Board of Education — June 24, 2025

I would like to call the June 24th, 2025 RUSD Board of Education meeting to order at 610. Thank you, everybody, for coming. We will start off with the Pledge of Allegiance. Patty, would you like to start us?

Please rise. Remove your caps. Right hand over your heart. 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.

All right, we're going to do roll call. Board Member Ayala Quintero? Present. Board Member Olson? Here. Board Clerk Wilson? Here. Board Vice President Callahan? Present. And I am here, Board President Rendler. Is there a motion to approve the agenda with flexibility?

So moved. Second.

All right. Thank you, Patty. Thank you, Jeanette. Is there any discussion on this? All right, I would like to request a revision to the order of the agenda, specifically to move item seven, public participation, to follow the presentations. This change would reassign public participation as item 11 on the agenda. And I also would like to, item 14, I would like to pull Ed Services' consent item L and M from the agenda tonight. and we'll bring it back on July 8th meeting. Are we okay with that? Parent notification. Item L is approve new board policy 5010, parent notification. And item M is to approve new administrative regulation 5010, the parent notification.

This one you wanted the business services or did you already do that? I haven't done that yet. Oh, okay.

And then what did you say before that?

Public participation after presentations. Ah, got it. Okay. Okay. So any other discussion?

Well, yeah. I would like to move up the business services action items to move that. Where did we want to move it? Move it to later in the agenda? No, move it up in the agenda. Move it to right after the presentations? Yeah. The business services action items.

Are we okay with that? Everybody okay with that?

Yes.

Yeah, we're okay. Okay. Great.

All right. So in closed session, the board do not... Oh, we do? Okay.

Oh, okay.

Okay, we'll call for the vote for changing the agenda order.

Member Ayala Quintero? Aye. Board Member Olsen. Aye. President Rendler. Aye. Vice President Hollihan. Aye. Clerk Wilson. Aye. Motion carried, 5-0. Thank you.

In closed session, the board unanimously took action to accept the superintendent's recommendation to appoint Robin Rivera to the position of principal, Judson and Brown, effective to be determined at step three of the management team salary schedule. Mrs. Rivera, are you here tonight?

Did you have anybody with you? Did you bring anybody with you? I did. I brought my husband. Welcome. Welcome. Would you like to say a few words?

I just want to say thank you for letting me have this opportunity to serve our community as principal of Jetson and Brown. I'm excited to continue my leadership by supporting my wonderful school community.

And go Jaguars. Go Jaguars. In closed session, the board unanimously took action to accept the superintendent's recommendation to appoint Matthew Yost to the position of director of safety and disaster preparedness, affected to be determined at step five of the management team salary schedule. Mr. Yost, are you here?

Did you bring any family member with you or anybody with you tonight? Did you bring anybody with you tonight? Welcome. Oh, welcome. Welcome. Wow. Nice. Welcome. Would you like to say anything? Well welcome, thank you.

In closed session, the board took action to accept settlement of litigation on case number 482673 in the amount of $1,400,000 with $466,666.67 to be paid by Redlands Unified School District with the following vote. With the ayes, President Rendler, Clerk Wilson, Board Member Olson, Board Member Ayala Quintero, and Vice President Hollihan. All voting aye. Okay. RESPA, Liz, are you here tonight? Is anybody from RESPA here for a report? Okay. We will move on. Any board committee reports?

OK, Candy, you go first.

Not on my agenda.

Okay. Regarding rep, the rep committee, just the official, I mentioned this earlier, we mentioned it in a previous meeting, but there is officially now a pause on all intercession camps. No fall, winter, or spring break camps will be going on. It will be only summer at this time. So that's just an update on the AAA Academy. And then also fundraising was very successful. The Harlem Wizards, there was a gross of over $20,000 and a profit of over $10,000. It was $10,759 profited from the Harlem Wizards. So thanks for all the support of the community. And the Turkey Trot was wildly successful. It was a profit of $41,472 from the Turkey Trot. So thanks to the whole community for showing up and supporting our teachers and staff, all that money goes into our classroom. So we really appreciate you. That's it for me.

Thank you. Melissa, do you have anything? No. No? Jeanette, do you have anything?

Nothing. Okay. On to superintendent's report. Superintendent Cabral, do you have anything to report?

last meeting we had a very robust discussion about our racism resolution and the conclusion of that discussion you directed me to draft a statement that the board could make committing the board's commitment to making sure that we are against racism and so I provided that statement to the board and I think President Redland would like to read that now

The Redlands Unified School District Board of Education is committed to maintaining a learning environment that is free from racism, discrimination, and all forms of intolerance. We believe every student and staff member deserves to be treated with respect and dignity. Our schools will continue to uphold these values and take steps to ensure a welcoming and supportive atmosphere for all.

Thank you. That's all my report.

All right, we're now on to public hearings. Public hearing on Redlands Unified School District's 2025-2026 Education Protection Account EPA requirements. The public hearing is now open. Is there anyone who would like to comment? The hearing is now closed. Public hearing on the initial proposal of the Redlands Education Support Professionals Association, known as RESPA, the Board of Education for the 2025-2026 negotiation cycle. The public hearing is now open. Is there anyone who would like to comment? The hearing is now closed. All right. Let's continue.

moving on to our presentations starting with Mrs. Buckmiller I'm Patty Buckmiller the assistant superintendent of ed services and I'm here tonight to do a presentation on what's known as our local indicators as part of the California school dashboard thank you Okay, so what are local indicators? Local indicators are some of the things that are not shown as a speedometer on the dashboard, and they include the ones that you see there, basic services, implementation of state academic standards, parent engagement, school climate, and access to a broad course of study. I'm going to briefly explain each of these as we go. Okay, so this is what the California dashboard looks like. And you see little speedometers. It shows you how we're doing in each of the areas. But some of the areas, the local indicators, don't have that little speedometer. Instead, it's just rated as standard met or not met. And so those are the circled ones that you see on the presentation. And then we gather that information locally. And I'm going to show you some are through surveys and some other ways as well. Okay, so it's just rated as a met, a not met, or not met for two or more years. And an LEA, which would be another word for the district, it measures this progress, and it's considered met when we've shared the results at a meeting such as this. So number two is highlighted because it's important that we have this presentation at a public meeting for everybody to see it. And then we have to upload and report publicly through the dashboard for the state of California as well. Okay, so priority one is known as basic services. And so this talks about the number of misassignments of teachers of English learners. Redlands has zero. It's the number and percent of students without access to their own copies of standard line instructional material. That's for use at home and at school. All of our students have that. There's none that do not have that. And then it also includes making sure our facilities are in good repair. And again, Redlands has zero deficiencies in that order. Okay, priority two is implementation of our standards. The measurement tool for this is a survey and the participants for the ed services community and also our site administrators. So they're looking at the implementation of our standards. And one of those areas is professional development. So you'll see the main areas, English Language Arts Common Core, ELD, English Language Development, Mathematics, Next Generation Science Standards, and History Social Studies. You can see the rating. The fives and the fours down below there is the rating that our RUSD staff gave for professional development in these areas. So you can see we're very highly rated. It's a one to five skill, with five being the highest. So we've rated full implementation in almost all of the areas. And sustainability is what we're really aiming for. So you can see that we have good results with our PD. Next one is instructional materials. This is also through the survey for the same areas. And again, you can see there's a trend here. And again, both science standards and history of social science got a four, where the other areas got a five. Policy, program, and support. This is still priority two from this survey. And again, very similar results with fives in most areas and fours in science and history of social science. Okay, our next priority is parent engagement. This was a Google survey sent out in March of 2025, and participants were families and parents, and we had 1,668 responses, so a pretty good response to this. And this priority is broken into several areas. I know it might be a little hard to see on there as well. But the first one that you're seeing is welcoming all families into the school community. And since I know the audience can't see the fine print on there, a blue color would be that the participant strongly agrees, and a red is they agree, and a yellow is neutral. And then green is disagree, and the orange is strongly disagree. So we're really trying to have it be, we would like it to be mostly blues, reds, and yellows being neutral. And so the small print on there is about having an inviting, welcome environment to parents feel welcome into the school community. And one of the ones up there is if they feel welcomed by the PTA or PTO of the school. So you can see, for the most part, our parents are feeling welcomed into their school communities. Another one is about communication. Do they feel like the school and the teacher and the principal communicates with the families effectively? So again, you can see blue is strongly agree, red is agree. So that's how we want our pieces of the pie to be for the most part. Another section of the parent engagement survey is supporting student success. Same skill, all of these. This is... about if they feel like their students are being supported, mostly from the teacher, but feeling like if they're struggling, do they know what to do and how they can approach their teacher. And then we have speaking up for every child. This is about addressing student behavior. It's about empowering parents to be advocates for their child. And it's about their parental rights, knowing their parental rights as well. Okay, and then the last one in parent engagement. actually the second to last one, sorry, is about developing relationships with the schools and the teachers. It's about that sharing of power between home and school. That connection is super important. And then the last one is collaborating with the community. Parents feeling like their voices are heard. So you can see from the parent engagement survey, we're doing a good job. There's definitely some room for improvement in those areas as well. This next slide summarizes some of the accommodations from the parents. These are the major themes from the parent feedback. 410 of those parents did give feedback. And I'm not going to read them all to you, but in general, accommodations would be having a welcome and inclusive environment, having effective communication, strong academic programs, a positive school outlook. And then suggestions, recommendations from the parents would be improved communication. So some parents felt communicated with. Others felt like that could be an area of improvement. Enhanced parental involvement. Like I said, there's a desire for more opportunities for parents to be involved in school activities. Better academic support, more extracurricular activities, and so on. The last one's one to note too, better handling of bullying. I thought that's something we have discussed. There's some suggestions for improved handling of bullying incidences to have a safer school environment. All right, the next priority area is school climate. This measurement tool is another survey. It's a Kelvin pulse survey. This was for our students. And students in grades 6 through 12 took it. They took it that week in March, the 11th through the 17th. We had over 7,000 responses from students, which is awesome. Okay, so this one is showing us the overall results, adding up all of the students that took it. And it's showing you their main topics, physical safety, discipline, academic goals, behavior and supports, and school climate and culture, and how the students rated favorably, how they felt their school climate was. This next one breaks down the results from elementary and then from grade 7-12. So at the elementary schools, this is how the students are feeling. Like, adults at school take my problems seriously. I'm encouraged and recognized when I make positive choices at school. My school rewards students for good behavior. My school effectively addresses teasing and or bullying. And students at my school treat each other with respect. So that's from our younger students. These are the same students. Questions from our secondary students? Okay, this next one is actually a heat map, and it shows breaking down that same data. It's disaggregating it into looking at it from some other different ways. And then in this heat map, the orange scores are the lowest. So you can just visually see where some of our lowest scores are. And the dark blue are the highest, with blue being high as well. It's just a good visual way to look at the breakdowns of all the questions disaggregated by student group. Okay, and then our last priority is a broad course of study. Again, it's a survey. The participants for all of ed services, our principals and our assistant principals. And then this is the definition for a broad course of study. It's making sure for grades one through six that they have Instruction in all areas, English, math, social science, visual and performing arts, health and physical education. And then for broad courses study for grades seven through 12, it's the same things, but it also includes foreign language or languages. Applied arts, career and technical education is included for grades seven through 12. Again, here's your results survey. Again, the top one is for K-6, and the bottom is for 7-12. And this, again, is a 1 through 5 scale. And so you can see it's overwhelmingly the people that took the survey feel like we are offering a broad course of study. This is broken down, again, by student group. And then the next steps is now what are we going to do with all this data? We've collected this data. We're required to collect it every year. It's part of our local indicators. But now Ed Services needs to analyze the results. We've already started working on that. Analyzing our current programs. Do the programs that we have, do they meet the needs of the students and the parents and the teachers? Working with our community partners and do some root cause analysis about maybe why some subgroups are lower than others. planning our professional development for the year and doing a lot of goal setting with our principals on what would be the next steps using this data. All right. Any questions?

Thank you, Patty, for that. I do have just one question. I don't know if it was an error on the slide, but did you say third grade took that survey?

Third grade on up took the student survey. Third graders took it? Yes. Third through twelfth. It's not our youngest. Okay.

Great. Thank you. Anybody have any questions or comments? No? Thank you very much.

All right. Now we're going to have the annual budget presentation by Kirtan Shah. Hello, Kirtan. How are you?

Good. Thank you. Thank you, Michelle. All righty. You can hear me, right? Yes. Good evening, board, cabinet, and public. I'm going to be going over our 25-26 budget presentation. So the first, let's start with the latest thing, mayor revision. It just came out a few weeks ago. Some of the main highlights are the state is deferring about $1.8 billion in payments to K-12 schools and community colleges. At the end of 25-26, so that would be June 2026, next time this year, it will be paid in July of 2026 instead of June, which doesn't sound like a big deal, but for districts that rely on those money for their payroll, it is a big deal. Luckily for us, we're big enough and we have enough reserves. So we should be okay. Another one is Prop 98 Minimum Guarantee, which is a law passed in 1988 which determines minimum funding for K-12 schools. So overall, between 24-25 and 25-26, the minimum guarantee is $4.6 billion lower than Governor's January budget. So that's a lot of money across two school years. And the funded COLA for 25-26 is at 2.30%. It started at 2.93, came down to 2.43, and now ended at 2.30%. Let's see next. So this is our seabeds enrollment and average daily attendance. So just to be clear, our funding is based on average daily attendance, ADA. And as you can see, each year since 22-23, or I should say since COVID, we're dropping in enrollment and dropping in ADA. Okay. And you can see in 24-25, we had enrollment of 19,181, which is a 372 drop from the year prior. We're projecting 100 enrollment loss in next fiscal year, then 100 more the fiscal year after, and then stabilize. And we're keeping our ADA percentage at 93.5%. But it's still dropping, which means less funding for us. Now, this slide kind of captures the decrease in ADA and enrollment from previous slides. So as you can see, in 24-25, our LCFF funding was $256.4 million. Our base is increasing to about $1.1 million, but due to our unduplicated count dropping, which is our free reduced low-income students, we're losing about $1.6 million in supplemental concentration funding. So overall, our funding is dropping to $255.9 million. That's just our LCFF funding. So some of highlights from our own budget, not just the state. So Funded Equality is 2.3. Our special education expenditures are expected to increase about 5 or so million. Based on the previous slide, about 1.6 million decreased in SNC, Supplemental Concentration, due to declining UPP. Despite all this, we're still going to meet our legally required 3% reserve balance in 2025-2026 and the two up years. This is our ending fund balance at the end of 25-26 school year, projected ending fund balance. We have $50,000 in cash, non-spendable of $1.7 million, which is our prepaid expenditures and I'm losing my mind. Inventory, sorry. Our committed balance is $8.8 million. Next slide, you'll see the breakdown of that. $43.9 million is our restricted balance. So that's all the restricted grants that we get from state and federal government. It's automatically restricted, and it's about $4.3.9 million. Our reserve for economic uncertainty, which is 3% required, is $10,750,206. And our assigned item, which is lottery, is $5.4 million. So overall, we're projecting to end next fiscal year at $70.7 million. This is our breakdown of committed items. $2.5 million in increased pension costs and $6.2 million in future and current textbook adoptions. This is our general fund, MYP, multiyear projections. So first we have 24-25 estimated actuals because we haven't closed our books yet. Then 25-26, 26-27, and 27-28. A couple of things I want to point out. The fourth row, which is in yellow, it's a deficit. Each year we're expecting a deficit. Current year and now three years. Our fund balance is expected to be at 91 million this year, 70 million next year, 58 million the year after, and 48 million in 27-28. These are our major assumptions for the budget year and the two out years. We have the COLA 2.3 for next year, then 3.02 and 3.42 for the second out year. Enrollment, like I mentioned, we're expecting 100, drop 100 next year, another 100 following year, and then stabilize. ADA, we're keeping at 93.5%. And you can see there's a funded ADA. So during COVID, state come with a new way for us to ensure our funding doesn't drop by much. Before it was current year or prior year. Now they also do three years of average. And because of that, our funded ADA is still higher than our actual ADA. But as you can see at the end of 27-28, there's only 100 ADA difference between the two. So it catches up to us by 27-28. And you can see the UPP three-year average. We're at 67.59 this year, 66.5 projected next year, then 65.7, and 65.25. So the more they drop, the less funding we receive in supplemental concentration. Um, next steps. So June 30th is a deadline for government to sign the state budget. Um, on or before August 15, we, if needed, we have to do 45 day budget revision. The last time I think we did that was during COVID 2020. I don't expect to do that this year. And September 9th board will consider an audit actuals, which is when we close our 24, 25 books. Any questions for me?

Anybody have any questions? I agree. Thank you very much, Kirtan. Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you.

Oh, right here. On all of them?

On all of them?

Yeah, all of them? Just these two.

Just these two. Okay. Yeah. just one minute we're confirming some speaker cards

Sure.

Sorry for the delay. So we are trying to... There are a couple of action items that we need to make sure get done tonight, and we understand we have over 400 speaker cards, which we will speak to in a bit. But the LCAP and the budget are two items that must get passed this evening. And so all we're trying to do is make sure that we have anybody who's going to speak to those two items, that we have those done first so that we can do that before the board takes action on those two items. So give us just a second, please.

Thank you. Thank you.

If I could suggest to the board, To establish what protocol we will follow for speakers since we have cards for the two items that we want to take action on. And we want to establish a consistent process for the evening before the first speaker speaks. It looks like we probably have close to 500 cards. And so the board does have the right to adjust the meeting in order for the board to conduct the business of the board. And options that you can discuss are to look at consent items as one item and give a total allotted time. For example, consent items would have 20 minutes total. So if we have 50 speakers that want to talk to the consent items, then you would divide 20 minutes by 50 speakers and everybody would get that allotted time. you could look at total number of cards and if you have 500 cards, you could limit, everybody gets the equal amount of time, whether it's for an agenda item or for public comments. That time, you could do the math and you could figure out if you want to allot, for example, three hours total, then you take 500 cards and you take that 180 minutes divided by 500 and everybody gets 20 seconds, for example. It just has to be established here amongst the board because you do have the ability to ensure that the business of the board gets done.

Do you have any thoughts on that?

I just want to make sure we're able to vote on our LCAP or budget.

Understood. But if we have 16 cards on those two items, we have to establish how much time they're going to get because we have to give the same amount of time to everybody else who's going to talk who's turned in a blue card. That's why we need to have that discussion now so we establish how much time we're going to give to the first speakers that are going to speak.

We've been at, what, a minute and a half?

What about, like, two hours total for all items divided by how many cards we have? Because none of these policies that are up for debate are anything new. They've been spoken to many times previously.

Do you want to, I mean... We're having a discussion. I can't hear. Sorry.

What about if we do the three hours that takes us to 10 o'clock for all discussion?

I mean, for all public comment.

That's less than what we've been dealing with.

Whether it's agenda item or not. But we still have stuff to do.

I understand that, but all of a sudden, my concern is that we've already limited our time from three minutes to a minute and a half. Now we want to limit it more, limit the total time. I think this is more of an indication of how unpopular these items are, and the community deserves the right to speak up.

Would you like to limit the time to a minute?

Honestly, I don't even know that everybody is going to stay that late. But, I mean, I think if this is what this board is committed to doing, then I think we have to commit to actually listening to everybody.

We've been staying until midnight. So how many cards did we have at that time?

180.

We have almost 500. Why don't we do the three hours divided by how many speakers?

We can say four hours. That takes us to 11. And then we can get the rest of the work done. We have a whole bunch of... For all speakers.

So 180 minutes, the three hours that Ms. Olson's proposing, over 500 card is only about 30 seconds.

Yeah, that's why I suggested, do we want to do 30 seconds of speaker?

That's the thing. Like, I don't understand why we are... This is the problem. We've already limited our meeting input to where we don't... We're just showing this community that we don't value their input.

If I could just clarify... If I could clarify, 500 cards does not equal 500 people. Right. There are multiple cards that have been turned in to speak about items that are not related to the policies. So that's just for clarity. If somebody gets 30 seconds to speak about item, because I think some folks turned in something for every single item, so they're going to get 30 seconds to talk about item N, amend award bid 425. I think... I'm just pointing out, if people want to talk for three hours about the five policies, that's different. But if we're going to spend eight hours talking about item N or item O or item P, I would just make sure to clarify for the board what it is that we're trying to give the public an opportunity to speak about.

And you're aware that the cards have one item per?

That's what I'm trying to point out, that if we have 500 cards, it doesn't mean 500 people. One person asked for 72 cards, and I think one person was going to talk to every single item on the agenda, which means that that is not the same thing as wanting to talk about the policies that another person asked for 25 cards. If 25 cards were submitted by one person, then that, again, isn't necessarily talking about four policies. And so if you limit it to 30 seconds, for example, that is going to interrupt somebody who really wants to come talk about the policies, but we have to go off of the total cards we have, which is if we have 500 cards times a minute and a half, that's over eight hours of comments, right? That may not allow the board to get the business done that the board needs to do. That's why you have the ability to have a consensus on how you want to go forward on comments.

We continue the meeting. We continue, right?

As long as the board allows the public to know when that is going to happen, yes.

I don't want to set a time, two hours, three hours, four hours. I don't want to let everybody speak. They've been here. So if we do a minute at least for everyone, I think that's fair instead of putting a denomination on an hour, hourly.

Well, the only reason the hourly comes in is a way to divide the number of cards by that amount of time to set the time.

I think we should come to a consensus here and see who would like to limit the time and change what we've always been doing and then not. Because we're not going to go forward if we don't call for a...

I am okay limiting the time to a minute because that gets us to a four-hour-ish time with 500 cards.

I'm good with that. Instead of giving three hours or four hours, I'm good with a minute with all the speakers we have.

Why don't we do 30 seconds?

I'm good with a minute. I don't know if anybody can get a point across in 30 seconds. Any of their points.

Look at California legislature. They get up there and they speak for five seconds.

That's different. They're just doing that on.

I'm for the one minute.

I'm good for a minute. Are we okay? Okay.

Just to be clear, that's eight hours worth of speaking.

We'll never get our board business done. I'm kind of certain that some of them are not going to take a minute.

But it's my duty to make sure that we understand that we're talking about eight hours of comments.

I mean, we can do a medium. We can do 45 seconds. That would help a little bit.

Least. We've already cut down. Everybody keeps thinking that we're cutting down from a minute and a half. We're cutting down from three minutes.

But I'm sorry that someone took out 75 cards. We need to do our board business. But that is within the right.

Unfortunately, yes, I understand. It is very inconvenient for us. But these are constituents and they deserve the right to speak.

I 100% agree with everybody's right to speak. I'm just trying to point out that it is uncommon for somebody to turn in cards that are not related to the topics that folks want to talk about. And so it is definitely a strategy to delay the board from doing its business. That is, I believe that to be true, which is why I'm pointing out that the board does have the right to ensure that you get I do not think that you're preventing, if anything, giving folks less time to talk about the topics they really want to talk about is what somebody who's turned in 72 cards has done. Yeah, exactly. Because now you're going to spend time coming up to the podium to talk about something that's not related to these policies. And so you do have to agree. I just want to point out, though, that if we give a minute, it's going to be eight hours.

I want to point out also these are our constituents once again. They came here. They stood in line. I don't know what time they came, and they deserve to speak.

Most people came to talk about what they want. Some people came. to clog up public comment, basically. So that's my feeling. I'm okay doing between 30, 45 seconds?

30 seconds. 30 seconds is ridiculous.

30 might not be, I don't know. I think it's plenty to get your point across. You can say a lot in 30 seconds. Do you have an opinion on this?

I think I like the idea of 45 seconds. Okay.

But do we have to all agree? It has to be consensus for 45. Okay. Anybody okay with 45 seconds? I am not. Okay. I am okay with 45 seconds. Jeanette, are you okay? Kenny? Okay. So we have three. All right. We're going to do 45 seconds per speaker.

Yes. That's not a consensus. That's a majority.

It's a majority. Majority. It is a majority.

I don't want to do it wrong. You want me to do it?

Where's my buddy?

She knows how to do it. Okay.

Second. Set seconds.

Go ahead and come up. Start. We got it?

Yeah, yeah.

Stop.

Okay, should I just go ahead and read this one? Can I do this?

Am I going to read this first? Yeah. Okay. Okay.

Has our 5010 cards already been removed? Because that will dramatically cut down, I would imagine. Those are the only 5010 ones? Okay.

So members of the public may address the board on matters within its jurisdiction by submitting a completed registration card to the clerk or designated staff member prior to the start of public comments on agenda items. This is not a forum for debate. Policy-related complaints will be referred to the superintendent. When called, speakers may proceed to the podium, state their name and trustee area, and speak for the allotted time, which is 45 seconds. The amount of time will be announced by the board president, just did, before the first speaker begins and will not exceed three minutes.

Do the outside people know? Yes. Okay.

So do we have our first speaker?

Yeah. So if they have more than one card, then they just stay up?

No, only those now because we want to take action on that.

Oh, what are the numbers now?

It should be just that stack.

That stack. I'm going to speak to the ones that we're going to vote right after.

Okay, like this person has three in this stack. Yes. Okay. So should I try to keep them together, the people? Yes. Okay. B, we have 13. It looks like 13F for B, 13G, and 13J, 13H. So B. Come up. No, that's me.

welcome be thank you give me one second Okay, so that would be the 12, section 12, yes?

13.

Section 13, okay. Let me get that in here. Sorry.

Should I call somebody else? After B is J-Mail. And then Meg Hoganson.

You ready?

Yes. Although I've only had a chance to skim the 225-page local control and accountability plan that the district put together, I've taken the time to peruse the five primary issues that the district finds concerning and wishes to address. These issues are chronic absenteeism, suspension rates, and behavioral supports. English learner progress achievement and English language arts and math and grad tuition and college readiness. Despite the fact that these are the primary concerns the district has identified as its primary strategic goals, I have heard nothing in these past six months from the school board that aimed to help the district address any of them. There have been no policy proposals to propose alternatives to address cultural barriers that could reduce chronic absenteeism, no requests for subcommittees requesting feedback and proposals from the community, and no resolutions... Okay. 13B, as with the LCAP, I've only had a chance to scan the district's 153-page budget. What I do know is that the district has had to make significant cuts to programs and positions that have benefited students this year, including the counselor positions I mentioned in a previous meeting. due to unexpected legal settlements they had to pay out. This has me concerned, particularly since the district is considering adopting illegal and unconstitutional policies that may necessitate further cuts due to legal settlements they have to pay to students and families who are negatively impacted by these policies. Again, I will go into further detail regarding my concerns about these specific policies that I fear will impact the district's annual budget in later comments. For now, I would ask the school district to consider this year as an omen for what potentially lies in store. item thirteen c this proposed action item demonstrates responsible physical management ensuring that the district has a healthy balance to act as a critical safety net protecting the district from unforeseen financial challenges these challenges might include fluctuations in student enrollment or unexpected downturns in the overall economy personally i would like to see these funds directed towards a strategic goals laid out in the lc a p providing our students with richer and more engaging learning experiences investments in critical but unexpected technology upgrades maintaining the condition and safety of our school facilities, and ensuring our schools have the ability to replace tools that are necessary for modern education. I do not want to see these funds going towards unexpected legal fees, as I fear they will if the board moves forward with certain policies that are on the current agenda. Combining my statements for 13D through H, resolutions 47 through 50 focus on setting the special tax rates for community facilities district number 2001-1 for the upcoming fiscal year. It is critical the board pass these items as the funds generated are essential for the continuous maintenance and improvement of vital school infrastructure. We're talking about repairing school facilities, the school playgrounds on which our children play, and other essential services that contribute to quality of life and education within the district. Proving these resolutions are not just a formality. They are a commitment to ensuring that these services continue at the current level, providing stability and reliability to our students. The taxes collected under these resolutions will benefit families for years to come. As both a parent and a taxpayer, I am more than happy to pay my fair share.

Thank you, B.

Item 13I, this resolution marks a pivotal moment, ensuring that the district has a general fund available to pay for its many programs and services. It demonstrates the district's commitment to responsible financial stewardship and ensures that every student, teacher, administrator, and member of the community can participate in and benefit from the district's commitment to provide educational services to our community. As someone who's worked in higher education, I understand how important it is to have a general fund available to pay for student services. So much of a school's budget is allocated to specific programs and projects, preventing those funds from being used for other purposes. While it is prudent to have these safeguards in place to prevent schools and districts from using funds inappropriately to provide raises to management at the expense of students and staff, it also means that schools and... 13J, as a concerned citizen and parent, I'm happy to see the school board committee taking steps to adopt the education protection account, requirements and spending determinations. This resolution ensures that our district is held accountable for using state funds for their intended purpose, supporting our students' education. By prioritizing transparency and fiscal responsibility, we can guarantee that every dollar is being used to benefit our children. What's particularly heartening about this resolution is that it underscores the importance of ensuring that all students receive an adequate education and are provided services that support them. We've seen far too many attempts to politicize and divide our communities with initiatives that do nothing to improve academic outcomes or student well-being and even go out of their way to ostracize them. It's refreshing to see our school board focus on what truly matters, providing financial resources that provide a safe, inclusive, and supportive learning environment. Should I continue to the section 14, or should... Educational service consent, no.

No, not yet. Thank you. Okay, all right. Thank you very much. Thank you.

Jay Mill?

Welcome, Jay. Thank you.

Thank you. Jesse Male, resident of District 2, parent of a current RHS student, parent of an RHS graduate. I'm here to speak about the budget. The budget, as proposed, is based on some unrealistic expectations. You anticipate that your settlement costs of litigation are going down by $10 million. That's not realistic, given the additional victims that have surfaced as to a prior teacher and as to the new teacher. We also have on the form submitted that there is no known contingent liabilities, but you're about to consider adopting policies that will result in litigation. Those are false answers on the forms you have submitted. Thank you.

Meg?

Welcome, Meg. Thank you.

Good evening. My name is Meg Hoganson. I am a resident of District 2. I am the parent of an RUSD grad and a current RUSD high school student. Throughout these meetings, throughout this year, I've heard lots of people discuss the liability the proposed policies open RUSD up to, and they are absolutely correct. In broad terms, the flag policy, the book planning, if the board continues on this path and adopts the proposed items regarding those, lawsuits are an inevitability. There are going to be lawsuits. There are districts that have adopted similar policies and have been subject to litigation, and there has been no research presented in the cost those districts endured. I urge you to vote now.

Thank you, Mike.

Okay, next up we have, I'm sorry, I can't read it. Either Bryn or Brian. Bryn, perhaps. Starts with a K. Any of the 13. So you have four.

Just 13.

Yeah, you have four of them.

Sorry, let me scroll down really quick. Okay, agenda item 13A. For those wondering, beginning in July 1st... Agenda item 13A, adopt the Redlands LCAP. The first goal listed in the LCAP is to provide all educational partners with a positive learning environment created by safe, more inclusive schools that promote equitable access to school programs, activity, and tiered social, economical, and behavioral supports. These supports will foster senses of connectedness, especially in English learners, foster youth, African-American students, students experiencing homelessness, low-income students, and students with disabilities, and other student groups whose outcomes might indicate the greatest need. One would think that the first goal of the LCAP would also be the most important. point out a few key phrases. A positive learning environment, safe, more inclusive schools, equitable access. How can these be true when the board has rallied against all of these at meeting after meeting after meeting? Look at your own LCAP. Maybe adopt some of the principles. Next agenda item, the budget. Reading the budget, I notice there are no references to increase legal fees in regards to the future board actions concerning illegal culture war policies. My first question is why? Did you already decide that you're not going to pass them, that you're going to pass them? Why is there no reference in here to legal fees? For reference, Chino and Temecula have spent over $5 million on litigation. Where's that in the budget? How about the programs that our students rely on, like speech and debate, band, mock trial, academic? Where's the funding of those going to go when you start depriving our district of millions upon millions upon millions of dollars? How about you care about the students and actually put what you're expecting to be in the budget in the budget? Have some foresight. Next agenda item. Adopt Redlands Unified School District's balance and access of minimum reserve requirements. For those wondering, these minimum reserve requirements, Candy, can you please look up? I'm speaking to you. Those minimum reserve requirements basically... Those minimum reserve requirements basically are requirements of money that the district has in excess in order for legal fees, unexpected things to come up, that kind of whole thing. There are currently $5.8 million in our district's reserve fund, and the next two years only have $2.8 million each. So where is our fund going to go when you start adopting policies that cost, guess what, $5 million? That leaves $800,000 for everything else. Can we keep track of our money and stop costing our schools? Finally, agenda item 13F, approve resolution number 48 to establish special tax rates for fiscal year 2025 to 2026. Now, I was looking at this policy. Guess where those reserve fund numbers come from? Property taxes. So if we have a huge depletion in reserve funds, which will be caused by litigation by the California State Department, of education because our school board is not following rules. If we have damages to that reserve front, that causes a raising of property taxes. I also noticed that the highest property tax raising requirement is not enough to actually adequately get the school district back those five million dollars that we're about to lose. So once again, can we have foresight in this school board? If you're about to pass these policies, at least put the budget numbers out there.

Those are all our speakers for business items, so we can...

Superintendent's recommendations. First, we have consent items under business services. Mr. Hill, do you have any changes or additions under business services consent?

No changes or additions tonight. Thank you.

Do we have a motion to approve items 12A, items B through T? Moved. Second. Thank you, Candy. Thank you, Patty. Any discussion?

I'm glad to see the pools getting renovated for the swimmers on the water polo teams.

Okay. We're going to call for the vote. Member Ayala Quintero? Aye. Board Member Olson? Aye. President Rendler? Aye. Vice President Hollihan? Aye. Clerk Wilson?

Aye.

Motion carried, 5-0.

This was 13, right? Okay. That was 12.

What was 12?

12.

Consent. Business Services consent.

It was action items.

13.

That was 13 that we just did. We just did 12.

Consent items.

That we moved action items to forward.

Because there's people with 12 consent items.

Action items. We just, yeah. We only went over action, so let's just do the action. Okay.

Okay. All right. So I need a motion to approve, um, What are we? Oh, we do one at a time. Item 13A, to adopt the Redlands Unified School District's 2025-2026 Local Control and Accountability Plan, the LCAP.

So moved. One second. Any discussion? Thank you for all the work that everyone put into that and for the committee members as well. Second that.

Any more discussion? I'll call for the vote.

Who was second?

Melissa.

Okay. Board Member Ayala-Quintero?

Aye.

Board Member Olson? Aye. President Rendler?

Aye.

Vice President Hollihan? Aye. Clerk Wilson? Aye. Motion carried, 5-0.

Moving on to 13B, to adopt the annual proposed budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, the 2025-2026 budget per Ed Code 42127 and Assembly Bill 1200 must be approved on or before July 1st per the district's decision to utilize the single budget adoption cycle. Per Ed Code 52062... The public hearing for the 2025-2026 annual proposed budget was held at the June 10, 2025 board meeting. Do we have a motion? So moved. Thank you, Patty. Thank you, Candy. Any discussion? Thank you, Curton.

Thank you. All right, we'll call for the vote. Board Member Ayala-Quintero? Aye. Board Member Olson? Aye. President Rendler? Aye. Vice President Hollihan? Aye. Clerk Wilson? Aye. Motion carried, 5-0.

All right, 13C, to adopt Redlands Unified School District's 2025-2026 Balance in Excess of Minimum Reserves Requirement. Do I have a motion?

So moved. Second. Second.

Thank you, Candy. Thank you, Jeanette. Any discussion? Call for the vote.

Board Member Ayala-Quintero? Aye. Board Member Olson? Aye. President Rendler? Aye. Vice President Hollihan? Aye. Clerk Wilson? Aye. Motion carried by vote.

13D, to approve resolution number 47 to establish the special tax rates for fiscal year 2025-2026 for community facilities district, the CFD, number 2001-1, an existing community facilities district formed under the Melrose Community Facilities Act. of 1982 and Government Code Section 53340. Authorized Jason Hill, Deputy Superintendent, Business Services, and Amy Drummond, Purchasing Director, to sign related documents on behalf of the Board. Do we have a motion?

So moved. Second.

Thank you, Patty. Thank you, Candy. Any discussion?

Call for the vote. Board Member Ayala-Quintero. Aye. Board Member Olson. Aye. President Rendler. Aye. Vice President Hollihan. Aye. Clerk Wilson. Aye. Motion carried 5-0.

to approve Resolution No. 48 to establish the special tax rates for fiscal year 2025-2026 for Community Facilities District CFD No. 2006-1, an existing Community Facilities District formed under the Melrose Community Facilities Act of 1982 and Government Code Section 53340. Authorized Jason Hill, Deputy Superintendent, Business Services, and Amy Drummond, Purchasing Director. to sign related documents on behalf of the board. Do I have a motion?

So moved. Okay.

Thank you, Jeanette. Thank you, Candy. Any discussion? I'll call for the vote.

Board Member Ayala-Quintero? Aye. Board Member Olson? Aye. President Randler? Aye. Vice President Hollihan?

Aye.

Clerk Wilson? Aye. Motion carried, 5-0.

13F, to approve resolution number 49 to establish the special tax rates for fiscal year 2025-2026 for community facilities district, the CFD, number 2016-1, an existing community facilities district formed under the Melrose Community Facilities Act of 1982 and Government Code Section 53340. Authorized Jason Hill, Deputy Superintendent of Business Services, and Amy Drummond, Purchasing Director. Two sign-related documents on behalf of the board. Do I have a motion?

Moved. And I'll second. Second.

Thank you, Kendi. And I seconded. Any discussion? We'll call for the vote.

Member Ayala-Quintero? Aye. Board Member Olson? Aye. President Rendler? Aye. Vice President Hollihan? Aye. Clerk Wilson? Aye. Motion carried, 5-0.

to approve resolution number 50 to establish the special tax rates for fiscal year 2025-2026 for Community Facilities District CFD number 2021-1, an existing Community Facilities District formed under the Melrose Community Facilities Act of 1982 and Government Code Section 53340. authorizing Jason Hill, Deputy Superintendent, Business Services, and Amy Drummond, Purchasing Director, to sign the related documents on behalf of the Board. Do I have a motion?

So moved.

Second. Thank you, Patty. Thank you, Melissa. Any discussion?

I'll call for the vote.

Board Member Ayala-Quintero?

Aye.

Board Member Olson? Aye. President Redler? Aye. Vice President Hollihan? Aye. Clerk Wilson? Aye. Motion carried. 5-0.

13H to approve resolution number 51 to establish the special tax rates for fiscal year 2025-2026. for Community Facilities District CFD number 2024-1, an existing community facilities district formed under the Melrose Community Facilities Act of 1982 and Government Code Section 53340. Authorize Jason Hill, Deputy Superintendent, Business Services, and Amy Drummond, Purchasing Director, to sign related documents on behalf of the Board. Do I have a motion?

So moved. Second.

Is that Candy? Yep. And Jeanette. Thank you, Candy. Thank you, Jeanette. Any discussion?

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

Aye.

Motion carried. 5-0.

Routine I to adopt resolution number 52, 2024-2025, acknowledgement of due diligence and authorization to commit funds indicating their will be project reserves available in the general fund as of June 30, 2026. I have a motion. So moved. Second. Thank you, Patty. Thank you, Jeanette. Any discussion? All right, we'll call for the vote.

Board Member Ayala-Quintero? Aye. Board Member Olson? Aye. President Rendler? Aye. Vice President Hollihan? Aye. Clerk Wilson? Aye. Motion carried, 5-0.

13J, to adopt resolution number 53, 2024-2025, the Education Protection Account, EPA, requirements and spending determinations. Do we have a motion?

So moved.

Second?

Second.

Thank you, Candy. Thank you, Jeanette. Any discussion? I'll call the vote.

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

Okay, back to public participation again on agendized items.

President Rendler, just a point of order. We did vote on consent items, but we will redo that because we need to hear comments first. Just want to make sure.

Sorry for the mistake.

Okay. Who do you have up first for agendized items?

Okay, first up we have Cooper followed by, well, Cooper. It just says Cooper.

Yes, ma'am. Which item is this on?

Pardon? Number 12.

The ones you guys just voted on?

No. Yeah.

No. No.

It can't be on 12. Is it on consent next?

It's a consent. 12 is consent. It could be anything, right?

I believe you already voted on those items.

No, we did not vote on those. Did you just not?

No, we started. We did, but we messed it up. We're going to go back and vote. You're not going to talk about it now? Because they're going to re-vote on it after they hear public comments.

just trying to make sure you understand no we haven't voted we're going to be re-voting on item 12 that was a mistake on my part we have not voted it's any items that you have on the agenda any card that you submitted for the agenda are you speaking on any item on the agenda it's your turn

So for clarification, this is my time to speak on 14.

12, 13, 14, any of them. Any agenda item. So you have a lot under 12.

Because you only had 13 action items.

I understand I was allotted 13 cards. And I was told to limit my amount of cards, being told I was going to give 20 minutes. So this has been changed on me three or four times today. so as to not waste any more time, I can speak on 14th.

You can speak on board what? On what?

Would you like to give me the time for all of them in one big chunk, or do we want to slow it down? Or do we just want to do the two?

You get 45 seconds on each item. You can speak to all of them if you feel like it, if you have the card. 14th.

I'm concerned that the proposed changes to AR 1312.2 could open the door to censorship under the guise of process. While it's important to address concerns around library materials, this revision could be weaponized by special interest groups to ban books, particularly those representing diverse voices or exploring themes of identity and belonging. That would send a chilling message to librarians and students alike. We risk silencing stories that help young people feel seen, understood, and connected. Please protect intellectual freedom by revising this certain revision with equity at the center. Though the details of the proposed revisions to the board policy 6,000 remain vague, any changes that potentially narrows the representation or shifts away from equity is deeply concerning. Our policies must reflect the diversity of our district and ensure that every student, especially those from marginalized communities, feel safe, valued, and supported. Any shift that diminishes LGBTQ plus inclusion or stakeholder voice is unacceptable. I urge the board to slow down, invite community input, and ensure that the final policy uplifts all students, not just those who already feel represented. And I would just take a moment that I hope you fully understand how many Brown Act violations you are causing. Thank you.

Thank you, Cooper.

Next up, we have Jean Saglem. Welcome, Jean. Oh, I'm sorry. Followed by Erica Grossman.

I have three items. Yes. The first one I want to speak about tonight is the forced outing proposed policy change. By voting on this proposed policy change, each board member is making it clear... Jean, excuse me.

That was pulled. That was pulled.

We pulled that at the beginning of the meeting.

So is it by a family?

Oh, we pulled it at the beginning of the meeting. Excuse me. That item was pulled at the beginning of the meeting. So just go on to your next one.

I'm going to suggest that we take just a brief recess so that we can look through the cards and make sure that we can organize this a little bit. If we could just take five minutes so that I can look at the cards. Just to reiterate, Board Policy 5010, Pair Notification, and AR5010 were pulled from tonight's agenda, and there will not be any action on those two policies. I want to make sure that the cards, if you have a card turned in for those two policies, we're going to pull those cards because they're not an item on the agenda anymore. So give us a moment to get organized. I apologize. I have not been in a meeting where we have 500 cards turned in. So give us a moment.

Please find your seat. Thanks. I'm sorry, Jean, before you...

Before you begin, I have something I need to say. As board president, I want to begin by acknowledging the importance of this space as a forum for public engagement. Our meetings are designed to conduct the essential business of the board, provide transparency, and offer the community an opportunity to share thoughts, concerns, and ideas with their elected representatives. We recognize and value the role of public comment in strengthening our schools and our governance. We welcome diverse perspectives and we want this to remain a place where all voices can be heard, respectfully and constructively. That being said, I want to remind everyone that disruptions during the meeting will not be tolerated. Those include... The frantically waving signs, yelling, finger snapping, excessive clapping, or profanity. It's very disruptive to the board members while we're trying to listen to the speaker. And this also includes refraining from personal attacks, maintaining appropriate language and tone, and respecting the time limits during public comment. If disruptions continue, individuals may be asked to leave or be escorted from the meeting in order to maintain a respectful and orderly environment. Our commitment is to listen. Every member of this board is here to serve our students, families, and staff of Redlands Unified. We appreciate your presence, your input, and your partnership as we work together to support the success and well-being of our students in our district.

Thank you. You may continue.

So I would like to speak about book banning. This policy change is attempting to circumvent librarians. Parents have the right to restrict books their child reads. They just complete a form. By voting yes on this proposed policy change, you are willfully breaking California law. California Assembly Bill 1825, the Freedom to Read Act, This bill prevents librarians from banning materials based on topic, views, ideas, opinions, nationality, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or sexual content unless it's considered obscene under Supreme Court precedent. RUSD has professional school librarians who protect our students by selecting age-appropriate reading materials. Thank you. I'm speaking on flag banning. Your vote today shows who you stand up for, vulnerable students or white privileged bigots. The personal display of any pride flag at schools in a classroom is protected under the California AB 1955 and Title IX. The Assembly Bill 1955 provides protections and guidance that contributes to a supportive school environment where this display of such symbols could be considered permissible as part of general policy of non-discrimination and LGBTQ affirmation. RSUD mission statement and knowledge our students are diverse and they require empowerment. Thank you, Gene.

Okay, we have Erica Glossman followed by Kathy Dean. Welcome, Erica. Thank you.

The book bands. Now we all know this book ban is really about targeting LGBTQ plus books. Candy, Janet, and Michelle have decided that any book related to LGBTQ plus identities qualify as pornography. Let's be honest, protecting children was never the real issue. You want to ban LGBTQ plus content by labeling it pornography because you can't openly admit that your real goal is this criminate against LGBTQ plus students and staff. Also, Michelle, please intervene if any speaker today reads explicit content in front of children because you didn't last time. For the record, the speaker said the book came from the Redlands Public Library, not from our school libraries. I don't want these adults sexualizing children. The board's own policy states that the district has an obligation to promote cultural, racial, and human sensitivity and to maintain non-discriminatory programs with equal access for all. But how can that be true when a board is actively advancing policies that target LGBTQ plus students? It's deeply disturbing how obsessed you are with so-called pornography, yet you remain silent about the real violence happening on our campuses. The constant fights. Just a year and a half ago, a student brought a gun to middle school. I was there that day. Parents of middle schoolers have told me they're deeply concerned about their children's safety. And here you are, fixated on LGBTQ plus issues. I'm honestly fed up with this obsession when it has nothing to do with actual safety on school campuses. That's why nobody trusts you.

Thank you.

The board claims to support a welcoming environment, but your actions say the exact opposite. If you're banning a pride flag on a grounds that is hot topic or divisive, what you're really saying is that LGBTQ plus existence is up for debate, but people's right to exist is not debatable. If you believe that LGBTQ plus represents sexual content, then you must explain how and provide credible evidence-based reasoning. Even third graders understand the rules cannot be based on personal opinions. You keep insisting on focus on academic spine. Let's do that. Major medical institutions state that being gay or transgender is not a lifestyle choice. It's not a natural variation of human identity and sexuality.

Thank you, Erica.

Kathy Dean. Are there people outside?

She's outside.

I'll skip over to Cheryl Rain. Is she in here?

Can you say the first name again?

Kathy Dean. Outside. She's coming. Yes, it was. L.

Huh?

Okay. I'm Kathy.

I'm Kathy Dean. I'm in trustee area Melissa, whatever that number is, three. I'm here to speak on flag bans and book bans. We already know that history has taught us the only people that do that are dictators that are trying to shove things through that the general public doesn't like.

We saw it done with the Holocaust. They started with book bands.

They started with flags and things like that so that only their flag could be flown. Doing this is just incredibly lame. It's incredibly unpopular. It's going to cost us millions. And we don't fucking want it.

Thank you, Kathy. Thank you.

PAGE MANN FOLLOWED BY NANCY O'CONNOR.

As a librarian, I hold myself to professional standards, such as the Supreme Court cases that establish that minors have First Amendment rights in schools, which include the right to receive information. Also, the American Library Association's Bill of Rights and Code of Ethics where there are articles that state that libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view, and they should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval. Also, we do not advance private interests at the expense of library users, colleagues, or our employers. Also, we distinguish between our personal convictions and personal duties and don't allow our personal beliefs to interfere. So please do that too. Two meetings ago, President Rendler shared something that stuck with me. She shared that for her, the pride flag symbolizes sex and consequently has no place in the classroom. And I get that. Unless it's a sex ed class, we don't need sex in the classroom. But by that logic, we should also remove other symbols, such as wedding bands, wedding pictures, family photos, and children. because they all represent sex in some way. However, they also represent much more, such as attraction and love, commitment, identity and belonging. And so if you're going to focus on only one sex symbol, why that one? I don't understand.

Thank you, Paige.

Point of order. Michelle, point of order. Welcome, Nancy. Can I make a suggestion that we call three to five people up and have them line up? Is that a good idea to be respectful of everybody's time?

I'm calling two, but sure.

Let's call more and have them line up.

Well, some people have several cars.

Have the security.

Okay, so we have, after Nancy, we have Michael Townsend and followed by Ulysses Nara.

My name is Nancy O'Connor. I'm a Redlands native, a retired teacher and business owner, the parent of an RHS graduate, and a published writer of children's books. I've always been proud to tell people that I am from Redlands because I've considered it a vibrant community filled with wonderful, open-minded people. It has a reputation as an artistic, cultural, and educational hub. We are not Temecula and we are not Chino. But there are people in the community and on the school board who are looking to turn the clock back. And we need to keep in mind that liberty dies where books are banned.

My name is Michael Townsend. I'm here in my official capacity representing State Senator Eloise Gomez-Reyes. And with me, behind me, is Ulysses Nera, who is in his official capacity representing his boss, Assemblymember Robert Garcia. Senator Reyes and Assemblymember Garcia issued a letter which was sent by email last night and Ulysses is going to distribute it or ask the officer to distribute it to you in case you don't have it in front of you. And I would invite the public to read that letter which is available on her website, SD29.senate.ca.gov. Thank you. Can I go on to the next agenda item?

Yes, and welcome. I didn't say welcome when you first got up. I'm sorry.

No, thank you for having us. In short, the legislators submitted this joint letter to the school board members, and it's listed as, State representatives urge RUSD to abandon discriminatory draft policies. And the policies that I'm speaking to pertaining to AR 1312.2 and board policy 6115. And so I think it's self-explanatory. But in essence, although the stated goal may be unity, may I finish my sentence?

Go ahead and finish your sentence.

This policy risks silencing important symbols of identity and belonging, especially for students from diverse and historically underrepresented communities.

Thank you, Michael.

Okay, after Ulysses, next up is Deborah McFatter. Welcome, Ulysses.

I just wanted to confirm that y'all received the letters last night via email. Okay, and you do have the hard copies there. Hello, my name is Ulysses. I am here on behalf of Assemblymember Garcia alongside Michael Townsend with Senator Eloise Reyes. I'm going to start with BP6000. The Assemblymember and Senator oppose the proposed Revision to Board Policy 6000. The policy is too vague with subjective language banning lewd and libelous that don't really have an explicit meaning in the policy. It opens the door to sweeping censorship without any clear objective or standards. This ambiguity gives far too much power to restrict materials essential for teaching the history, diversity, and human rights. This impact will most likely be felt by the most marginalized in our communities. I also wanted to touch upon opposition to AR 1312.2. These changes were expedited review for materials alleged to be sexually explicit, lacks clear definition that opens the door to subjective, inconsistent, and ideologically driven censorship. As drafted, these policies disproportionately target books that address sexual health, gender identity, LGBTQ experiences, and other culturally relevant historical marginalized topics. Resources that are essential to a comprehensive and inclusive education. And lastly, I will be touching upon our opposition to Bill, I'm sorry, Board Policy 6115. Thank you, Ulysses.

Thank you. I don't have a card.

Wait, that was, I'm talking about the third one.

I don't have a card for that.

Can I still make the comment?

No, she does not have a card.

It's an agendized item.

It got mixed up?

And you have my letter.

We did get it. We do.

So what?

I said yes. Oh, thank you.

It was under my name. It's fine. I got it. So we are opposed to the proposed changes to 6115. The policy's limitations on flag displays pose a direct threat to student expression, cultural inclusion, and safe learning environment. While the stated goal may be unity, this policy risks silencing important symbols of identity...

So we did not have a card for 6,115. Okay. For you. Thank you. It's fine. Thank you.

Yeah.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Okay, next up we have Debra McFatter, followed by Marilyn Loveless, and then Jeff Posse. Hey, Debra, how are you?

Hi. Good evening. Before I start, I want to make sure you got all my numbers down. I had 14A, I had 14F, I have 1312.2, and I have 6115. Do you have all those? I also had the other one that you all pulled. Okay.

So I have 13, 12, F, A, and 615. And F? Yes. OK, thank you.

I want to express my strong – I'm talking about 14A. I want to express my strong support for the Citrus Valley High School Advanced Mixed Choir's proposal to go to Camp Arboledo. As a person who sang in choirs as a child, a young person, and as an adult, I know how important choral music can be. And I know that there are friendships that will be formed and lessons that will be learned that they will carry through their entire lives. So I hope that that will be approved and that they will get to go on that field trip. I know there were other choirs I mentioned too, and I hope they will all get to go too, but I didn't want to take up too much time. Okay, moving on. to 14F. I'm here to support the agreement to use mindfulness in motion. For many years, I was a substitute teacher in Redlands schools. I worked in many grades, but especially lower grades, kindergarten being one of them. And I know how important it is to include children in movement and listening and being quiet and listening and all the things that a program like this could accomplish. As an adult who's getting older, I've done some of this myself. It helps. Okay. Moving on to 1312.2. I am so concerned about this regulation, about pulling things. I know you say that you're not banning, but what you're doing, according to the list that Moms for Liberty and Take Back the Classroom have, there are at least 94 books in a couple of the high schools here that they want to have pulled. So here's the thing. How do kids learn things, especially kids who are on the fringe, who are different, who aren't normal, whatever that is? They are chosen by librarians who are qualified, and those librarians need to be listened to and not ignored on some committee of parents that don't like something. They can take their kid from reading it at home. And lastly, 14-0. This one is about the flags and those sorts of things. And I know we've talked and we've listened for months about, you know, we should only have the American flag, we should only have the California flag. There are children and young people in this district who are lonely and left out, and when they see something like the pride flag, Candy, I'm over here, When they see that, they know that there are other people that they can be at home with and comfortable and safe with. Same thing goes for kids who are from, are kids of color. Black Lives Matter. All these things, any kind of these groups that have had flags to include others, why are you making them so evil when they are including people who were often not included in our country?

I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name. Dr. Marilyn Loveless. Well, welcome, Dr. Loveless. Thank you.

I'm a retired English teacher and a screenwriter, a former children's theater director, and I love it here in Redlands. I love this community and their pushback against some really important things that are happening. I just want to say that. It took me two days to write this, so I'm going to do my best here. I think we can all agree. Yeah. It's just really, this is an upsetting evening. You folks really don't understand what this community is feeling and going through, and I think it's really unfortunate. We're not just banning books. Yeah. Yeah.

Jeff Pogge, followed by Lawrence Hebron. Are there people still outside? Yeah, I was asking the security guy. That's Lawrence.

Oh, there's Jeff. Oh, here he is. Did not see. Are you going to take the microphone down, Tom? Oh, OK. Welcome, Jeff.

I'd like to say the existing guidelines for books...

adequate, legal, and is in accordance with the state recommendations.

Number two, bad in books is a cruel, fascist dictator who will not be free to love you. I'm going to run through some classics that have been told over time. For one, Shakespeare, do you know that one? James Jones, Ulysses.

Thank you Jeff. Welcome Lawrence.

Good evening. My name is Lawrence Hebron, and I live in Area 3 of the Redland School District. I'm here to talk about Agenda Item 14K involving sexually explicit material. This kind of material has often been described as, or restricting it has been described as banning, imposing on intellectual freedom, and cutting off open-mindedness. It has nothing to do with any of those things. None of these books are going to be excluded from our society and our community, and parents can get them whenever they want, and they can discuss them however they want. The real issue here is appropriateness. Every parent knows that you don't feed... T-bone steak, nacho chips, and beer to a one-month-old child. It's unhealthy. It's inappropriate. But what you feed their mind is equally important. And study after study has shown this kind of material is harmful.

Thank you, Lawrence. Lawrence, were you only speaking to one, that one? Okay. Okay, next we have Joseph Coyne, followed by Mark Laird, followed by Peter Hahn.

How do you spell the last name?

It looks like an H-A-N to me. Which last name? Peter Laird?

Joseph.

Joseph.

K-O-E-N-I-G.

Sure. You can be next. You called Joseph?

My name is Joseph Canik. I'm a retired school teacher. I taught special ed for 21 years. So I know when I see groups that are not represented and the fact that you guys want to ban any book is unbelievable. I mean, I'm 73 years old and banning books? We're back to that? Are you kidding me? Here's one of the books. I just want to read you a sentence, okay? It says, if we can't learn to be kind to each other, how will we ever learn to be kind to the most desperate parts of ourselves? You want to ban this book? Why? Tell me why. Thank you.

Mark Laird? Welcome, Mark.

Thank you. Mark Laird, Area 2. Talking about 14K, and so I'd like to remind the Board of California Education Code 220, Section 201B, California's public schools have an affirmative obligation to combat racism, sexism, and other forms of bias, and responsibility to provide equal educational opportunity. I'd like to remind you all that we have an affirmative obligation. That means that it is our job to affirmatively, proactively respond to these concerns about discrimination. And so under this Ed Code, we are setting our district up for a very big liability, which will come out of my dollars as a resident of the city, and out of our children's dollars. Thank you. I'd also like to talk on, let me pull up my next one before I start my timer. Sorry about that, I'd like to talk on 14-0, which I'd like to remind our Redlands School Board of our mission statement, which was actually adopted in 1991. The Redlands Unified School District, as a unifying agent of several unique communities, rich in local history, culture, and tradition, is committed to preparing students to become productive participants in diverse, multicultural, democratic society through quality education, high expectations, and flexible programs and innovative partnerships. All of that tells us why we need to have diverse flags within our classroom. Additionally, when we affirm our students, we support their mental health. And studies have shown that our LGBT students are at a much greater rate of suicidal ideation. Thank you for your time on that. And then I think I had a third one in, but I'm pretty sure it was for the one that was stricken. Am I correct on that? Yes. Thank you so much. Thank you, Mark.

Peter Hall. Welcome, Peter.

A bunch of people are talking about the so-called book ban, and I just want to say that everyone who's complaining about the book ban, a bunch of you had no problem with Amazon pulling a bunch of books from their store. In fact, you forced Amazon to pull a bunch of books. You also had no problem during the COVID years of practically requiring everybody who wanted to talk about the vaccine mandates and social distancing and stuff, you wanted them to have a doctorate in immunology just to discuss those topics. And you had people who were actually medical experts fired from their positions just for disagreeing with the established narrative. So don't tell me that you're fighting for freedom of speech. You're fighting for your monopolization of speech. Thank you, Peter. I also have another one about the flag and ordinances policy. What else can be said about this? Schools should remain neutral about this. If you really need to see the gay pride flag to feel included, then the issue is not with us, it's with you. There are only about 7,000 people who are classified as LGBTQ living in this city. About 420-something of them are trans. You people are in the minority, and yet you demand to dictate public policy for the rest of us. I say that has to stop. I say the school should vote no on this ordinance, and if you want to litigate, then litigate.

Thank you, Peter.

Okay, next up we have... Sorry if you guys would write better. A-U-L-A-R. Last name Shia. Followed by Summer. Samir. Samir. Followed by Corrine. Welcome.

I'm sorry I didn't catch your name. My name is Quinn Shea. Quinn Shea, nice to meet you.

Please let me pull up my notes. I will be starting with item 14, measure O. Hello, my name is Quinn Shea and I'm an incoming 8th grader at Yimcoat Middle School. What is it with the board and banning things that relate to LGBTQ? First you banned trans kids, now you're attempting to ban flags? What's next? Banning humans? Banning flags like banning butterflies? Or banning reading as a whole? With the way this is going, you might as well. And what is up with the board and LGBTQ items? Let us be. Flags just show who we are. Why would you ban that? Flags are showing what we like or how we identify. Do better, RUSD. I would also like to talk on banned books. Can you restart my timer? You started it. Thank you. Hello, my name is Quinn Shea. I am an incoming eighth grader at EM Coat Middle School, and I have a question. What is it with the Redlands Unified School District and banning things just because they have any subtle thing to do with the LGBTQIA plus community? Take one of the banned books, TTYL by Lauren Miracle. The reason it was banned was because of the sentence, I would just like to prove a point, Ella. And he uses Ella because Mrs. Jackson is one of the teachers that they trusted enough to come out to, enough to ask them to use their preferred name. And take Dear Sweet Pea by Julie Murphy. It is being banned, or attempting to be banned, due to the line, my parents are divorced, my dad is gay, and my mom has a new boyfriend. Do better, RUSD. We did nothing to you.

Thank you.

Next up, we have Corinne Payton, followed by Janann Elias, followed by Lindsey Schmidt. Corinne is currently outside. Can you repeat the names? Corinne Payton. They're currently outside.

Welcome, Corinne.

Hi. I think I have two cards this evening, right?

Yes.

Awesome. Which one are we starting with? Sorry. Whichever you want. Okay. So on the topic of the forced outing policy, or did you guys get rid of that one?

Oh, we pulled that one. Sorry. It's not a forced outing. Okay.

Okay. So you have the books and the flag. Perfect. Thank you. On the topic of banning books this evening, you've already heard countless testimonies from people who have told you that banning books doesn't ban the identities that you want to target. It just tells students in schools that they shouldn't feel safe to go there. No matter how much you try to ban the identities that you disagree with and you don't like, they will still persist. The only thing that you're doing is making school an unsafe environment for people who deserve to have the right to learn. You tell students whose identities are valid that they don't deserve to learn if they're actually who they are at school. This is not about keeping neutrality in the classroom. It's about telling students that they need to be less than themselves because you don't agree with their existences. And this causes immense mental damage for those students, so you need to oppose this. At the Redlands High School graduation, you heard who the people actually cheered for for protecting students. Banning flags that you don't agree with, which we already found out was only really the pride flag that you guys were targeting, is not acceptable. The fact of the matter is simple. It's the same with the books. Whether you like it or not, gay people exist. Transgender people exist. You cannot get rid of them. You are only pushing students into the dark instead of understanding how to interact with people who might be different from them. And you are telling students and staff members who you are supposed to be representing that they don't deserve to be fully who they are in the classroom because their identities are dangerous to students. You need to do better. It is this ideology that is dangerous. Thank you.

And I hate going after her. She's so good. Hi, good evening board members. My name is Janani Elias. I'm from trustee area four. I'm here to express deep concern about the proposed flag policy BP six one one five. While I understand the intent is to maintain a respectful school environment, This policy goes too far and limits student and teacher expression in ways that raise significant legal and ethical concerns, particularly in relation to students' constitutional rights and California ed laws. It will result in legal action being taken against our district, costing us a lot of money. By banning all flags except U.S., California, and military flags, unless narrowly approved for educational use, It disproportionately targets student identity and culture. California Ed Code 48907 guarantees students' rights to free expression. I urge you to reject this version and instead adopt a policy that uplifts student rights and not suppress them. Next I'm talking about AR 13, 12.2 library book challenges, challenges, not bands. I understand. However, this policy has written threatened student rights and educational access in many ways. And it may be illegal under California law, particularly in terms of censorship, discrimination, and due process violations. Again, this will lead to lawsuits. Um, the district review committee leaves book decisions in the hands of people who may not understand context or why such material is important to education. This undermines educator and librarian's professional judgment and academic freedom. In addition, it raises legal concerns. California Ed Code requires materials to reflect diversity, and based on educational criteria, Ed Code 48907, students have the right to these ideas, and schools cannot restrain them. Thank you, Jimmy. Thank you.

Lindsay? Before I begin, I limited myself to four cards today. With the board's permission, I would love to convert my card on Regulation 5020 to one on Agenda Item 7, which is also important to me. May I? Sure. Thank you.

And welcome. I only have three cards for you.

She just asked for permission. Oh, okay. So three? Well, it would be four then if I'm allowed to convert it to a different action. Oh, okay. Got it. Thank you. Lindsay Schmitz, Trustee Area 2. My first comment is on Regulation 1312.2, Complaints Concerning Library Materials. The proponents of the change to the book challenge policy have created a straw man. These policies have to cover children from age five in kindergarten all the way up to 17-year-old near adults taking college-level advanced placement literature classes. When they argue about keeping graphic materials out of the hands of children, they want you to picture a child barely out of toddlerhood. But when we argue about the harms of the challenge policy, we are concerned about limiting the education of these young adults. Librarians are not boogeymen trying to put porn in kids' hands, and it's disgusting and insulting to imply so. By invoking the scary-sounding and imaginary boogeyman of giving porn to kids in school libraries, the proponents of this change simply want to weaken protections and open pathways they can use to limit access they personally disagree with. It's a scarecrow designed to frighten you into passing a birdbrain policy. My next comment is on the revision of Board Policy 6000. The proposed changes to this policy reads that the district's education program shall not include pervasive pornography, erotica, graphic descriptions, or depictions of sexual violence, inappropriate vulgarity or profanity, or other obscene material. This wording is extremely concerning to me. Once again, unlike the pedophiles that the board has spent our money defending, the majority of teachers are not monsters trying to put porn or erotica in the hands of children or young adults. However, I need you all to stop and think about the profound issues that arise from the other words here. Targeting material with profanity, for example. This policy must cover kindergarten through 12th grade. Age-appropriate material for kinder and lower elementary already precludes any kind of profanity, but to exclude this at middle and high school level excludes mice and men, Huck Finn, Dante, To Kill a Mockingbird, Shakespeare. My third comment is on Policy 6115, Ceremonies of Presence and Flags. I am not afraid my child is going to see the flag of Norway and decide to become Norwegian. He is not going to see that blue cross on Redfield and start craving pickled herring. He's not going to suddenly start rooting for the Red Sox because he sees a pennant. And he's not going to become gay or trans just from seeing a pride flag. Personally, I'd love him either way, but perhaps you are all just bad parents who wouldn't. If that's the case, let me lay to rest the backwards credible superstition you all seem to have. A pride flag isn't a magical talisman that will turn anyone who looks at it gay. It's not. The rainbow piece of fabric can't hurt you. You know what it does do? Makes other kids less likely to throw around the F slur like they do to my son. Simply because he likes his hair long like a rock star. The rainbow fabric can't hurt you or your children, but that can't. With the board's permission, I will use my final card to comment on agenda item seven, public participation. Up until recently, I have taken pains to speak civilly at these meetings in the belief that by doing so, you would hear me in good faith. It often seems like I was mistaken. Not only have you not heard us in good faith, you have barely deigned to hear us at all. First by removing the option of email comment, and now by limiting our time. You are our elected representatives, and it is your civic duty to hear the people you are elected to represent. Do you have somewhere more important to be? Because my son has surgery at 5 a.m. tomorrow, and I am here. I do not feel heard, and I plan to return the favor when the next election comes around if this continues.

Thank you, Andy. Thank you.

Okay, next up we have Samir, followed by Amber Covarrubias, yes, and followed by Denise Freeman.

Welcome, Samir.

Hello. Hi. My name is Sameer Bhargava from the class of 2025, speaking on the policy alterations to the complaint system in RUSD libraries. This policy is incredibly irresponsible because it allows books to be banned or challenged for quote-unquote perceived vulgarity and sexual content, a term that is left completely undefined for the entirety of the policy and interpreted by board members with little experience with literature. This means that even books meant to educate students on sexual assault prevention and its prevalence in the world can also be banned, and this is not just speculation. Examples of books previously challenged in this district include The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison and Soul by Patricia McCormick for their mentions of sexual assault and how it disproportionately affects minorities. Generalizing every book under the subjective label vulgar dehumanizes students who connect to topics within the books and sends a message to them that their experiences don't matter. Given the issues our district has with students being sexually assaulted and discouraged from reporting in our district, it horrifies me and every student here.

Welcome, Amber.

Hi, good evening. My name's Amber Covarrubias. Here's a brief display of some books that would be banned under your current policy. Currently, students can also access e-books and audio books through San Bernardino County Library System. Will this stop? Will you limit what students can check out with their student ID card and limit further access to books? Or are you going to go after the public libraries next? On May 13th, at the board meeting, almost exactly as Candy was saying in her pedophilic things in our schools was when we got the press release of the Citrus Valley SAI teacher being arrested. On June 5th, we received an update of the DOJ stating that the district had a high volume of formal complaints with 1,140 filed since July 2024. Maybe we should focus on those complaints instead of challenging books. Thank you.

Welcome, Denise. All right. Good evening. My name is Denise Freeman. I'm a resident of Trustee Area 5 and a teacher in the district. I'm here to address Board Policy 6115, Ceremonies, Subserviences, and Flag Displays. As a veteran educator with a master's in education and 29 years of classroom experience, I design lessons with clear learning objectives grounded in academic standards. I then assess how well students have met those objectives. When I review the board's stated priorities, academic achievement for all students, and fostering an environment that attracts and retains high-quality employees, it's clear your recent actions are in direct conflict with both. You are not meeting your own objectives. Research and practice confirm that students learn best when they feel safe, valued, and seen. That means recognizing their identities, cultures, and histories in the classroom. I'm going to skip ahead. Students succeed when they see themselves in what they read and discuss. And policies that limit, like subtly brightening the pad plank, don't encourage academic success. Thank you, Denise.

Next. Next we have... Milo Easley, followed by Christina Lang, followed by Erica Ruiz. I have spaces.

I'm Christina Long. Oh, Christina, okay. You're out of order, but that's okay. Go ahead. Welcome. Christina.

Okay, I should go forward?

Yeah.

Okay.

All right. Hello, I'm Christina Long, District 1. I am here because I strongly oppose Policy 6155. I believe that banning flags in classrooms, in particular the pride flag, is an infringement on personal freedom in Redlands. In a free, equal, democratic society, no teacher, no student, and no one should be worried that their very identity will be deemed political. The moment that a teacher or student is questioning whether their own family is deemed controversial is the moment that all of our freedom is at risk. The mission of this district, as others have noted, is to prepare students to be in a diverse, multicultural, democratic society. The answer here is not censorship. It is learning how to navigate conflict, build bridges with each other, have difficult conversations. We don't need censorship. We need leadership. Thank you.

Thank you, Christina. You're welcome, Milo.

I have two cards. I will only be speaking on one of them. Okay. How many times will you push us into despair just for you to blame it on our unrest? How many times will you look away when you are faced with the truth that my blood is as red as your children's? Does it wound you to call me boy as much as it hurts me to beg for respect? How afraid are you of a flag while you sit in your padded office chair? Can you imagine my fear as I stand here? I hope you are haunted by these questions, and let me be clear... I am sick of this. Sick of us queer youth having to teach you humility like scolding a child who refuses to learn. You are waiting for us to leave the room so you can return to your peace built on disgrace, and all I can do is make you uncomfortable. I am sick of your hatred, your casual cruelty, and endless excuses for attempting to enact anti-queer policies in our school systems. Thank you.

Thank you, Milo.

Before I start, I want to confirm that I have three cards. Yes. Okay. So I'm here representing the Eye Prism Collective. The book panning policy doesn't define what sexually explicit materials actually means. yet you're allowing any random person who lives in the district to challenge books. I thought your whole argument was about parental rights. If this is really about wanting parents to have more advocacy over their child's education, then why are you allowing any weirdo who lives in Redlands to put in a complaint? Is it because you want your awakened Redland Slackies to have a say in censoring the content you discriminate against? Because I'm sure it is. The updated concepts and roles policy is simply a continued attempt to censor LGBTQ content from schools under the vague notion of obscene and age-inappropriate materials. The Supreme Court has consistently ruled that school policies can't target specific viewpoints or identities under the guise of appropriateness. Yet, that is exactly what happens when LGBTQ content is disproportionately flagged under these subjective standards. Stop pretending this is about anything other than censorship. Let's be real. The flag banning policy isn't about neutrality. It's about using the American flag as a weapon against LGBTQ students. We know why this policy exists. It is the visual component of your political agenda to make LGBTQ students disappear. You want pride flags gone because they represent everything you're trying to suppress. But newsflash, LGBTQ students will continue to thrive despite your discrimination against them, and they will do so in spite of you. Thank you. Thank you, Erica.

Next up, we have Eric Napolitano, followed by Sarah Russ, followed by Valerie Sklarsky.

I'll come, Eric.

Hello.

I grew up right here in Redlands, and I've been a student in the Redlands Unified School District my entire life, now at the U of R. Along the way, I have had some truly amazing teachers who taught me not only academics, but what it means to be a good person. One of the most important lessons I have learned here is simple but powerful. Be kind, show respect, and always be inclusive. These aren't just words on a poster or rules in a classroom. They're values I try to live by every day. I have friends here in Redlands that care deeply about them, and I don't want any of them to be treated unfairly or differently in any way. That's why I'm honestly confused about why we're even having a discussion that might go against these core values. If these are the principles this district has taught me, we need to live up to them and not walk away. So when it's time to vote, I truly ask you to remember what we stand for. Kindness, respect, inclusion for everyone.

Thank you.

I actually submitted two cards, one orange, one blue. I got multiple answers outside of what to do, so I prepared a one-minute, 30-second speech.

It took me multiple hours. If I would be allowed to maybe break that up into 45-second sections, I would be grateful.

What was the orange card for?

It was for just the public comment at the beginning of the meeting. I wasn't sure which way to go. I apologize. What is your name? Sarah Russ.

If you do it now, you won't do it at the end of the meeting.

Is it possible to do it just both right now? Sure. Thank you very, very much.

Is it by a topic?

I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name. Sarah Russ. Sarah, welcome.

Thank you. My name is Sarah Russ. I am Area 5. I have two children in RUSD schools. I want to speak about one of our most fundamental rights, freedom of speech, and why it matters in our schools, especially as books and flags are being banned across the country. Our founding fathers made it clear a free society depends on open expression. Thomas Jefferson warned, our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost. When we start banning books or symbols like the pride flag, we risk losing that liberty. These actions don't protect students, they limit them. They remove voices and stories that reflect real lives, real questions, real identities. Benjamin Franklin once said, Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech. That's exactly what censorship does. It silences. It subdues. Schools should be places where students learn to think critically, not where we hide ideas from them. As James Madison put it, knowledge will forever govern ignorance. If we want future generations to lead, they must be free to read, question, and express. Censorship isn't strength, it's fear. Let's choose freedom. Let's trust students with the power of words and the dignity of diverse voices because a democracy that fears books or flags is a democracy forgetting its origins. Thank you. Thank you, Sarah. Thank you.

Next up was Valerie Skidlarski, followed by Jan Falk, followed by Jack Lucas. You know, there are seats available. It seems like it would go faster if people would come in and sit.

We have a lot of people outside still? Oh. We're looking for Valerie. And Jim. And Jack.

Thank you.

Thank you.

How about Julia Stauder?

Welcome, Jack.

Hi, so I wanted to speak on 14K and O. I have one speech, so can I just have 90 seconds to give one address and then that's it? Yes. Okay. So 90 seconds for just one address on two topics? Okay. So my name is Jack Lucas and I'm a resident of Area 1. When I was growing up, my dad had a motto, don't take crap and don't give crap. Queer and trans students, don't go to school to give crap. They want to carry out their coursework, lead clubs, play sports, socialize with their friends and the like in a safe environment and respectful of their peers, their teachers and staff. And at the same time, they should be able to take pride in their place as queer and trans people. They should be able to read the books they want to, They should be able to see a pride flag hanging from their classroom. But the majority of members on this board have decided to give these kids crap for not showing shame in how they see themselves, and we're here to respond. Your intended policies against pride flag displays and against the availability of a broad selection of queer and trans literature in school libraries represent an attack on queer and trans children's intelligence, on their agency, on affirming teachers and staff, on authors, on allies to all of these groups, on statewide legal protections, and on facts. You need to stop treating all children like simpletons and queer and trans children in particular and their identities like they are moral threats. Legitimate threats to children, you could shift your focus to include immigration enforcement, seizing kids from their schools, and you could discuss how to go further, protect your own undocumented students. Perhaps you would want to forge solidarity, even if just through a resolution with kids in Gaza, where over 90% of educational institutions have been ravaged as a result of the genocide Israel has perpetrated. But knowing you three, those are likely not problems to you. And while you will probably never do any introspection to understand the harm you are responsible for, at least understand that this audience is representative of the community.

Thank you, Jack.

All right. Valerie? Hello. I'm Julia Stouter. Julia. Welcome, Julia. Hello.

I guess we'll start. I'm here from San Bernardino, actually. I'm a proud student from SBCUSD, where I had a wonderful, well-rounded education on how to not be racist, how to not be homophobic, how to be nice to people. Do you all not have that in Redlands? This is ridiculous.

Why am I here on a Tuesday night to tell you guys not to be Nazis? There's fascism knocking on my back door and you are bringing it up to my doorstep. I don't want to see this in my county, in my town. Queer bodies are real. We are here. We are queer. You cannot keep censoring us. We are always here. Thank you.

Valerie, I guess she's not here. We find Valerie or Jim. Okay. Next up we have Jennifer J. Followed by Abigail J. Followed by Aaron Fernando.

I should have two cards up there, right? Jennifer? Yes. Okay. All right. First, I want to speak on the book ban. District residents who are not part of the school district should not be able to file complaints on the appropriateness of books in school libraries. That being said, why would a book be removed from the school library before it has had a chance to be reviewed at the public hearing? We should not be removing books from the library based off of one person's complaint. Are these books going to be read by every board member before they get voted on, or are decisions going to be made based off of isolated passages or what other people think of them? But let's be real. The books that are being targeted for removal are books that represent marginalized communities, books that tell stories from viewpoints that others don't agree with, books that tell stories of LGBTQ folks, stories of our native indigenous people, stories of slavery, books that have characters that represent our students. Now I'm going to speak on the flag ban. Tonight I urge you guys not to pass the flag ban. You may say that it's because you don't need any distractions in the classroom, but we all know that's not what it's really about. It's about taking away safe spaces for LGBTQ kids and taking away freedom of expression from teachers to decorate their classrooms as they see fit. It's about silencing those whose voices you disagree with. As a mother of a trans teenager, when I see classrooms that display pride flags or posters, I know that my child is going to feel loved and accepted there. I know that it's a place where she will feel safe. The presence of these flags doesn't take away anything from any other students. Children are not distracted by a poster or a flag or other decorations on the wall of their classroom. Rather, their presence may help a child to feel safe and secure and to know that an adult can be trusted and will not be judgmental about something that is outside of the child's control. If you don't like flags, don't display them, but please don't take away other adults' choices. Welcome, Abigail.

Just to double check, I have three cards. Two. Two. Okay, well, the other one was on the forced outing policy anyways. Okay, so first I would like to speak about Measure O. I am an RUSD graduate from a religious, conservative family, and I'm here to advocate for parental rights and First Amendment rights. This flag ban is a clear violation of both. Is it not a parent's right to want their children to feel safe and accepted in classrooms? Is it not the teacher's First Amendment right to decorate their rooms as they wish? Flag bans do nothing to help any student. It only threatens the mental health of an already vulnerable community. Your policy states that schools will not endorse political, social, or religious beliefs. If you opt to pass this policy, then in order to stay true to this, you must also ban all declarations with symbols of Christianity or churches and any MAGA or political content. Now to speak about Measure K. You claim that you support the fundamental right of parents to be involved in all aspects of their child's education. So why are you favoring some views more than others? For a single complaint, any book could be removed from the library for all students for up to 45 days. What about the thousands of parents who are fine with their students reading these books? Do you not care about those families' opinions? And even worse, you allow any community member to submit these complaints. This includes people who have no children and no connection with the school district. Why can they violate the parental rights of parents to allow their children to read books? The so-called parental rights movement is not about parental rights. It is about indoctrinating students with far-right, anti-LGBTQ bigotry, intending on erasing the identities of students and the parental rights enforcement rights of families. I support actual parental rights and free speech, and if you do too, you would vote no.

Thank you, Abigail. Thank you. Welcome, Aaron. All right.

Hello. I'm Aaron Fernando. I was RHS class of 2015. First, I'd want to talk about the proposed flag policy. Everyone here knows what the flag policy is actually about. They don't care about sports flags. They don't care about thin blue line flags. They care about pride flags. All right. So every single person, sorry, I had to cut this down. We already know how most of you will vote. So Michelle Rendler, I'll ask this. What message do you want to send our students? Because to be clear, this policy's only effect will be to send a message. Teachers who care will still show their students they care. They will still have rainbows on their whiteboards. They will still make their classrooms a safe space. So the message you'll be sending is that the board does not want this district to be a safe place for LGBTQ students. All right, and then my second topic is book banning. Once again, there's not a single person here who's under the illusion this is anything other than targeting LGBTQ books. The problem is that, well, you word it as being against pornography. We know that all the weirdos here who think about gay sex more than actual gay people do think that two little boys holding hands on the playground is pornography. So... What message, once again, do you want to send? I actually agree with some of the people here who said that this is not a book ban because they'll still have access to the books. It's about sending a message. You are sending a message to the little girl who has a crush on her female best friend. You're sending a message to the boy who's out and proud but is being bullied by both adults in this community and his peers. You're sending a message to the kid who doesn't feel comfortable in their own body and wants to know that they're not alone. You're going to be sending the message that they're pornographic and that they don't belong in our district and that's not acceptable.

Next up we have Martin or Martina Daniel Martin Martin Daniel Matt Appleby followed by Megan McLean

Welcome. Martin, is it? Thank you. My name is Martin Daniel. I also had a blue and an orange card, and if I could combine my time, I would respectfully ask because then I could read my whole statement, if that's okay. Okay. You had a precedent for that. Okay. My name is Martin Daniel. I'm a resident of Redlands since 2008, trustee area one, a lifelong educator in the media field and higher education. My daughter went through the Redlands Unified School District from K to 12, the quality and values of which could not be assailed at that time. I want to speak out on item 14K on the subject of censorship. I have first-hand experience of totalitarianism, and my immediate family has suffered under both forms of totalitarianism, fascist and communist. Historically, Totalitarianism always starts like this. Censorship, harassment, fomenting hatred, fear and anger, othering and the designation of enemies, intimidation. and suppression of dissent. What you see this board trying to do here and what the teachers in this district are experiencing is one of the steps in the process of the erosion of democratic values which we are witnessing in real time throughout our American society. I am an American patriot and will not stand by idly to see the true values of this nation subverted by those who have no real understanding or belief in them, and who would subvert core constitutional values like the freedom of speech in their pursuit of power. Democracy is not a spectator sport. Censorship, hatred, intimidation, and the suppression of dissent have no place in the redolent schools or in America as a whole.

Thank you.

Thank you, Martin. I'm sorry I didn't catch your name. Your name? Martina. Martina.

Yeah. Welcome. Nice and easy. Thank you. So hi. I've been a resident of Area 1 for 16 years, and I did my entire K through 12 education in the Redlands School District. I wanted to share how shocked and disappointed I was, quite frankly. by these agenda items, particularly 14K, as someone who owes much of my intellectual development to Redlands Public Schools, and most of all to the diverse perspectives and identities that were always welcomed and foregrounded by my teachers and their curricula. Passing 14K would append that environment, making schools a place of exclusion and fear rather than sites of discovery and expression and inclusion. The sweeping, vague, and extremely subjective language at play in 14K paints a picture of boundless censorship.

Thank you, Martina. Welcome, Matt.

Good morning, Matt. Good morning. Good evening. Just to check, I have three cards. Is that correct, Jeanette? Yes. Thank you so much. So I'm going to start with 14K, the library and book banning policy. Honestly, this is just, again, as many people said, very vague. The language here doesn't allow for or allows for too much nuance. It makes it so that people can decide to ban books just based on their own personal beliefs, which is going to be a big issue. Also, I don't like in section two how it specifically mentions that the board is going to make decisions, given that the board has no qualifications to actually judge books. They haven't gone to school for that, like our librarians. The only thing they've done is have won a popularity contest. Moving on to 14M, which is very similar to the policy about the book banning. Again, we need clarification about erotic. An example of this is one of the books on the chopping block, as it were, is last night at the Telegraph Club. If you haven't read it, it's a tremendous book. It has won all of these honors, the National Book Award winner. the Youth Literature Award winner, and it's also, and this is maybe the one that would get it in trouble with some of you, Stonewall Book Award for its portrayal of an LGBTQ relationship between two young women. With the current wording, that could be deemed as erotic by some of you when that same relationship, if it were straight, would not be seen that. All right, and then the last one. is the flag and observance policy. Again, we all know that this is really about the pride flag. In general, when we look at different things like AB 1955, it mentions that affirming school environments reduce trans youth from attempting suicide, that affirming school environments help LGBTQ students to feel more safe and less depressed, and affirming school environments help students to have better educational outcomes. Also, the Trevor Project goes and mentions many different ways that having an accepting community, including school district, will make them be more likely to not attempt suicide and things like that. Honestly, if a small flag can prevent even a tiny bit of this harm to students, what kind of monster would we have to be to stand in the way?

Thank you, Matt.

My name is Megan, and I'm from Area 5.

Welcome, Megan.

In the workshop for the book proposal, my first topic, Ms. Ayala Contero used the example of a book that helped a girl tell her mother about the sexual abuse. And she used that as an example to describe the need for sensitive topics to be presented in libraries. Did a little work. This is the book. In 1997, the Philadelphia Inquirer told of the case involving a 10-year-old girl from Delaware who had checked out, it's perfectly normal, alongside her mother, and when reading the abuse section, told her mother about her father's sexual abuse. He was sentenced to 60 years. The judge commented, there's two heroes in this case. One was a child, the other was the book. It's for 10 and up. Comments this meeting, it says 12 and up. Olson's response to the terror was the movie Sound of Freedom.

Thank you, Megan.

OK, so onto my second one, which I'll just say that's rated 13 or 16 over for Common Sense Media. Second conversation is, classroom decorations are shown to have positive effects for students, created a feeling of safety and support. My own kids have identified with teachers based on their decorations, including bright flags. That is because my family is allies. I have gay family. I grew up with gay family. I have gay friends. I have trans friends, trans family. This policy, however, would not only affect LGBTQ, but other students of different nationalities, neural divergencies, and identities who will see their friends, family, and personal experience disavowed by the public school district that is there to serve them. And for both of my comments, it's apparent that Olson is more allegiant to Moms for Liberty than she is for the school district. Thank you.

Thank you, Megan.

Okay, next up we have Isabel Quintero, followed by Chris Clotis, followed by Antonio Endicott. Endicott. Endicott. Endicott.

Welcome, Isabel.

Hello.

Make this short people friendly.

Hello. My name is Isabel Quintero.

I'm a lifelong resident of the IE, author of books for young people, and a member of Authors Against Book Bans. My book, Gabby, a Girl in Pieces, is on the list of books you're using to ban in these schools, in Redland schools. This policy essentially creates a loophole for book bans. excuse me, and takes away rights from parents based on the personal ideologies of a few rather than the expertise of educators. I'm delivering postcards to the board that have been collected in the community in support of the freedom to read, minus the ones that were mysteriously disappeared from Olive Avenue Market. Teens often tell me how relatable my book about a senior in high school whose dad struggled with addiction and whose mom has strict ideas about gender is to them. But I want to give you these. And whoever took our cards, I hope the same happens to you. Thank you.

I wish the same to you.

So next was going to be Chris Cloutis. Is that person not here?

I'm here. Okay. I have three cards. I would like to combine my time on those three and discuss one subject only. May I do that?

Well, they'll be split up in 45 seconds.

Okay. I can handle that.

I only see one card, though.

I turned in four cards, one of which has been canceled as subject matter. You should have three others still up there.

Oh, yeah, yeah. Sorry, sorry. Okay. No, there's one other. Unless you have more than one on a card.

Should I step aside until you can find it?

Antonio, I have one on display of flags and one on concerning.

Wait, are you Chris?

I am Chris.

Oh, you're Chris. Sorry. You told me how to pronounce Endicott.

My grandson, Antonio Endicott.

Yes, three.

Okay. Thank you. My name is Chris Claudus. I am a resident of Redlands, a retired public school teacher, and grandfather to four RUSD students, one of whom, Antonio Endicott, will be addressing you soon. Book banning proposal 1312 is truly a wolf in sheep's clothing. You are allowing anyone to have a book removed solely by registering a complaint. First off, you should accept complaints only from those with a vested interest in RUSD. And by that, I mean students, parents, and RUSD professional staff. By accepting complaints from any district resident with no vested interest in RUSD, you are inviting professional book burners flown in from out of state to dictate school policy. Secondly, the registration of a complaint should not result in the immediate removal of a book, as is the case when the complaint alleges...

Excuse me. What is your other card on?

Well, I have three cards. I wanted to combine them for one subject, and I'm going to ignore the other two. That was my request.

No, because you have one card on the books, one card on something else, and one card on something else.

All right. I will discuss my other subjects then.

All right.

Proposal 6115 bans the play of support for ideas you disagree with. The display of a flag that promotes the political equality of any marginalized group is about as First Amendment as you can get. To outlaw the First Amendment activity for the purpose of increasing patriotic fervor is, to say the least, counterproductive because it is a healthy political discourse that makes America truly great. It is the height of hypocrisy to claim that censorship is done to cultivate love of country. Nothing could be further from the truth. The censorship motion is done to marginalize one specific group of people into invisibility. educational service contents ABC and D will permit students to travel to distant locations for the purpose of improving their choral skills. This of course leads to questions of what songs these students will be permitted to sing. Do we have complete freedom to select their own? Can they select songs of protest? Can they sing, where have all the flowers gone? Can they sing, blowing in the wind? These two songs are two of our most enduring anti-war songs, and those who disagree with our nation's recent act of military aggression may very well want to dust them off. Thank you. Thank you, Chris.

Welcome, Antonio.

Hello. Yes, I have two cards, correct? Okay, so I'm Antonio Endicott. I'm a student at RHS. I will be a junior next year, and I'm here to talk about Policy 1312.2. So the policy, as many other people have already stated, is very vague. But I would also like to point out one of the specific words used, obscenity, within the policy. So any content considered obscene, there's already legal legislation in place for it, which was done due to Miller v. California back by the Supreme Court a long time ago, right? So let me read this here. Obscenity would have to satisfy three things, according to the Miller test. It must be of permit interest. patently offensive in depictions of sexual contact. Policy 16. No, 6,115. So the prohibition of flying flags of any kind is just wrong. It should not be done. It is a infringement on freedom of speech. And it is designed to stop people of queer identity from being able to express themselves. But this is also clearly being used to promote a pro-American fervor and stop political dissent within schools. There are a lot of problems with our country, and we should be allowed to fly any flag we see fit in order to protest against what is going on right now. Across the country, we see a lot of anti-gay, a lot of anti-black, anti-minority in whole sentiment. It's not okay, and we need to stop it. This policy can't achieve that.

Thank you, Antonio. Thank you.

Okay, next up we have Greg Britton, followed by Brianna Bramer, followed by Rike Bramer.

Welcome, Greg.

Evening. It's important to understand what we're talking about. I'll use blanks. Lucky from the Residence School Board District. Lucky from the Residence School Board District. He lay down on top of me and started humping. He worked our way on me, reaching down with his blank. He began to knead his fist against the opening of my blank, inserted his fingers three or four at a time. Something tore and I began to bleed there. That is the kind of stuff that we're talking about. It is a betrayal of the trust of every parent, every common sense with common decency parent in the district when you expose the children to that kind of material. That is what we're talking about.

Excuse me.

And these are the people that want them to read what they complained about here. Okay. Roles and concepts. Many people have come up before this board and said, well, you guys aren't qualified to make certain decisions and set certain policies. But we the people elect you, not librarians. not the superintendent, not the assistant superintendent, and so on and so on. We elect you, the board members, to govern the district on our behalf. So you may rely on expert advice. You may rely on opinions. I don't appreciate being interrupted, but I'm not going to stop.

Okay, well, I'm going to stop you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I don't know who that was. But whoever that is, if I hear it again, you are being escorted out.

You may seek advice and professional opinion, but ultimately the buck stops with you whom we elected. Not having a special interest flag is not discrimination. It's not going to make people commit suicide. This is ridiculous liberal logic and attempt to guilt you into doing what they want. Any more so than not having a BLM flag is discrimination against black people or not having a La Raza flag is discrimination against Latino people and so on. We want you to teach math, history, and so on and so on. And to facilitate that, we want politically neutral and culturally neutral classrooms and focus on what we're paying you to do.

Thank you, Greg. Thank you, Greg. Do you have another one?

I do. On graduation requirements. I looked at the graduation requirements, and they are all ticket punching. Well, we need so many of this class, we need so many of that class, and so on. There's no requirement on what the students actually learn and know at the end of the process. The degradation of the quality of American education has been written about at length. We've gone over some of the test results here in my previous comments. Only 3% of high school graduates in America can pass the citizenship test. So instead of just ticket punching, it would be good to have some actual requirements. Can they write an essay? Do they know the basics of American history? Can they do arithmetic and algebra? Not just they've gone to some classes.

Thank you. Thank you, Greg. Welcome, Brianna.

Thank you. My name is Brianna Bramer. I'm an attorney and mother of two here in Redlands. I live in Trustee District 2. And I'm proud to follow that bigotry because I want to let you know how incredibly offensive the book ban is. And it is an abomination that you would try to... put the wool over our eyes as though we don't see what exactly this is about. You've heard countless comments about how this is targeting LGBTQ plus kids and that is true but it's also procedurally defective because it allows anyone to lodge a complaint against a book based off of their perception of what it is to be pornographic or their perception of some erotica and then that book is within three days taken off the shelf before a merits hearing and then within 45 days you people get to then hear Decide whether or not that book is valid.

Vote now.

Thank you, Brianna. I'm sorry, was it Rick? Is it Rick?

Read.

Nice. Welcome.

Reed Bramer, Trustee Area 2. I'm an attorney and father. I'm opposed to AR 1312.2. This measure is an outrageous waste of time. We just found out yet another RUSD faculty member allegedly sexually abused children. Yet despite that, and despite the fact that RUSD is currently under a consent decree, we're here debating this nonsense. This is censorious resolution that will just empower hate groups and solve no problems. I shouldn't be surprised that that's what we're doing with our time. Scapegoating anti-intellectualism and bare stupidity are all key pillars of right-wing politics these days, and that last one is on full display tonight. Last guy, don't know what to say. Right-wingers support book bans because they recognize they can't win in a free market of ideas. Book bans are affirmative action for conservatives, an attempt to make us all as stupid as they are so maybe they can win an argument for once. It's pathetic behavior by pitiable people, afraid of ideas they don't understand, which is most ideas. Maga Delinda Est, Free Palestine.

Thank you. Thank you.

Next we have Emma Wolfe, followed by Elise Clouser, followed by Emma Wolfe.

Welcome, Emma.

Yeah. So can I confirm how many cards I have and for which ones? I don't know why my time started.

OK. I called Dr. Elise Clouser first.

You called Emma first.

You called me first. Okay. So you have, let's see, 140. You have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, looks like 12. If you could tell us which one you're speaking on, it would help. I'm going to start with A. Okay. Okay.

And so honestly, I believe that you understood that this was a protest that a number of us filled out this many cards. However, I deeply believe in this in A, which is to support arts education in our schools, something that we desperately need because it is one of the more inclusive things that we do. It's one of the few things that students have to hold onto when they don't feel totally accepted in our schools. I am deeply disappointed that I'm here instead of celebrating children's arts education at the Redlands Bowl tonight. Instead, I'm sitting here and not watching those scholarships be awarded. That is sad, but luckily we are going to still support our singers and send them to choir. The next one is B, which is also about choir, which is exciting for me, once again, because I do love the fact that we have money to do that, and we're going to send them in the off-season to a camp to be able to sing together and to spend time together and to become inclusive. I would hate to see that money go away. And when we open ourselves up to extra lawsuits, the first thing that tends to get cut is money for the arts. We want to keep that here, so we should not be looking at challenging laws here. This is not a legislative body. This is a school board. If you want to change laws, you go to Sacramento to do so. So those of you who would like to change the law should run for a different office. Okay, I believe I'm up to C. So, once again, this is sending chamber singers up to a camp so that they can spend time together and learn from each other and learn about their differences as well as how to sing together as a single group. One wonderful statement that I once heard was that when you stand together long enough and you talk, eventually you will sing together. And I think that diversity of voices is being demonstrated here, and I'm so glad that we're going to support that for each and every one of our students by supporting our arts education and our singers. Now we're on to D, which is encouraging our students to do vocal and musical skills. I do have to question whether, as we learn our musical and dance things, whether we're going to be able to use flags as we do that. Because... Interestingly enough, when we learn movement, we often use flags as part of that dancing. If I have rainbow flags, is that now a problem? I hope that it isn't for these students that we're sending to learn how to move and to dance to music as they sing vocally together. So I am now to E, which is the agreement with Crafton Hills College for dual enrollment. Dual enrollment is one of the most wonderful things that we offer. It is incredibly important, particularly for our low-income students, to be able to gain college credits and make a college degree less expensive. However, if we limit the critical thinking and reading material that is available to them, they will not be ready for those courses. And as somebody who teaches at the college level as well as at the secondary level, I have encountered those students who have not had access to enough books with critical thinking to be ready for the college courses that they enroll in. And I would hate to have an agreement that allows those students to go and fail Okay. So now we are into mindfulness and motion, which I definitely support. I believe that a lot of our students are experiencing a very difficult, or at least an inability, to regulate their emotions. It's one of the things that we as teachers try and help them with. And motion versus... this is really, really important in terms of teaching them how to self-regulate and how to get their nervous system to calm, which helps with disciplinary issues in the classroom, as well as making them feel like they belong. Because when we stand together and we move and we dance, this sounds like a wonderful program that I hope that all of you are in support of. Leave IM to G. Okay, so this is to approve an agreement to have tutoring for students. And this is another thing I deeply support. A lot of our students really need the support and the help. And this is one of those things where we can give some of our most disadvantaged and least engaged students the opportunity to engage with their education. It sounds like this is a professional group that we are going to be pushing some money to in order to come into the classroom, and I support that for all of our students, because all of the staff and people in the schools should be professionals, and I think that they need to be respected as such. Okay. So I am going to skip... to the flag policy, because I'm getting tired. I think we're all getting tired. Okay, so, oh, I have to ask you guys where you think the flags in my classroom come from, because they're not from this person. My students bring me my flags. They bring me gifts of things that represent them that I get and have the privilege to put on my wall. And when students walk in the next year, they see that there have been students in my classroom from all different backgrounds and all different beliefs and that they coexisted together and they made it through. And for you to consider taking that away is heartbreaking. I know some of you have said that you think the pride flag is sexual. That is a concerning fetishism of being queer. It is about love, it is not about sex. Okay, I'm going to do one more. And this is about the removal of books. So I was trying to figure out why this made me sick to my stomach. And then I had a core memory. And I was the child that scares all of you when I was young. I read books that were absolutely inappropriate for me because I was a voracious reader. And I remember very clearly as a maybe 9 or 10-year-old reading a book that had a clear description of grooming and eventually a sexual assault. And then the child telling their grandmother who sent the uncles to take care of it. And I realized that one of the adults in my life was behaving that way towards me. And that book protected me because I told an adult who stopped it from ever happening. Thank you.

Welcome, ladies.

Hello, my name is Dr. Clouser. I'm speaking to the flags and cultural ceremonies policy. The way that it is written is vague and would strip our schools of the symbols and celebrations that tell our kids you matter, you belong. A vote yes on this policy says that you believe our children should hide who they are, that their cultures, identities, and families don't matter. When we silence these symbols of inclusion and diversity, we are not protecting students, we are isolating them. Not only that, these policies would cost us thousands to millions of dollars, which we clearly heard from the budget report earlier we do not have. I urge you all to vote no on this policy. Thank you, ladies.

Next up, we have Erin Guest, followed by Stephen Becker, and then followed by Addison Lohman.

Good evening. My name's Aaron Guest. I'll be speaking on two items, the books and flags policies. I'm a resident of trustee area five. Every book is a bridge, a bridge connecting us to new ideas, deeper empathy, and endless discovery. Protecting freedom to read isn't just about access to stories. It's about empowering the next generation to think critically, dream boldly, and to build a more just and compassionate world. Banning books doesn't protect students. It limits them. It silences diverse voices, erases lived experiences, and shuts the door on growth. In the face of fear and division, let's stand for books. Let's stand for knowledge, curiosity, and the truth. Thank you. I'll now be speaking on the flag policy. Imagine a school where every student feels seen. deeply valued, and celebrated for exactly who they are. That's the vision of the pride flag and other flags of inclusivity. They help bring us together and they help make a more vibrant and better life. They're a beacon of love, hope, and belonging. It's a reminder that diversity is not just accepted but embraced. When we allow educators to choose to display the pride flag, we do more than acknowledge differences. We foster a culture of empathy. We grow understanding, deepen connections, and let every student know that they're safe, supported, and worthy of a bright future. Thank you.

Thank you, Aaron. You're welcome, Stephen.

My name is Stephen Becker. I live in District 1. I direct my comments to all of you, but primarily to Mrs. Rendler, because apparently she will be the deciding vote on issues of grave importance. Make no mistake about it. There is an attack on our most basic American freedoms. Mrs. Wilson and Mrs. Olson have launched an un-American assault on freedom of thought and critical thinking. Incorporated into their battle plan is ostracizing the most vulnerable children among our citizens and the students in our schools. These two religious zealots and would-be book vendors, as well as their cohorts nationally, have a neo-fascist game plan. First, they'll come for the easiest victims, gays and trans children. Next, they'll come for the Jews. Next, the Catholics. And next, the Christians that don't believe in their particular ideology. We will not bow down to ideological tyrants.

Thank you, Steven. Welcome, Addison.

I have two cards, right? Hello, my name is Addison Lowman. I will be first speaking on the 140 flag band. Students don't need you to take away their reminders that they matter. They need you to do their job to protect them and their rights. Sorry. I could be anywhere else doing fun things during the summer break, but I cannot be silent while the board makes decisions that hurt students and staff. I urge you to vote no to protect not only our minors, but parts of students. In the poetic words of Taylor Swift, you need to calm down. I have two questions for you to think about. Why can we represent sports teams but not the students in our community? Do you... Do you know with this one rule you are making students feel the need to hide parts of them? I will now speak on the 14K, the book banning. I know for a fact that my librarian knows every one of the books in the library and she makes sure that the highest level book in the library is 6th grade because higher grade books can have some mature... She is constantly making sure that all the books in the library are appropriate for her students. I know that there's already a rule that allows parents to make sure their child doesn't check out a book. I feel that this would take time away from bigger issues. I trust my library, and why don't you? Taylor Swift also has some meaningful words right now. Like, can you just not take away our books? You need to calm down. Thank you for letting me speak tonight. I hope you listen. Thank you, Addison.

Next, we have Rebecca Lohman, followed by Susan Leonard, followed by Lori Savage.

Welcome, Rebecca. Thank you. Hi, my name is Rebecca Lohman. I'm a resident of Loma Linda. I'm the daughter of two retired public teachers, and that was my daughter. I want to... Thank you. I want to speak on policy 14-0 first. As a community member and a parent, I'm urging this board to vote no. These are policies that make our classrooms less welcoming, less diverse, and less accepting. My daughter has attended Mission Elementary for the past five years. President Rindler, I see you at almost every single school function. You see the diversity in that campus, how it is fostered, and how those students react so positively. Please vote no. I second. want to talk about book banning. I'm asking each of you or book challenging if that makes you feel more comfortable. I'm asking each member to vote no. We already have a policy in place and so This is not an issue. We're making something an issue that is not an issue. I have a huge problem with the number of individuals coming to speak to this board who apparently have more sway than the parents and students. I have to ask, are you listening to us? The overwhelming majority of people here tonight and every single board meeting since January have not supported these policies. Are you listening to the people you represent? because it doesn't feel like you are. Please vote no.

Thank you, Rebecca. Welcome, Susan.

Hi. Yeah, I'm Susan Leonard. I live in Redlands and attended Redlands High School and graduated there in the 1970s. And I don't remember a time where the school district suggested that a policy to shame LGBTQ students. But this policy banning flag shames students. It marginalizes LGBTQ students. The rainbow flag will not be flown. And that is the objective actually of the school board for the flag policy. So the rainbow flag will not be flown. In addition, NATO flags will not be flown, and NATO, these are from different countries, so they actually dismiss the contributions of NATO countries that helped in war and conflict with the United States.

I'm sorry, your time is up.

No, the denigrates, and this policy denigrates LBGQ students by not flying symbolic. Thank you.

Thank you, Susan.

Lori Savage. Oh, thank you. Meg Orgenson, followed by Tim Omsby, followed by Valerie Tabor.

Welcome back, Meg.

Thank you. I have two cards. First, I intend to speak on 14K. As stated, I'm a resident of Redlands and have children in the district. I would ask the board to think about the comments that the board has heard on these issues in terms of quality and quantity. It is clear that an overwhelming majority of people that reside in the school that have come to speak, parents and students are not in support of this policy. Policy and the board is on the verge of creating budget deficits for our school district, balanced with intolerance and hate. And it is equating the policy serves not to benefit students, teachers, or our USD employees, but to harm them. I urge you to vote no. I am next going to speak on 14.0, the policy related to observances of flags and other celebrations. This policy is clearly motivated by othering, hate, and intolerance. That's the opposite of what schools should be. There was not a survey sent, which I believe was purposeful. And it is clear that the proposed policy is not supported by our USD students and parents. The students and parents we have heard speak to the board have been overwhelmingly opposed. Those in favor of the policy don't appear to reside in our district or have children in our district. This amounts to institutional discrimination, institutional bullying. Aren't we supposed to be anti-bullying? Aren't we supposed to be teaching kids to be tolerant? I urge the board to vote no. Thank you very much.

Tim?

Welcome, Tim.

Hi, my name is Tim Ormsby. I live in Trustee Area 2. And I'm holding up a sign that says, I'm here fighting for the freedom of speech. And now I'm holding up a book, which I really like and recommend to all of you, called Gender Queer by Maya Kobabe.

Thank you.

Thank you, Tim. Thank you.

After Valerie, we have Brian, if you could be kind of waiting. Welcome, Valerie.

I believe I have three cards after the other two were pulled. So the first one I'm going to be talking about is AR1312.2, the complaints of library materials. There's no checks and balances in this policy. No language that requires fact checking of book complaints. Anyone could claim perceived sexually explicit materials and have the book immediately go to the school board for public hearing regardless of the actual content. No input from librarians, no subject matter experts, just immediate authoritarian oversight by the board. I don't know why you all think that you are more qualified than our librarians or our educators to decide what books are appropriate for our students' education. Your uninformed opinions are just that, opinions, not facts, and not all opinions are equal. My next comment is on the concept and roles. This is, once again, a further authoritarian oversight. More weird and unnecessary language about sexually explicit content and age appropriateness, which is arbitrary and subjective. Again, I'm not sure why you think you're more qualified to define age appropriateness more so than educators. You are so arrogant. Y'all aren't even subject matter experts in your own fields. A social worker that doesn't support gender-affirming care or cultural humility or diversity despite her profession's own code of ethics. And every mental health organization. A nurse who doesn't believe in vaccines or racism as a public health crisis. Be so for real. And then Michelle, I don't even know what your expertise is, perhaps the PTA, but you don't listen to them on that either. So I don't know why you think you're qualified. Thank you, Valerie. Thank you. My last topic is on 6-1-1-5 ceremonies and observances. Effectively, this bans the pride flag in classrooms and school campuses outside of student club activities and advertising. And you know what? Fine. Take away the pride flag. We fought this hard because you are making our school climates more hostile, and that cannot go unchallenged. But you know what? We will just replace it with rainbows or safety pins or lanyards or a thousand other things. You can't legislate away support for our LGBTQ students, staff, and community. Like pulling up dandelions, more symbols will sprout in their place. I anticipate everyone is welcome here, you're safe with me, and y'all means all posters in rainbow fonts becoming all the rage in Redlands classrooms. I look forward to you running around like fools trying to eliminate these symbols while denying being homophobic and transphobic. You're all jokes. Enjoy the circus. Thank you, Valerie.

Thank you.

Before I begin my time, I would like to confirm that I have 11 cards.

Well, I'm counting nine.

I should have 11.

Maybe the two that we pulled got... Nope.

I had 13 originally.

Well, go ahead.

Okay, then I would also, before starting my time, I would also like to ask the board to convert my two pooled agenda cards on items 14L and 14M to agenda item 7 and agenda item 15O, respectively, as required by the Blakely Clean Act. Okay, as long. Is the board okay with that? Okay. Great, first, agenda item 12J, approve the extension of bid number 19 to 23 per paper and miscellaneous supplies to the lowest responsible bidder, P&R Paper Supply Company, effective July 1st, 2023 for a one-year term. This bid may be extended annually for up to five years. Okay. Hello, everyone. My name is Brian Koontz. I'm a resident of Area 1. I'm currently an incoming junior at Redlands High School. I'm one of the top students of my year having unweighted 4.0 GPA while taking all honors and AP classes. And I ended last semester with every class's grade above 100%. I'm a member of speech and debate team in RHS Jazz Band, Twin Ensemble, and Marching Band, and I have excelled in all of those. For those of you wondering, bid number 19-23 would support the procurement of paper and miscellaneous supplies. Interestingly enough, the pricing listed later on in the agenda has no mention of paper, unless you count napkins, paper bag, or foil as paper. Now, I might be wrong, but I am fairly confident that this is not the correct pricing index, especially when considering the company listed is Imperial Date, not P&R Paper Supply Company. A quick Google search showed me that Imperial Date Supply works to have food packaging and not paper. I would like to request the board to have accurate agendas in the future. Moving on to agenda item seven, public participation. I would like to talk about the regression of the public participation in this district. Last year, we had three minutes. Then it was reduced to 90 seconds. Now it's 45. How much, on a scale of one to 10, do you guys actually care about what the public has to say? Because I'm leaning pretty close to the two to three range. If you've had the amount of time for public participation got into a quarter, there is something wrong. And don't talk to me about, oh, there's too many people speaking. Well, maybe if you pass policies that people approved of, there wouldn't be everyone in the entire city of Redlands coming to oppose you. I don't know. Do your jobs and you won't have this much clap back. Just a thought. Moving on to agenda item 12N, amend award bid 4-25 for the Redlands East Valley High School Pool Replacement Project to the lowest responsible bidder. Allegant Construction Incorporated raising the total contract amount from $4.25 million to $4.35 million to reflect the inclusion of the $100,000 project allowance to be funded by local construction funds. For those wondering, the bill 4-25 is for the construction of a new pool whose accessible path to Redlands East Valley High School. The bid was publicly opened on February 6, 2025, at 10 a.m. REV was first opened in 1997, making the school 28 years old. Now, given that there's no information given within the agenda, but judging from the price given, Redlands East Valley is getting their pool completely replaced, as resurfacing a pool costs in the range of tens of thousands of dollars, while replacing an entire pool costs millions. My question is why. Why are we devoting funds to pools that already have ample time and not other programs? Moving on to agenda item 12Q, extend award bid 2-25 for special education transportation services to the lowest responsible slash responsive bidders. For those wondering, bid 2-25 provides special education transportation services for students to an as-needed basis. Each awarded vendor offers limited number of vans and or buses in specific sizes and configurations. Once again, I am requesting more information about exactly how much money is spent and where the money is going. I'd also like to know the exact contracts these companies follow as that would seem to be of our concern. It is quite important, I would think at least, to provide the public with ample security and ample accountability instead of just providing the plan without a single contract available for the public. Moving on to agenda item 12T. Approved payment transmittal numbers 25002760 through 25002950 for June 24th, 2025 in the amount of $7.656834.91 million. If you look at the fine print, there's a lot of interesting charges included in here. 344,000 for insurance, considering the nationwide average for school insurance, is between 100,000 and 150,000. That's two to three times the national average. This school board has spent over $200,000 more than any other school board over legal charges, mostly because we are the third worst school district in the nation for sexual assault cases. If you want to talk about problems in our school district, talk about the straight groomers. Okay, one sec, let me go past the 13s that I already spoke on. Okay, great. Agenda item 14K, approve revision of administrative regulations complaints concerning library or media center materials. I read the entirety of this policy, it took forever, and would like to talk about how unnecessary and harmful the policy is. First off, I would like to talk about how there is no definition anywhere in this policy over what qualifies as sexual acts, sexual violence, or sexually explicit materials. This policy is intentionally vague in order to have a broad range of books to be banned simply because people disagree with what's inside of them. Here are some highly banned books, just so everyone is aware. 1984 by George Orwell, which discusses government censorship and control of the narrative. Fahrenheit 451, which talks about a literal fire force dedicated to burning books. Born a Crime, which discusses struggles faced by a mixed brown boy growing up under apartheid rule in South Africa. All of these have been the target of sexual content, yet they don't concern it. Moving on. Agenda item 14N, approve revision of board policy 6,000 concepts and roles. I am opposed to this agenda item because it is a blatant attempt to restrict what is taught in schools. As much as I support the restriction of pornography, vulgarity, and erotica, there is no definition anywhere in here to what that means. Furthermore, it restricts obscene material that is libelous. This is also what I have a problem with. Nowhere in here is it described what is counted as libel or lies against another portion or organization. If something people disagree with in a certain part of history, do they now count as obscene libel? Yes, obscene violence is intolerable, but it's also part of our history, and it must be taught. How can we ever recover from the harms done by slavery without acknowledging the rape, systemic repression, systemic violence, and sexualization of African Americans that has run rampant throughout our country's history? How can we ever stop from repeating a second Holocaust without mentioning that? Moving on to agenda item 14.0, approval of new board policy 6115, ceremonies, observances, and flag displays. I talked about this policy a few weeks ago, and it seems like the board has not listened. So here we are again, me repeating exactly what I said. So for those of you wondering, the board is currently trying to target Pride Flags, Pride Month, and Black History Month under this. Black History Month and Pride Month are still fully necessary for our schools, considering the insane use of derogatory slurs and insults against African-American students in our school district, as well as queer and trans youth also in our school district. These months help educate these people on it and help reduce the number of slurs and reduce suicides. Also on the flags, the same thing is true. Having a pride flag in a classroom does not make your children gay. It helps reduce suicide. Finally, I have agenda item 15-O, classified, ratified, approved, revised salary placements assignments for classified contract personnel. I would like to express my support for this item first off. I would, however, also like to talk about the future of RUSD salaries in the phase of culture war policies. We're going to have a $5 million deficit. So where are we going to cut the funds? Not to mention the fact that RUSD could see a 20% fall of its staff quit and move to another district as both Chino and Temecula have seen similar levels of staff exiting. So we're going to have both a reduction in the number of teachers and in the reduction of money. So what are we going to do? Cut teacher salaries and have fewer teachers as well? We have problems with the number of students graduating who, as a person on the other side of this conversation talked about, cannot answer citizenship tests. How about instead of taking away teachers, we actually keep the teachers so we can better educate students? Thank you.

Next up we have Kimberly Hellyer followed by Marianne Schaper followed by Janessa Greenleaf.

Can I verify the cards? Thank you. And then would it be possible to also do the orange card at the same time?

On one card, I have books and cultural.

Yeah. Unfortunately, they had one card available at the time, and then they came back so that I could fix that. So thank you. And then would it be possible to do the orange card as well?

Sure.

Oh, okay.

Thank you.

All right.

All right. So on flag banning proposed policy 6115, claims to be patriotic but promotes division through exclusion and creates an unwelcoming environment. The prohibition of ceremonies, observations, and observing flags displays target symbols and target symbols of identity often used to celebrate our most marginalized students. Please do not do this. This is a censorship that infringes on both freedom of speech and expression. You need to acknowledge that the American flag, while deeply meaningful in many ways, is not a neutral symbol for all. and at one time it has historically been in tandem with lynching and burning crosses. True patriotism is not about forcing one flag at the expense of others. It's about standing for the values the flag claims to represent, liberty, justice, and equality for all. The school board must vote against the policy in its current form for book banning. And sneaking its policy is also in policy 6000 concept and roles is heinous. You are creating a system with an inequitable process. This is not about protecting children from obscenity. The current resolution has vague and undefined language terms that allows for immediate removal, which is banning books, especially for individuals who may not have access. You are allowing one parent's objection to effectively deny access to all students, stripping families of their informed choices. Parental rights should empower families to make informed decisions, not limit access for everyone else's. We must trust and include our credential librarians. Critical amendments need to be addressed if pushed. require professional educators and librarians review at every stage, include clear definitions. Your time's up on that one. Okay. And guarantee equal access and opt-in options. Thank you, Superintendent and the Board, for your statement earlier, again, anti-racism resolutions. However, if this does come back again, You do not get to say you care about students harmed by racism while you sit silently as one of your fellow board members claims systemic racism doesn't exist, that racism isn't a public health crisis, that white supremacy is imaginary or in little pockets, and racism is just in little pockets. And then you allow Herpin to write a resolution on anti-racism. This isn't just hypocrisy, this is harm. And by the way, that is precisely how systemic racism works. When those in power deny the truth, then get to define the solution. So let's be clear, if you try to bring this resolution back, it should be rejected. Thank you, Kimberly.

Welcome, Marianne. Point of inquiry. I did put in two cards and one was taken from the opting out. May I join or may I take that and add it to two? Time for two.

What else did you want to speak to?

To the book banning.

That's what I have here is book banning.

Okay. The other card was for the opting out or opting on... The parent notification? Yes, the parent notification. Would you like to speak to something else? No, those are the... Okay. I only... I will speak to the book banning.

Okay.

But I'd like to have the additional time.

Is that... No. No, if you want to add something else, you can... Yeah. But if you have something else you want to add...

So you're giving me 55 seconds? Is that what you're giving me? 45 seconds. 45 seconds. I am Mary Ann Shepard. I'm a child adolescent psychiatrist practicing in Redlands since 2015. I am a prior public school teacher. I am speaking out against the banning of books, the centering. I see children, adolescents every day dealing with depression, bullying, poor self-esteem, identity issues. Yes, I see the LGTBQ, and I see your children, every single one, and your families, and I work hard to build trust, confidence, and communication with them. Healing only happens in that environment. Our schools are well situated to work with learning and teaching not to censure, not to add to the burden already of our children here in Redlands. Please vote against this. No.

Is Janessa outside? Janessa Greenleaf?

Is there anybody outside still? Because we have a few seats in here.

Next up we have Aya F followed by Rebecca Acosta followed by Brianna Chapman.

So I should have two agenda item cards. Thank you. Yes. Okay, okay, I see. So hi, I'm Aya. I am a student at Redlands High School. Welcome, Aya. And the flag bands that are to be voted on today are... justified in that the representation of certain people, most evidently queer people, which none of you defenders try to mask, detract from the educational experience. It is a careless assumption that holds no scientific basis and basks the US flag in immunity from its historic atrocities. That is, above all, an exercise of cruelty masked in the shell of patriotism. It should be no surprise, then, that the omission of actual free expression and free love, LGBTQ pride, from the school setting is rooted not in actually believing the ideals of life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, but instead serves as the basis for the indoctrination into loyalty for a totalizing white supremacist project, the United States, as it stands today. This is a thinly veiled attempt to do just that. And I also have 1312.2. Okay. So I think that books are an oasis of knowledge, and without them, information and stories that no one person would be able to gather in just one lifetime would not exist, including perspectives of people from vastly different backgrounds. These texts are not only examined, they are felt. And what this book ban does is simple yet straightforward. It paves the way for indoctrination, reinforcing a status quo antagonistic to the person of color and the queer person, viewing them as the... the other. After all, in the mind of a conservative, no knowledge should exist that is in contradiction to their worldview. This cannot be viewed anything as other than bigotry, because the underlying assumption is that these people are the other, the alien, dangerous, and corrosive to the moral fabric of society. This is a prospect that is fundamentally antithetical to an actual safe learning space.

Thank you. Welcome, Rebecca.

I just wanted to confirm I have two cards. Yes. Okay. My first one is on 5010.

That one was pulled.

Are the library and media?

1312.2.

Oh, sorry.

Wrong number.

Okay. My name is Rebecca and I am from trustee area one. I have two children in the district and I'm here to talk about library and media. I am new to coming to speak. Um, I've been, but I've been watching, uh, meetings online for some time. I must admit for some times that I thought Rindler was possibly a party that was moderate and could be swayed by logical arguments. But unfortunately I find her as I watched more and more to be in cahoots with Alston and Wilson. The only other alternative is that she lacks critical thinking skills and is actually falling for the oldest propaganda play in the book, that we have pornography in our libraries. A simple issue of hyperbole for any content disliked by our judge, trial, and executioner Olson. As simple as an LGBTQ character. My other one was on ceremonies, observances, and flags. I'm here again today to talk about ceremonies, observances, and flag displays. According to our policy as it stands, a school sponsored event must not endorse certain social or political beliefs, which remains too vague and gives too much power to this board. When we live in a time where diversity, equity, and inclusion are considered political, and books about people of color, people with disabilities, and people who are LGBTQ are being pulled from federal libraries. Warships named after Harvey Milk are being renamed in the Navy. Tuskegee Airmen's accomplishments are being wiped, all at the hands of DEI initiatives. We have politicized history. How are we to celebrate Black History Month? How are we to have multicultural events, disability inclusion events, History Day, when it is now a social issue to discuss? Thank you. Thank you, Rebecca. Thank you.

Next up we have Brianna Chapman, followed by Joette Orman, followed by Jessa Koch. Is Brianna Chapman here? Do one of you want to go ahead? No Brianna. Joette?

Welcome, Joette.

Hi, thank you. My name is Joette. I am from District 5. I have attended many times. This is my second time speaking. I'm currently finishing a one-year practicum at Loma Linda University Behavioral Health. The last time I was here, I heard a local ER physician say at this podium that he has never seen someone present in the ER with symptoms of racism. I was shocked to hear such an ignorant statement coming from someone in such an esteemed profession. I urge the board to refrain from restricting representation, particularly in books and recognized holidays. This is more than a social issue. It is a public health issue, a mental health issue, a very real medical issue with snowball effects. I would be reluctant to seek advice. Thank you. Welcome, Jessa. Hi. I'm Jessa Koch from Trustee Area 2. And just to confirm, I should have three cards total, of which I'll talk on two. They were turned in at different times.

OK.

All right. Well, I'll go ahead and get started. So the first I'm going to talk about is the library media. As a parent, community member, and educator myself, I want my children and others to grow up reading books that don't just entertain them, but challenge them, stretch them, help they understand the world, the good, the bad, what are similar stories and truths to their own. This policy makes it far too easy to pull books based on discriminatory views and goes against the judgment and expertise of librarians and educators in the district. If we start removing books that address race, gender, or trauma because individuals find them to be too much, then we are censoring reality and the opportunity to learn. Our youth are growing up in this world already and deserve to learn about matters they agree or disagree with, with what they identify or do not identify with. I don't want my children to be limited by an unrealistic, sanitized version of the world. I want them to be brave, compassionate, informed.

Thank you.

All right. Okay, so now speaking on the BP 6115 about the ceremonies and flags. I'm sending my children to public school to learn how to live in a world full of difference, different cultures, identities, beliefs, and truths. By restricting flags to only government-sanctioned symbols, you're sending a message that some identities aren't welcome, that only certain stories belong. I want my kids to see that the world is diverse and beautiful, that pride flags, heritage symbols, inclusive messages aren't threats but signs of belonging in a place where they should at most feel safe and welcome. If we start erasing visibility in the name of neutrality, we teach silence instead of empathy, erasure rather than belonging. I urge you to vote no on both of these measures. Thank you.

Thank you, Jessica. Thank you.

Next up we have John Sorensen, followed by Dominique Swanson, and followed by Catherine Appleby.

Hi, sorry, that's handwriting again. It's John Swanson.

Welcome, John.

So, good evening. Thank you. I'm John Swanson. I live in District 1. I stand here tonight to change the minds of others, but to make sure I'm not losing mine. The reactionary among us know they distort threats and play on fear to assert control. We often hear the phrase, all lives matter, in response to assertion that trans, immigrant, and black lives matter, only to see the exceptionless grow before those voicing such ignorance make it to the parking lot. What we need, though, is a conversation about what mattering looks like and feels like. I assure you it starts with empathy, equity, diversity, and inclusion, while creating space that embraces individual uniqueness, including through welcoming books and allowing flags that represent those who experience marginalization under the flag that's supposed to represent everyone but has yet to meet this promise. This is why I show up, not to change them, but to participate in ensuring all, most of all the marginalized among us, that we will not be changed by their ignorance.

Thank you, John.

Welcome, Dominique. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Dominique Swanson. I live in Trustee Area 1, and I'm the proud parent of two RUSD graduates who attended Redlands Unified Schools from K through 12. In all those 15 years, I donated, I volunteered, and I poured my heart into positively impacting the learning environment for all of our students. I would like to speak out against Board Policy 6115. While the policy states its purpose is to maintain a safe and welcoming environment for all and to not endorse a particular social or religious belief, it is clear that the policies being proposed on tonight's agenda do exactly that. They reflect a broad and concerted effort to impose the religion-based worldview of a specific group on the rest of us. This is inappropriate for our public schools. It takes me back to the time when I hear comments like Black Lives Matter make white students uncomfortable. It takes me back to the anti-integrationists who said their white students would be uncomfortable. Thank you, Dominique. I have five. Correct. Thank you. First up, starting with two business service consent items. The first one is 12N. So 12N and 12M go together. They're both on the same bid for the pool at REV. Item M states that the timeline extension of the contractor's project schedule will come at no additional cost to the district, and the attached documentation of change order number one does not list an increase. However, the change order does include a note that the notice to proceed was delayed by the district. This item, item N, is a $100,000 increase to the same contract, and the only explanation for it is that it is for project allowance. Was a project allowance not in the original contract amount? Is this project allowance in response to increasing costs that are anticipated by the delay of this project? Moving on to 12T. President Rendler and Member Olson, according to transmittal number 25002767-0, you both submitted for conference reimbursement. Member Ayala-Quintero, according to transmittal number 25002827-0, you may have attended CSBA's coast-to-coast federal advocacy trip. I look forward to hearing about these conferences and that trip, what you learned, and how you're going to put that knowledge into action. I hope that you will be sharing it during your upcoming board reports later tonight. Once again, I am asking this board to demonstrate their own literacy skills by drafting administrative regulations that are comprehensive and thorough. AR 1312.2 is neither of those. First and foremost, for everyone, There needs to be clearly written definitions of pornography, erotica, graphic depictions of sexual acts, sexual violence, inappropriate vulgarity or profanity, obscene material or sexually explicit materials. Without clear definitions, any material can be perceived as any of these. I have so many more notes on this poorly written regulation, but I'll end with this. Please read the first and last paragraphs of Board Policy 1312.2. Thank you, Catherine.

Thank you.

14N. My concern with board policy 6000 is the same, but I think you all need to hear it again and again and again and again. Powerful words without definitions will lead everyone to be confused. Powerful words such as pervasive pornography, erotica, graphic descriptions of sexual violence, inappropriate vulgarity or profanity, or other obscene material, including material that is lewd or libellous, must have agreed upon definitions before for any policies and regulations using those words are put into place, please take the time to do your due diligence and decide unanimously on definitions. And finally, 14-0. Every board meeting, I have to ask you to do your job and diligently read everything related to governing RUSD. Proposed board policy 6115 states in the patriotic exercises that these patriotic exercises shall consist of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and may also include instruction relating to the Pledge of Allegiance and attributes. and attributes these to Ed Code 52720 and 52730. But a close reading of Ed Code 52720 reveals that we only have to do one of these to meet the patriotic exercises requirement. Regarding Section 5, say what you really mean. This district will not allow acknowledgement of diversity. Thank you, Catherine.

Next up we have Margo Male, followed by Jay Male, and followed by Patricia Wilson.

Before I begin, I'd like to inquire as to the number of cards you have listed for me. Three. OK. Welcome, Margo. Adding to that, I would like to ask that my orange card, my public comment time be added to that. Yes, that's fine. Great, thank you. I would like the record to reflect that the Brown Act was violated earlier this evening when the board voted on item 13B without hearing me speak. The proposed budget, page 140, claims that there are no contingent liabilities. Something easily proven false as the board continues to entertain this bigoted and and unconstitutional policies. And as I just learned, yet another RUSD employee has been accused of sexual misconduct. Our students and staff will be the ones to suffer the most in the inevitable lawsuits. As for the proposed book banning and flag banning, we already know that Candy and Jeanette have aligned themselves with fascism. So tonight, I speak directly to you, President Rundler. I have known you for well over a decade. You served with my mother as the president of the McKinley PTA. Sorry. Your time is up on that. I asked for my public comment time to be added.

So start her time again. Okay.

I have known you for well over a decade. You served with my mother as the president of the McKinley PTA. You have seen me grow from ice cream socials to volunteering at the Halloween carnival throughout middle school to my high school graduation. Pivotal moments of my life have been shaped by your presence, which is why it is all the more heartbreaking that you have chosen not to protect the person I have become. I may be graduated, but the choices you make today still affect my younger sibling, still affect the queer children across this district. If you choose to pass these propositions, it will only confirm what I have not wanted to admit to myself. The person that shaped my childhood is not who I thought she was.

Thank you, Mark. Welcome back, Jesse.

Hello. May I confirm, I have two blue cards and I'd also like to use my orange card at this time in interest of efficiency. Yes. Thank you. So first I'm going to start talking about the flag policy. As a veteran, I wore the American flag on my uniform right alongside other symbols, unit patches, service branch insignia, name tape. None of those items diminished the flag or disrespected anyone else's identity. They showed who we were and where we came from. This policy does the opposite. It restricts students from displaying symbols that affirm their identities, as if pride in who you are is somehow unpatriotic. That's not the freedom I serve to defend. The U.S. flag should represent liberty, not control. Please do not approve this policy. Thank you. My next card is about the book review policy. If you look at this policy and you look at what we've endured over the past few months of all these meetings taking hours and lasting forever, you're asking to perpetuate that into the future, turning into each of these meetings into the most unpleasant book club in the country. If that's what we are going to do, I ask you to revise the policy to give all of us notice in advance so we can all read the books and speak together informed about those books. More than the two days required by the Brown Act. Please give us 30 days. Thank you. Lastly, for my orange card, I'm going to speak what I fear is being displayed by this board, which is an adoption of a culture of lawlessness. You know that many of these policies endanger litigation that has already been successful against other school boards who have adopted them. When you adopt policies like that, knowing that they're going to be challenged, you're saying you do not care about the rules, you do not care about the law. You are telling the teachers and staff of this school district that that's what you don't care about. And then you have to understand that you are telling them it's okay to violate other laws, such as abusing children. Stop. You set the tone. Do not let that be the message you're sending to our community. Thank you.

Thank you, Jesse. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name. I'm Patricia Wilson. Patricia, welcome.

Thank you. As I just said, my name is Patricia Wilson, and I'm a parent of an RUSD student. I am here today to oppose the proposed book ban policy. First, there are legal issues with this policy. AB 1078 bans book bans in California. We already have a great policy in place if you don't want your child to check out a certain book. You can simply notify the school and your child will not be allowed to check out that book. We want qualified teachers and librarians to select books for our students, not a single community member to have the power to restrict a book. This policy would trample on the rights of students and parents to have our students have access to a variety of literature. This proposed policy bypasses the input of librarians and other educational experts, which is not in the best interest of students. We trust our librarians and teachers' professional judgment.

Your next one.

My next one is on the flag policy. I also oppose the proposed flag ban and observances policy. All of our students deserve to feel seen and valued for who they are. Limiting cultural celebrations and banning the pride flag are not inclusive practices. Thank you. Thank you, Patricia.

Next up, we have Erin. Guest, perhaps? Jen and Aaron Roth.

We have anybody outside still? Pardon me? Okay, so now you're looking for Jen. Jen. I did see her. I did see her. Oh, she had to leave.

And then Aaron Roth. No. Sam Trad. Sam Trad. Followed by Sebastian. Followed by Isabella Pastras.

Welcome, Sam.

First, I want to talk about banning books. You are violating AB 1078. It is a state law that went into effect on January 1st of 2025. I realize you've tried to rewrite this policy to get around state law, but it's not going to work. As you've heard from countless speakers tonight, this is going to go to litigation. You are breaking the law by moving forward with these policies to try to get rid of books. President Rendler, you are on record for saying you don't want anything sexual in books at schools. That is censorship, and it is illegal under AB 1078, and we have it on the record. You are going to go to court, and you are going to lose, and you're going to drain our school's funding. Next, I want to talk about the flag ban policy. Redlands is a small town, and I have heard that President Rendler, your neighbor, has a Black Lives Matter flag that makes you deeply uncomfortable. Is that why you keep pushing this policy forward? Do you not think Black Lives Matter? Are you worried students will be uncomfortable because there are Black Lives Matter flags inside classrooms? This is a very important flag. It doesn't say that nobody else's life matters. It says that Black Lives Matter. How can you keep moving forward to ban flags like the BLM flag and the Pride flag? These are incredibly important symbols, especially in Redlands Unified when we keep hearing from people about their children having racist attacks under them.

Can I do the book banning policy first? Yes. Hello. I'm an incoming seventh grader at COPE, and I've come to talk about the book policy. Books, like flags, represent groups of people, give safety, and make schools a better place. Why take that away? We can't let random people decide what we can and can't read. That's illegal. Spend money on our educations, not on lawsuits from hurting children that we're supposed to protect. Do better. Another policy I want to talk about is the flag policy. This policy is harmful because flags represent Flags represent us. Flags are symbols of safety and acceptance. Could you imagine the impact this would have on schools? This is low view. Representation for certain groups would taper away. We can't let things like that fade. This will have a massive impact on schools. Students should feel safe and not underrepresented. RUSD isn't an assassin, so it should stop stabbing people in the back.

Thank you, Sebastian. Welcome, Isabella.

Just to clarify, I have two cards, right? Yeah. Okay, perfect. Hi, I'm Isabella, and I'm going into my junior year at RHS, and I'm here to talk about the outrageous idea of banning books. Books help us as students learn, and as RUSD board members, it is insane that you would want to ban them. How does that help anybody? How does that help us as students learn? It doesn't. It only erases voices. It stops stories from being told. Do not eliminate ways for students to learn more about other cultures and to dig deeper and help them find their true selves. Please do not ban books. And I'm going to talk about the flags. Banning flags, or more specifically the pride flag, is not in any way beneficial to students. In fact, it is extremely harmful. As a student, it disgusts me that adults are so worried about the sexual orientation of students in this district, especially considering our reputation. LGBTQ plus flags do not cause anyone any sort of harm. They help students feel safe in schools and letting them know where they are able to be themselves. Stop trying to ban identities. Suicide rates are especially high for teenagers, so please stop trying to make them higher. Thank you.

Hi, I'm Supadre and I'm here to speak on agenda item O.

Welcome, Supadre.

Okay. So I recently graduated from this district, but I'm coming back to speak today in the hopes that you might actually listen to me. I certainly know that my lack of proximity to the district makes me more credible. Your reliance on Chino residents' opinions outweighs ours, after all. But today I ask you to listen to us, the students and constituents of the RUSD. A pride flag is not a hate symbol. It has never been a hate symbol. It advocates for the acceptance of LGBTQ plus people. Just like the American flag is meant to show the solidarity of people in the U.S., the pride flag is meant to show solidarity with the people in the LGBTQ community. The primary function of a school is to educate its students. Its secondary function is to provide a safe haven for those students. So please don't take away the safe haven for all these LGBTQ students in our community. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Next up we have Karthika, followed by Jay.

Welcome, Karthika.

Hello. I would like to speak on book bands, please. Hello, my name is Kartika, and I'm an RUSD student. I would like to start off by talking about the Golden Rule. The Golden Rule is one of the first things that we learned in school. It says to treat others the way that you want to be treated. So would you like to have your voices silenced? Would you like to have your stories, your representation, taken away from you? This is what you are doing to our school district. You only take away the books that feature ideas that you are afraid of. Please stop trying to take away just the books that you fear. Thank you.

Jay? Welcome, Jay.

Hello, board. Through the proposed book review policy, you are centralizing the control to yourselves and removing the parent from decision-making. This is unfortunate. As a compromise, I propose that you create a naughty list for books that are reviewed and tagged as inappropriate by qualified professionals. This approach will allow the parents to make decisions for their child and rely on your list if they choose to. As a RUSD parent, I ask you to give me the control to parent my child and shield my child from your ideology. I understand many on the board are controlled by narrow-minded leaders, but who am I to judge? Until the next election. Thank you.

Thank you, Jay.

And then next up we have B with... No, there's a few more. Welcome, Bea.

Welcome back. Thank you.

So for 14A, I want to express my approval of the Advanced Mix Choir's proposed trip to Camp Arbolado. I firmly believe in the power of enriching extracurricular activities to enhance our students' educational experience. It's paramount that we ensure this trip is accessible to all choir members, irrespective of their individual circumstances, whether they are low-income, LGBT, people of color, or we must explore avenues for financial assistance and fundraising to make opportunities like this available to everyone who wishes to participate. I also want to raise the issue of environmental responsibility. Having the students travel by bus ensures that the school is providing the smallest carbon footprint possible. Having these 36 students travel in separate cars would increase the use of fossil fuels and require more parking for families. Transporting and accommodating a large number of students and chaperones in a natural environment. 14B, just as I approve of the decision to provide bus transportation to Citrus Valley's mixed choir to Arbolato, I also approve of the decision to send its treble choir. This trip represents an invaluable opportunity for the advanced treble choir to cultivate essential teamwork skills and enhance their musical abilities in anticipation of the upcoming school year. By engaging in focused rehearsals and collaborative activities, the choir members still forge stronger bonds and develop a deeper understanding of their collective potential. The change of scenery and immersive experience offered by this trip can significantly contribute to their growth as a cohesive unit. I also feel it is important for students from both choirs to travel together because of how important it is for students from different communities to interact with and learn from one another. Having a chance to share experiences while participating in a shared experience is what education is all about. I also wish to express my enthusiastic support for the Redlands High School Chamber Singers' proposed trip to La Quinta. Providing our talented students with opportunities to perform in diverse settings and experience different environments is truly invaluable for their growth and development. Such experiences significantly broaden their horizons, allowing them to encounter newest perspectives and cultures, which also substantially enhancing their musical skills through performance and exposure to other musicians. Furthermore, this trip fosters a stronger sense of community and belonging among the students. The shared experience of preparing for and participating in the performance creates lasting bonds and strengthens their connection to the Redlands High School Chamber Singers program, especially in a time when we are witnessing increasing social isolation and facing challenges in creating truly inclusive and supportive environments. Actively supporting these kinds of enriching and transformative experiences is absolutely crucial. 14D. Similarly, I wish to express my strong support for the Redlands High School class trip to La Quinta. Providing these talented students with opportunities to perform in diverse settings and experience different environments is an incredibly valuable aspect of their education. Such experiences greatly enrich their overall educational journey, fostering teamwork, discipline, and a deeper understanding of their craft. Moreover, it allows them to showcase their exceptional talent to a wider audience, building confidence and performance skills. I firmly believe that these kinds of extracurricular activities contribute significantly to the development of well-rounded students. Participation in activities like this trip cultivates essential life skills extended far beyond the classroom, preparing them for future success. A vibrant school community is built upon these enriching experiences, fostering a sense of belonging and pride. 14E, I fully endorse the proposed three-year agreement with Crafton Hills College, specifically concerning the College and Career Access Pathways Partnership. This collaborative partnership represents a genuinely significant opportunity, offering our students a distinct advantage in gaining valuable college experience and developing crucial career skills while they are still enrolled in high school. Improved college completion ratios are another key anticipated outcome of the CCAP partnership. Students who have already experienced the rigors and rewards of college-level courseware are more likely to persist in their post-secondary studies. As someone who previously worked in higher education, I firmly believe that this partnership with Crafton Hills College will ultimately benefit not only our students but also our broader community. By equipping our students and young people with valuable skills and knowledge, we are investing in the future and creating a more skilled and educated workforce that will drive economic growth and prosperity. 14F. I strongly support the proposed agreement with mindfulness in motion. As someone who has taken the time to learn and practice mindfulness myself, I believe this partnership will significantly benefit our students. In today's increasingly stressful world, it is crucial that students are equipped with effective tools to manage their mental and emotional well-being. Providing access to mindfulness programs will help them identify thoughts and feelings as they come up, develop essential coping mechanisms, and improve their focus and concentration. Furthermore, it is vital to acknowledge that students from marginalized backgrounds, particularly our core students, often face additional stressors and unique challenges due to discrimination. Mindfulness programs can offer a safe and supportive space for these students to develop resilience and self-compassion, particularly when their school district sports members are actively making the district a more hostile environment for them. 14G, I firmly believe that approving the agreement with Professional Tutors of America Incorporated marks a significant and positive step forward for our students' academic journeys. Access to high-quality tutoring service can provide crucial and individualized support for students who may be facing academic challenges and ultimately empowering them to achieve their full potential and to succeed in their careers. educational pursuits. This is especially vital as we strive to ensure equitable outcomes for all students within our diverse learning community, irrespective of their background, prior academic experiences, or individual learning styles. By investing in valuable resources such as this tutoring program, we are not only providing targeted assistance, but also unequivocally demonstrating our unwavering commitment to the success and well-being of each and every student. Furthermore, this partnership will also allow us to closely monitor progress and tailor... I like that one. fourteen h i wholeheartedly support the proposed agreement for an administrator on loan with the regent reg redlands educational partnership the strategic alignments uh... signifies a pivotal moment for our district presenting a valuable community opportunity to collaboratively enhance our educational landscape by pulling our resources sharing invaluable expertise in fostering a spirit of mutual growth we are poised to elevate the quality of education for each and every one of our students My hopes are particularly high that this collaborative endeavor will place a significant emphasis on the creation of inclusive and profoundly supportive learning environments meticulously designed to cater to the diverse needs of all students regardless of their backgrounds or individual challenges. This commitment to inclusively foster will foster a sense of belonging, empowerment, enabling every student to thrive and reach their full potential. approve agreement, or the 14 . I strongly support the proposed agreement with Scoot Education to provide ASL support services to students. As someone who has had several occasions to interact with and advocate for the deaf community, I understand how important it is to provide adequate services to these populations. Quite often deaf students are provided with inadequate accommodations due to faculty and staff not fully appreciating their needs and their families not always able to interpret appropriately for them due to their limited knowledge of ASL. If I may sign on behalf of those whose primary language is American Sign Language for a moment, and please forgive my accent and English word order, please vote yes on this agenda proposal. Thank you. Fourteen, Jane. I wish to express my support for entering into an agreement with Solution Tree. I believe that prioritizing professional development opportunities for our education is absolutely crucial. By continually investing in our teachers, we are directly investing in the future success and well-being of our students, providing our educators with access to high-quality training, updated resources, and innovative teaching strategies is essential for ensuring that our students receive the best possible education in this rapidly evolving world. This commitment to teacher development will equip them with the tools and knowledge necessary to create engaging and effective learning experiences. Furthermore, investing in professional development demonstrates our dedication to fostering a culture of continuous improvement within our educational system. This in turn will benefit the entire community. 14K, thus far I have expressed approval of all of the items on the current agenda. I mention this because I wish to underline how strongly I am opposed to this particular policy. I am not alone. Community members, librarians, and even members of the board have stated in previous meetings that the district already has a process for dealing with reading materials parents find objectionable. There is no need to create a new policy to deal with them, even if it were necessary. I don't trust this board to craft it. We don't need a policy that says any district member can file a complaint regardless of whether they have children in the district. We don't need a policy with language so vague it could target not only books that explore LGBTQ themes and issues of race, but also books like the Holy Bible. This book contains graphic depictions of explicit sexually violent material. I remember my first time reading the Bible because a teacher at a Christian elementary school encouraged me to do so. I remember the disgust I felt about lots of daughters getting him drunk and having sex with him. I was nine years old. 14N, similar to my disapproval for item 14K on this agenda, I am addably opposed to the recommended revision to board policy 6000. The members of this board have no understanding of what pornography is, as demonstrated by the fact that board member Candy Olson cited several research papers she clearly didn't read to support her argument that young adult literature depicting themes related to the exploration of gender and sexual identity is not just equivalent to, but is electronic media intended solely for sexual content. That's what her research papers said, and none of you seem to have bothered to read them. I don't know how to make it any more clear how unfit this board is to define what pornography is when they can't even be bothered to read the materials one of its members presented. This board's majority is completely out of touch with reality and unbound by anything that even remotely resembles logic or reason. There is no reason the community should trust that you can draft a reasonable board policy about anything. 14-0. As if I need to demonstrate any more evidence to support my argument that this board is not fit to propose any new board policies, we have proposed board policy 6-1-1-5, which seeks to ban the display of any flags other than the U.S. flag, California flag, and military flags on the grounds that this somehow makes our classrooms neutral. Never mind the fact that many do not see these flags as neutral symbols and that these flags all endorse particular political, social, and religious beliefs and express violation of the proposed policy. There is no constitutional justification for limiting students' rights to display any flag that represents their ethnic, national, gender, religious, or sexual identity under any circumstances. Nearly every school district that has proposed such a policy has lost its case in court. Such a policy is only going to cost the school district money. money it doesn't have and gut programs it desperately needs to fund losses it could have easily avoided. I would like the Board to take a long look at these two policy revisions, not just because they provide solid graduation standards for those with learning disabilities and because they represent a significant step towards creating a more equitable and inclusive educational environment, but because they should be set an example for how this Board should behave. These revised policies offer clear, actionable language to address how to accommodate students with learning disabilities. how standardized assessments, while valuable for some, do not always provide an accurate or complete reflection of the diverse capabilities and knowledge possessed by every student and includes provisions for alternative competency measures that are not just beneficial but crucial. These are the types of revisions this board should endeavor to undertake, not policies that divide our community and ostracize students who are different, but rather policies that provide equitable education benefits for everyone. These policies and revisions should serve as a template for how this board should operate.

Thank you, Lee.

Kimberly Hillier. Followed by Anita Rhodes. Kimberly Hillier.

She already did her other card. Pardon? I thought she already did it.

Some of these people have had two. Anita Rhodes. Followed by Shari Yoshimitsu.

Welcome, Anita.

Thank you. I think I have three cards there as well. Speaking to the books, the flags, and can you tell me the third one I put down?

Yes. There's two. Maybe it got pulled.

Okay. Thank you. I am here to be the canary in the coal mine. It's obvious that this room obviously leans one way, but that doesn't intimidate me at all, and I hope it doesn't intimidate you. Just because you don't do what we ask you to do doesn't mean you can't hear, right? You guys can hear. whether you do as you've been instructed or demanded to act. I appreciate the fact that you guys take the disrespect that you do. But you, just like librarians and all of the other professionals here today, nobody here makes the moral and value judgments for our children but us. Your constituents elected you to do that. They're trusting you, Candy. They're trusting you, Ms. Jeanette. They're also trusting the other ladies. So with respect to, if possible, I would also like for my public comment to be added since you guys are doing that tonight. So with respect to the flags, the flags, somebody's whistling, and I can't hear. Can I redeem my time, please, recapture my time? Okay. I'm talking to them, not you. So thank you. So my point is, with respect to flags, flags are an advertisement. The children are concerned about being bullied, being made fun of. They're afraid. Stop advertising your sex life. I've said this so many times. You can have camaraderie without advertising to the world your sex life. There was a time we taught our children to keep things like that private and personal. Flags also confirm allegiance. So to say that the flags are not about the sex life, they are gay pride flags. They are LGBTQ flags. And since the last I knew, that was the homosexual identity and all of its manifestations. So that's just a straight-out lie, and it's intended to deceive you. With respect to the books, we are not asking for books to be banned. Allow parents to make a decision about what they want their children to have exposure to. You guys are demanding, the constituents here are demanding that their children have access to sexually explicit books, but they don't want to respect their neighbors who don't want their children to have that. This group of people are so demanding and so intolerant, so disrespectful of other people's right to exist. It's unbelievable. And they think that we should just bow to them? That's not going to happen. I've said this before. We're not going to cave to you. We're going to be respected and recognized whether you like it or not. And quiet as it's kept, there are more of us than there are of you. But we're not as belligerent and demanding as you are. With respect to my public comment, what I would like to say, I want to commend the board members, and I want you guys to remember, these people may not like it because they cannot have their way with our children. They've got marriage. They've got the right to adopt children. They've got acceptance as being normal. Now they want access to our children. The answer is no. I may be the only voice here strong enough to say it, but I mean that. And with respect to you guys, don't worry about getting reelected. Your constituents are not here. Their constituents are. So don't even be intimidated. Don't even concern yourself with it. Thank you for the great work that you do. Keep doing it. You know what's right. And with respect to the LGBT children, when they graduate high school from here, this world is saturated with LGBTQ. Thank you, Anita.

Next up we have, oh, Sherry?

Cherie? Cherie Yoshimitsu. Oh, Cherie. OK.

I'm from Area 4, I guess.

Welcome.

I'm here to speak on behalf of my daughter, Kaya Yoshimitsu. She usually comes. But she's ill today, and so I'm going to read her statement for her. Good evening, board members. I've recently graduated from Citrus Valley High School, and as the president of my school's Gay-Straight Alliance, I have always felt it was my duty to protect and advocate for my fellow students. Many of them are too shy, scared, or unaware to advocate for themselves at these meetings, and so I have attended every board meeting I could, advocating for both myself and them. At these meetings, I've had to listen to people insult the teachers and librarians I trusted. I lost hope for the future and began to believe that the district had no interest in my existence. No child should have had to go through what I have gone through. Before this flagrant policy was considered, I was happy, and so are the people I protect.

Sherry, excuse me.

Please let us keep our flags.

Do you have another card? Are you talking on another card? No? Okay, thank you.

You started the time 10 seconds early.

She went over. Thank you, Sherry. Jessica.

jessica coach coach pretty wind i don't know if she's going again followed by rain mendoza followed by jessa already went yeah rain so no one's outside right it's right there rain's coming

Welcome, Rainn.

Thank you. I have two cards. Yes.

Sorry, I'm waiting for my heart to... All right. Thank you for your patience, everyone. Thank you. First, I will speak on the agenda item concerning the flags. I work in a classroom here at Redlands School District. I work with students. I have been a student. I have a family of teachers. I think everyone has a right to exist. I support human rights. I support freedom of speech, freedom to read, freedom to education. I support kindness. Please vote no.

Thank you, Rain.

And this one is about the Library and media. Okay. So, hi, my name is Rain Mendoza. I am a very, I like to read. I like to read a lot. I think everybody should read broadly. And reading increases empathy. It increases critical thinking. It increases one's knowledge of the world. we should encourage students to read broadly. There is already a procedure in place for parents to limit what their students are exposed to. You have listened to students, teachers, parents, grandparents, veterans, state reps, attorneys, students. Listen to them, please. And vote no.

Thank you, Raines. Do you have another one? Another card? Another card?

Thank you.

Thank you. And I think these two were from before. Well, who are they? Jan Falk. No. And Valerie Skedlarski. Valerie, I think she said left. Okay.

Are we done?

I'm sorry, but I can't hear you. We should just.

What were you speaking on?

Well, come on up.

Thank you so much. My name is Hannah Edmondson.

I live in Area 5.

President Rendler, I know you are trying to lead with faith, grace, and a sincere desire to serve. And I feel... I hope and I pray that you feel strength and clarity tonight. Trustees Olson and Wilson are pushing AR 1312.2. It is unnecessary, it's costly, and it's driven by a local church and our national culture war, not our classroom realities. Trustee Olson cited her election as a mandate. While she did receive more votes than either of the two opponents, 57% of Area 5 voters chose someone else. That's not a mandate. It's a message. We are not united behind this agenda.

Please vote no. Thank you. Thank you.

Are we okay just to finish the orange cards? Get them out of the way and then we'll finish our work. Okay. Okay. Anybody who filled out an orange card, we're going to take care of those before our next items that we're doing.

We're just going to go out of order with our flexibility.

Erica Grossman, followed by Quinn, followed by Joseph Koenig.

My grandpa is Joseph.

He had to leave early so he could get home to his wife. Okay. Welcome, Erica.

I'd like to point out something important. You seem entirely comfortable allowing adults insult our students by calling them mentally ill during past meetings. Michelle, as chair, it is your responsibility to ensure that these meetings remain safe for everyone, especially your students. Also, mental illness should never be weaponized as an insult. It is a serious issue that affects many people. Furthermore, major medical institutions recognize gender dysphoria as distinct from mental illness. Decades of research support this understanding, which is why hospitals like Mayo Clinic and John Hopkins Medical Center affirmed identities of transgender and non-binary individuals. I'd like to also highlight this contradiction. Some adults claim that LGBTQ plus students are victims of indoctrination, yet simultaneously insult those very students. Thank you, Erica.

Welcome back, Quinn. Thank you, board.

Mrs. Candy Olson, what is your problem with transgender kids? First, you stalk one on your socials. Now you guys are attempting to ban books that have anything to do with LGBTQ. As an LGBTQ student in a family full of allies, you should be ashamed. Second of all, Mrs. Wilson, how do you think this behavior is acceptable for this community? Students should be able to have fun and be themselves. But because of you two, we can't. You've already taken away our safe spaces by removing LGBTQ items and clubs, and now you're attempting to remove them from books, thinking that they will remove the LGBTQ from us, but it won't. We have always been here and will continue to be here, no matter what. Also, you say you're supposed to give us a safe space. Why do you ban anything that has to do with us? Do not ban the BSU. That is just unfair, Candy. They did nothing to you. Thank you, Quinn. Peter Hall, followed by Joshua Hall.

Joshua Hall was removed, and I don't know why. He says that he doesn't know either. No, I'm sorry. His was removed.

So my public comment is about the behavior that I witnessed at the last school board meeting. One student called the school board a bunch of mother effers. Another student blamed the school board for her suicide attempt after the pride flag was banned. So all I've seen tonight from many of the speakers is raging narcissism All I've seen from many of the speakers tonight is raging narcissism, emotional manipulation, egregious exaggerations, and outright lies. Thank you. Thank you, Peter.

Next up we have Olani, followed by Jabini Greer, followed by... Mazinga Jennings. Welcome, Olani.

Thank you. I'm glad to be here again for another time. Good evening. My name is Olani LeBeau, and I'm with Blue Educational Foundation. We're here tonight because student success cannot be reduced to test scores, but it's measured by whether every student, regardless of race, zip code, or background, feels seen, supported, and prepared to thrive. That requires intentional systems, not just slogans that you all spew here. Redlands Unified serves a richly diverse student body, but the data continues to tell a troubling story. Our black and brown students face persistent disparities in college access, and we can no longer afford to treat educational justice as optional. It must be embedded in decision-making, staffing, curriculum, and investment. And the district must be transparent and accountable for closing these gaps. Community-based organizations like Blue are not asking to help, and Redlands has a choice to maintain the status quo or to lead. If we truly believe in student success, then we must build systems that affirm identity, expand access, put educational reform at the center, not the margins of every decision.

And I'm sorry, I didn't get your name. I didn't get your name. I'm sorry.

Nzinga.

Nzinga? Yes.

Hi. Thank you. I'm just here to offer our help as Blue Educational Foundation. We see a great need for cultural diversity training. We see how there is a toleration of racism, trauma, and it shapes the minds of children. And it takes a lot more work to heal a broken adult than to raise strong children. And so we come here as support. Removing essential agenda items to help change a system to serve kids is just unacceptable. And so... Please remember Blue Educational Foundation. We just want to help offer our support. Change is necessary. And that's it.

Thank you.

Good night. Thank you.

Thank you.

Jabani Jelani Greer. He has left. Okay. Andrew Boyd followed. He has left. Oh, okay. Catherine Appleby, followed by Matt Appleby, and then Michael Stanclift.

Come back, Catherine.

Thank you.

I am very disappointed by Superintendent Cabral's and some board members' comments prior to public participation tonight. Superintendent Cabral, I read the entire agenda and every attached document as soon as it is published. Your accusation that myself or any member of the public is just trying to waste the board's time by being passionate about many of the agenda items, not just the policies you think we should care about, was deeply disrespectful. We are not the ones who put together an 83-item agenda. That was Superintendent Cabral and President Rendler. If you all were concerned with the possible length of this meeting due to public participation, then you could have set an agenda that focused only on the items that needed to be approved to meet a deadline. This board owes all members of the public an apology. Our desire and willingness to be here is nothing to be ashamed of, and it should be welcomed, encouraged, and supported by you. Thank you, Catherine.

Welcome back, Matt.

First of all, that's my wife. I'm here to talk real quick, because I mentioned many board meetings ago that I'm going to come back and continue to educate. So at the last board meeting, a student came up and shared that they, as part of the LGBTQ community, attempted to commit suicide. ashamed that there were no board condolences, also that some community members opposing LGBTQ identities laughed, and others claimed emotional manipulation, and there is no board response. That's shameful. The Trevor Project admits that 39% of LGBTQ youth Seriously considered attempting suicide in the last year with a higher amount, 46% of transgender and non-binary students, and an even higher amount of LGBTQ youth of color. We all say we care about kids, but that's not what our actions show, and it's time to step up.

Thank you, Matt.

Michael Stanclift. Followed by Abby Bosworth. Antonio Endicott.

OK. So this comments more so about the lack of honesty and truth that's been not fact-checked at all. There's been repeated statements that just are false, and no one has pointed out just how false they are. So last board meeting, someone claimed that white supremacy hasn't existed since the 80s. I would like for them to explain what the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville only in 2017 was, because there were a bunch of white people walking around with kichi torches, screaming, the Jews will not replace us. That is white supremacy. It's real. Just a year earlier, 10 years ago and a week from today, a white supremacist walked into a black church in Charlottesville and killed nine people. They are still here. Just because you don't believe it doesn't mean it's not happening. Yeah.

Next up we have Carolyn Hayes, followed by Greg Britton, and then Deborah McFatter.

Come back, Greg.

Yeah, Carolyn's going to pass on it. OK. As I asked last time, why do we keep having this? the emotional blackmail, the insults, you're a Nazi, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And it results in the larger divisions in the country and the fact that the left better understands than we do. Well, Abraham Lincoln said that the philosophy in the classroom in one generation becomes the philosophy of government in the next generation. only reluctantly, only belatedly, are those of us that believe in its values and principles that made the country great, free, and prosperous, realizing this, and that's why some of us are now down here. And this is why we're going to see this continually, because they're not giving up, and neither are we.

Thank you, Greg.

Deborah McBetter? Deborah McBetter?

Welcome back, Deborah.

I'm a person who grew up thinking that people could be kind and accepting of everyone. And when someone like this gentleman says that we're the left and we're this and we're evil, it breaks my heart. Because we have values no matter where we are on the continuum of political and religious beliefs. Many of us don't believe the same dogmas. But we want everyone to be safe. We want everyone to feel accepted and not made fun of. I have a handicapped son. I've watched how people can be to a handicapped person. I have a granddaughter who is non-binary. I've watched how that is. Please, in your hearts, have some compassion. I'm leaving. Thank you, Deborah. Thank you.

Next up we have Brian, there you are, and Michaela Wilkin, and then Emma Wolf.

I would like to read this board a passage from the Brown Act of California. Under the Act, the public is guaranteed the right to provide testimony at any regular or special meeting or any subject which will be considered by the legislative body before or during its consideration of the item. In addition, the public has the right at every regular meeting to provide testimony for any matter under the legislative body's jurisdiction. The Blakely Clean Act also clarifies restricting time limits. It reads, if a board wishes to establish a standing rule of the discussion of agenda items that will be given in a specific specified amount of time or that public comment will be limited to a certain amount of time. The board may do that by adopting administrative regulation. Administrative regulations are made by the superintendent and are passed when the school board passes a board policy that directs the superintendent to develop a regulation or ensure implementation of the policy. Basically, what y'all just did was illegal. Real shocker. Superintendent Cabral, dear job. If we are keeping track, that's 10 Brown Act violations. Thank you, Brian.

I am deeply confused by the policies that continue to get brought up by this board that you are well aware are against California state law. You, school board, do not make California state law. And like I said earlier, each and every one of you is welcome to run for office in Sacramento and make California state law. But when you put our district in violation of California state law, what you do is waste money that should be going to our children. And when you look at us and tell us that you're going to protect them and you're going to do right by our kids and our teachers in this district, you should not be wasting our money.

Thank you, Emma. Thank you.

Emma Wolf? That was me. It was Emma. Oh, sorry. Aya F? Aya? Aya F? Is Aya still here? Rebecca Acosta? Okay, thanks. Welcome back, Rebecca.

I wanted to talk about something a little different. I wanted to talk about our Measure D funds and how we have no accessible playgrounds in our district, and I think that we should use some of our Measure D funds. Kimberly and Mariposa have both bought accessible swings through our PTA. but we have no accessible ways to get to them. They are surrounded by tan bark, which is not accessible for any wheelchair to go up to, so none of the accessible swings are accessible to people in wheelchairs. And I think that we should use some of our Measure D funds to build accessible playgrounds so that all students can have the ability to use playground equipment.

Thank you, Rebecca.

Carolyn Johnson, followed by Nacian Johnson, followed by Chris Cloutis.

Welcome back, Chris.

I would like to express my concern regarding the redefining of education that is going on in RUSD today. While I admire the fact that you have strong moral convictions, you seem to have lost sight of the fact that the USA was brought into existence specifically to prevent the powerful from imposing their version of morality on the masses under penalty of governmental punishment. This is where we are today. As our nation drifts toward authoritarianism, it should be incumbent upon us, as good citizens, to push back against the demagogues. And yet I see you, my Redland School Board, acting in concert with those who would strip us of our rights. Thank you.

Next up, Jalyn Brown. Jaylen. Followed by Valerie Tabor. And followed by Jean Kim.

So what I was going to say earlier, if I had time, is that you're not up there to lead with feelings. You're up there to make informed decisions and to solicit feedback from people who are subject matter experts on what the appropriate course of action is. Y'all have not listened to a single... single expert on these topics. You're all being foolish, misguided, and utterly embarrassing. To be clear, none of these policies should be on the agenda. We've shown up again and again and again in overwhelming opposition. And you're not listening. But you will sit here until midnight and freaking hear us. You will be forced to sit here into the early hours of the morning and hear us and hear how unpopular these policies are. Thank you, Valerie.

Welcome, Jean. Hi, it's Jen Kim. I'm in Trustee Area 1. President Rundler, all of this could have been avoided. Had you used your power to not entertain hateful and illegal policies, you know they're illegal. You know lawsuits will come, and you know these policies are overwhelmingly not supported. Why are we still talking about this? It is literally your job as president to steer our district away from what is illegal, unethical, and unjust. You are not doing this. This will be your legacy. How you vote on these issues will be forever attached to your body of work within RUSD. There will always be right-wing extremists doing what they're doing right now. They are using a scripted playbook, but you have the deciding vote. It is never too late to do the right thing. Please do the right thing.

Thank you, Jen.

Next up, we have Mark Laird.

Mark Laird, area two, and I'd like to use this time to talk about LGBTQ safety, but also I'd like to remind Michelle Renler that she is up for reelection next year, and I am in area two, and how you vote tonight will decide whether or not I spend the next year working to rally my neighbors up, so that way we can vote you out. Additionally, I would like to remind the board and everyone that, Despite the misinformation that was shared tonight, I'd like to take my time to speak on some statistics. More than 1 in 10, 12% of LGBTQ young people have attempted suicide in the past year. 50% of young people who wanted mental health care in the past year were not able to get it. More than 54% of transgender and non-binary youth have found that their school is gender affirming. This stuff is important. Thank you. Thank you, Mark.

Next up we have Brooklyn Newton, followed by Julie Estrella. Estrella. Brooklyn? No Brooklyn? Okay. Okay, and Julie Estrella, I guess there's no Julie. Are you Julie? Okay.

Hi, I'm Dr. Julia Estrella. Welcome.

Thank you. And I am a licensed marriage and family therapist here in Redlands, working with many families and kids from the district. I know each of you serves because you care deeply about our kids, but when we ban cultural events and gatherings, when we silence celebrations of identity, We send a message to these students that who they are is unwelcome. These events help students feel pride, connection, and belonging. The books may be the only mirror where a student sees they're not alone. And forcing kids to come out before they're ready doesn't protect families. It breaks trust and can put children in danger. You don't have to agree with every identity to know that no child should be shamed for who they are. Please protect their hearts and their lives and their future. Not politicize them. Lead with courage and lead with love.

Thank you. Thank you, Julie. Do you want to take a five-minute break? Three minutes? No, we did not. Yes, I need a couple-minute break. We're going to take just a couple minutes.

Okay, we're back to item 12, business services consent items. Do I have a motion? I'm sorry. What? Oh. Is there a motion to approve items 12A, consent items B through T? Okay.

So moved.

Do you have a second? I'll second. Any discussion?

All right. I'll call for the vote.

Board Member Ayala Quintero? Aye. Board Member Olson? Aye. President Rendler? Aye. Vice President Hollihan? Aye. Clerk Wilson? Aye. Motion carried. Five-0.

Jason.

And we're going back to 13, business services action items. B, to adopt the annual proposed budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, the 2025-2026 budget per Ed Code 42-12-127 and Assembly Bill 1200 must be approved on or before July 1st per the district's decision... Decision to utilize the single budget adoption cycle. Per Ed Code 52062, the public hearing for the 2025-2026 annual proposed budget was held at the June 10, 2025 board meeting. Do we have a motion? Move approval. Second. Any discussion?

I'll call for the vote. Board Member Ayala-Quintero? Aye. Board Member Olson? Aye. President Rendler? Aye. Vice President Hollihan?

Aye.

Clerk Wilson? Aye. Motion carried. Five-0.

Okay. Now we're on to educational services consent items. Mrs. Buckmiller, are there any changes or additions?

Changes or additions. Thank you. No.

Is there a motion to approve consent item 14A through J together?

So moved. Second. Second.

I did. Thank you, Jeanette. Thank you, Candy. Any discussion?

I'm going to take the other one separate. Yeah. I'll call for the vote.

Member Ayala Quintero. Aye, and I am abstaining from C. Thank you. Board Member Olson? Aye. Board Member President Rendler? Aye. Vice President Hollihan? Aye. Clerk Wilson? Aye. Motion carried 5-0 with an abstention from Board Member Ayala-Quintero on item C. We will now take items K through Q, one at a time.

Do I have a motion to approve revision of administrative regulation 1312.2, complaints concerning library or media center materials, first reading?

So moved.

Second? Second. Thank you, Candy. Thank you, Jeanette. Discussion on this? Do we have any discussion?

Yeah, I think we need to, being that we've seen such an outpour, I think we do need to take all of these policies back to the drawing board because we've had, I really don't look forward to our meetings being this long every time. We obviously have a lot of constituents in every area that feels there needs to be some more compromise on these policies. So I suggest bringing them back. But being that my opinion doesn't matter, I'm just stating my opposition for the record.

Okay, any other discussion?

I want to go ahead and I'm for it. I want to proceed with passing it.

Anything else? Yeah, it's a slap in the face to our librarians who work really hard all the time.

Are you ready to call for the vote?

Board Member Ayala-Quintero? Absolutely no. Board Member Olson?

Aye.

President Rendler?

Yes.

Vice President Hollihan?

No.

Clerk Wilson? Aye. Motion carried, 3-2, with the ayes being Board Member Olson, President Rendler, and Clerk Wilson, and the nays being Board Member Ayala Quintero and Vice President Hollihan.

Excuse me. At this time, the board will be discussing and voting on policies.

As a reminder, this is not the time for members of the public to talk to the board. If there are disruptions such as yelling, snapping, finger snapping, yelling, or profanity, the individuals will be asked to leave or I might have to clear the room in order for the board to proceed with the meeting. Okay, so L and M were pulled. We're on to N. Do we have a motion to approve the revision of Board Policy 6000, Concepts and Roles, the first read?

So moved.

Is there a second?

I'll second.

Any discussion? No discussion. I'll call for the vote.

Board Member Ayala-Quintero? No. Board Member Olson? Aye. President Randler? Yes. Vice President Hollihan? No. Clerk Wilson? Yes. Motion carried, 3-2, with the ayes being Board Member Olsen, President Randler, and Clerk Wilson, and the nays being Board Member Ayala-Quintero and Vice President Hollihan.

On to O. Is there a motion to approve new board policy 6115, ceremonies, observances, and flag displays, first reading?

So moved.

So second.

Any discussion?

Yeah. Your prejudice is showing, and you should all be embarrassed.

Is there a reason you're staring at me? You're speaking to me. I was looking at you because you were speaking to me. I stopped speaking.

Anything else?

Yes, I have a comment. I don't know how we're doing this without keeping this as a safe and inclusive environment. This really opposes everything that we've been trying to do.

Well, we did talk about that in the AR. That would have the spaces for the teachers like they have now.

I tried to include that.

We talked about doing that in the AR, not in the board policy.

And I will wait and see that that doesn't happen, so thank you.

It'll be in the AR.

I just don't see how this is going to be a safe and inclusive environment for our students when we had 13 students come today and speak on their summer vacation where they should be enjoying the summer vacation instead of coming here.

I'm going to call for the vote.

Board Member Ayala-Quintero? No. Board Member Olson? Aye. President Rendler?

Yes.

Vice President Hollihan?

Absolutely not.

Clerk Wilson? Yes. Motion carried, with the ayes being Board Member Olson, President Rendler, Clerk Wilson, and the nays being Board Member Ayala-Quintero and Vice President Hollihan.

Okay, moving on to P. Is there a motion to approve revision of Board Policy 6146, Point one, high school graduation requirements, second reading.

I'll move.

Second. Any discussion?

Yeah, I'm just glad we're doing something that actually benefits our students.

All right, I'll call for the vote. I'll call for the vote.

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

And a cue. Is there a motion to approve revision of Board Policy 6146.4, differential... Lost my page.

graduation and competency.

It's done here. Differential graduation and competency standards for students with disabilities. Second reading.

I'll move.

Okay. Thank you, Melissa. Thank you, Candy. Any discussion on this? I'm just really glad that we're able to do this for our special ed students, help them in their future, help them in their future. We'll call for the vote.

Just to make sure I heard right, motion moved by me. Okay, and then second by Candy. Candy, thank you. Board Member Ayala Quintero? Aye. Board Member Olson? Aye. President Rendler? Yes. Vice President Hollihan? Aye. Clerk Wilson? Yes. Motion carried, 5-0.

All right, moving on to human resources consent items. Mrs. Bruick, are there any changes or additions?

No, there are not.

Is there a motion to approve items 15A, consent items B through AA? So moved. Second?

I'll second.

That was Candy did the first, right?

Yes.

Thank you, Candy. All right. Any discussion? All right. I'll call for the vote.

Board Member Ayala Quintero. Aye. Board Member Olson. Aye. President Rendler. Aye. Vice President Hollihan. Aye. Clerk Wilson. Aye. Motion carried, 5-0.

Now on the Human Resources Action Items. Mrs. Bruick, any changes or additions? No changes or additions. Approve student teaching agreement between the Redlands Unified School District and Vanguard University effective July 1, 2025 through July 31, 2026. Is there a motion? Do we have a second?

Second.

Thank you, Candy. Thank you, Jeanette. Any discussion? I'll call for the vote.

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

B, ratify approved student teaching agreement between the Redlands Unified School District and the University of Phoenix, effective June 9, 2025. Is there a motion?

Moved. Second.

Thank you, Candy. Thank you, Jeanette. Any discussion on this? All right. We'll call for the vote.

Board Member Ayala Quintero? Aye. Board Member Olsen? Aye. President Rendler? Aye. Vice President Hollihan?

Aye.

Clerk Wilson? Yes. Motion carried, 5-0.

And we're on to board comments, 18. Does anyone have any board comments tonight? Anybody have anything to say tonight?

I have a comment. When the lawsuits start coming in, I hope that you feel good about that.

anything yeah i do yeah i i think you're free you're free to believe whatever it is you want if you want to believe the earth is flat if you want to believe anything you want to believe whoever you decide to pray to that doesn't matter however it doesn't matter how you govern and you can't govern um effectively we are all entrusted as um to be, we are entrusted to make sure that public school is just that, a fair and equitable place for everyone. And what you guys have done today is, once again, show your prejudice, but you're closeting kids. Not only are you outing them, but you're closeting them. And I think this is really embarrassing, and I'm actually pretty embarrassed to share a dais with you. So I think that, yes, when the lawsuits come in, because they will. I don't care what you guys think. They will. And I will blame you every second that we have to listen to it. And it's going to come from our general fund. It's not coming from these mythical law firms that say they're going to defend us. No, it's coming from our general fund, and it's going to hurt our children. And I hope you're proud of that because you could have done something kind and empathetic and you could have done something like actually care about our students and you don't. So just do me a favor and outside of this, the scope of this business, don't talk to me.

Well, I have something to say. I'm really excited about our new safety director, and I'm hoping that we have some great improvements coming as far as bullying and reducing our violence on campuses.

I want to thank everybody for coming tonight. And... I was really happy to be at the RTA dinner for the retirees last week. It was a great event. Thank you to the RTA board for the invitation, and congratulations to all our retirees this year. I hope you all have a very nice summer, no matter what your plans are. And I want to congratulate Robin Rivera and Matt Yost on being on our management team. And that's all I have. Mr. Cabral, do you have any comments?

I do actually just want to make it clear that... Accountability does matter, so I did hear a lot of talk about Brown Act, and it is the public's duty to hold us accountable to the Brown Act, and so I urge you to hold us accountable to that. I think that we definitely had... I think it was like 15 minutes before the meeting I was told that we had folks asking for 72 cards. So I immediately got on the phone with legal to find out what it is that we can do or not do to ensure. And so I think we tried to carry that out. I do believe the main thing is that everybody had a chance to speak. prior to us taking action. But again, I'm okay with accountability and I do urge the public to hold us accountable. Thank you.

I have a quick question for our superintendent and I guess the board president in the effort of, I guess, maintaining accountability. Where are we on my Brown Act violation question regarding our board member shirts?

an update. I wasn't prepared to have an update on that.

I just assumed. Okay. It has gone nowhere. Thank you. I appreciate that.

You have 16 violations today, just so you know.

Anything else? And we are I can't see what time it is. It's 1130. This meeting is adjourned at 1130.