

So, I mean, it would be the same with this.

I don't know that any of our teachers are speaking on this issue to any of our students because I'm sure we would have gotten a complaint of it by now. And if just the mere presence of it is against policy, I mean, we, it's, if they're just putting it up, why are we having this discussion? If putting it up is, you know, okay, then let them put it up. And we know as long as they don't talk on it, this isn't an issue, right?

Yeah, except that what you particular were saying that, Kids are uncomfortable, right? Parents are uncomfortable.

Some parents, not all. Obviously, we've got parents here that love it. We have some that hate it, and they feel very strongly about it. So, yeah, we just need to be respectful for all parents. And it's a symbol.

These are symbols, and so you can't say just having it there but not talking about it.

Just like other people acknowledged, when they see it, it means something. So just because you tell a teacher not to talk about it, it still means something. Or we wouldn't have them.

So how far does this go? Because I would like to know. So if we say no to pride flags, if a teacher has a poster in black and white text that says, you are seen, you matter, you are loved, is that against your ideological or whatever, your politically divisive policy?

I don't know.

It doesn't sound politically divisive, no. It sounds like good concepts, right?

It's just the colors that we're opposed to. The colors in that specific pattern. The symbolic, what it means, what it portrays. That same poster would mean the same thing. It only applies to certain kids? No, but it's a sentiment. If that sentiment comes across as being, I mean, it's open to interpretation. That's the problem with this policy. It's very vague, and I feel like it's meant to be vague, to just dance within the lines of, you know, legalities.

I think that's why the suggestion of having a committee of different people to look at it and maybe give their input and, you know, have you on this, make sure you're on this committee because you wrote this, right? So make sure you're on the committee so that you can speak to different parts of it. MORE THAN I COULD BECAUSE I KNOW WHAT IT SAYS AND I WRITE IT AND I GET IT. BUT I CAN'T SPEAK TO EVERYTHING BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU ACTUALLY, WHERE YOUR THOUGHT WAS WHEN IT WAS WRITTEN. SO I THINK DOING THIS, HAVING A COMMITTEE WOULD BE A REALLY GOOD IDEA.

WE CAN GET THAT GENERATED RATHER QUICKLY AS FAR AS THE PROCESS.

That survey can be done pretty quickly.

We can have a draft of questions that we can send to the board so that the board can give it an approval before we send it out. And it can go out to the groups that we've talked about this evening. And as far as the committee, I mean, we would need some direction as far as who we would want to see on that committee. I know parents, we can have up to two board members. We would want to have a mix of probably areas, because I heard that as far as representation. Bigger committees don't make better committees, so we do want to have a productive COMMITTEE AND WE NEED TO HAVE WHAT IS THE GOAL IF WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT THIS SPECIFIC POLICY AND IS THE GOAL TO HAVE A FINAL PRODUCT OR IS THE GOAL TO PROVIDE INPUT SO THEN THE BOARD CAN THEN CREATE THE FINAL PRODUCT IN OPEN SESSION. SO THERE'S A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS WHEN IT COMES TO COMMITTEE BUT WE DEFINITELY CAN GET THAT GENERATED AND WE CAN GET STARTED WITH IT AS SOON AS TOMORROW.

make sure we get input from the author of it.

Well, we should establish as far as committee is the two board members that would represent the board on this committee. We can establish that actually right now.

Did we agree that we are going to have a committee? I don't really feel a committee is necessary, but we're doing surveys and now we're doing committees. What are we going to keep going until we find- It's a democratic process. It's just unusual.

So would the committee be the one working on the survey and formulating the content and so forth?

We can do it that way. We can do it separately where the board would just approve the survey and then we would send that out and then simultaneously create the committee so that they can look at the policy.

I'm not clear on what would be the end result of the committee, the purpose. What would they do?

Look at it and put their input in. Some parents might have an idea that you didn't think about. Maybe that

Theoretically, a committee can create a product and it can inform a decision the board would make. It doesn't mean that the board would adopt what the committee created, but it would help inform specifically what this policy could look like. A committee survey, all of that would only be so that you would have information to help with a decision moving forward. Ultimately, this board has the authority to pass a policy that you agree on, that goes through the process and is voted on and then passes. The steps of a committee and a survey would just be information to help.

Sorry, go ahead. Sorry, I was going to say, I actually like Mrs. Rundler's idea of a committee, just to at least look at this policy, because clearly we're not coming to an agreement, and so it would be great to have input besides the survey. So I actually do like the idea of a committee, but in order to keep that as neutral and random as possible, I mean, people obviously are going to submit for it and I would hope that we it's a random thing you know people beyond name and you know area that you live in I think that's probably the best way to go about that I'm not going to tell you how to conduct that but I think in order to be fair so that we're not pulling people of different faiths and specific faiths that we want just so it's an actual random generation of constituents

Anything else on this tonight?

No?

Nothing else on this tonight?

OK. Is there a clear direction from the board, though, a consensus for a survey committee?

Is everybody in agreement with doing this survey? Are we all in agreement, or do we have any concerns?

I'm okay with the survey. I don't really know what benefit a committee would have, would make, but...

I think my idea with doing a committee is just to get more input from some different parents. Maybe have a couple students on there. I don't know. I don't know.

So I've never been involved in a committee with a school board. If it's a small committee, how do they get information from others besides those few people on the committee?

It's not, well, it can actually get deeper. A committee could decide they want to reach out to the community and then get information from that, however they decide to do that before they create something. It could be just you get representation of folks that are willing to talk about this policy and And again, they're going to create something that is just to inform the board. Ultimately, the board could look at that and say, no, we want to do something different. It's just a way of including more voices to the discussion.

It's still like five people, committee of five people doesn't really represent all of us. You could randomly get five people against or five people in support. I don't think it's really a great idea. My opinion is supported by the majority of my people in my area. So I don't feel like unless we got all the people in my area, but picking one person randomly is you've got a 50-50 chance of that representing that group of people or not, I don't think it's really a fair way. And then they'll come up to the board and then will they recommend proceeding or opposing? We'll put pressure on whichever board members disagree with that committee's findings and That's not necessarily the will of the voters. Just because a committee of five comes along and they say either support or oppose, that doesn't represent the voters, at least in my area or Jeanette's area. I know that we need to represent all, but I think that it's totally out of proportion.

WHAT DO YOU SEE THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE ON A COMMITTEE? WHAT'S A NORMAL AMOUNT?

12.

12 IS PRETTY STANDARD. 12 TO 15. IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT STUDENTS, THEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT TRYING TO REPRESENT EACH HIGH SCHOOL. YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT FIVE TRUSTEE AREAS. THAT'S AT LEAST NINE PEOPLE RIGHT THERE. AND THEN WE WOULD WANT TO POSSIBLY GET STAFF. SO THAT MAKES UP ANOTHER FOUR OR FIVE.

I would say a couple from each trustee area if possible, just because.

I mean, 20, if we go as large as 20, it can be productive. It can still be productive. It just has to be done correctly. And it can be led. We've been able to lead committees that are productive and that produce information that can help with a decision like this. Over 50. Over 50.

What would be a number that seems reasonable to you, Candy? What do you think?

Go ahead and discuss. I'm not really in favor of a committee. So go ahead. You can discuss what. Because I think you're in favor of it and probably the rest.

I am. But do you see a number that you would think?

I don't have a number. I just, I don't see the value of the people's time in such an effort because it feels like, to me, we've already decided. I mean, we know there's people who won't agree and there's people who are going to agree.

I don't know how to- If I could suggest trying to just reach a consensus of a way to move forward. I did hear the idea of a survey which is going to reach out to everyone. It does take participation, of course, but we have pretty good success in sending out surveys and getting feedback. that would specifically go to all of our parents our guardians our students that are within our school district I think it will help at least provide as pointed out some information and that will be a broader and so maybe the consensus could be to at least just do a survey and then that is something that we can create and then share with the board before we send out

if we're going to do that then I don't want to come back and say oh we should now do a committee I don't know I just think a committee is a good way to get parent representation in person like someone can sit down and actually look at it and you know figure out if they want to add something or take something out or and it's just a suggestion so you get the information from the survey provide it to the committee and you work from there so I'm good with that So I guess we can vote if we want to do this or not.

Just a consensus, which is just a direction.

Okay. So do we have consensus on just moving forward this way? Do the survey and then take that survey? We can look at the information. All right.

I already mentioned I'm not in favor of a committee, but I'm also just one person.

What do you mean by consensus? What do we have to? General.

General.

General, like it's okay, let's go ahead and move forward. Well, it seems like you have that.

It would be a consensus at this point to move forward with a survey that can inform the committee.

That's three. Okay, so Superintendent, get that ball rolling?

Start working on it tomorrow. All right, thank you.

Anything else on this? Okay, now we're going to move on to future agenda items. Is there anything the board wishes to add to a future agenda item?

I'd like to talk about our 5% increase. Our 5% yearly stipend increase.

Anything else?

Still couldn't hear you. What'd you say?

5% increase for- Yes, by law we are allowed, because the board has never allowed themselves a salary increase. We don't get paid for the hours that we put in. We get a set amount. I'm aware of that. So by law, every year we're allowed to increase that 5%. But there was a large chunk of time that the board did not do that, so we are still very far behind other districts. So in the last four years, three, four years, we've increased that by 5%.

Okay, anything else for a future agenda item that you can think of right now? But you don't have to, it's fine. Okay. Okay, moving on. Nothing from closed session, so we will adjourn this meeting at 9.30. Thank you, everybody.