Board of Education — October 14, 2025

Call this meeting, the Board of Education, to order at 6 p.m.

Roll call. Board Member Ayala-Contero? Aye. Vice President Hollihan? Present. Board Member Olson? Here. Clerk Wilson? Here. And I am here. We are all here.

Okay, so across our school, students and staff aren't just showing up. They're showing who they are, what they're capable of, and how they're shaping the future. Every single day, our students and our staff, often with support from the community, are creating those moments through passion, perseverance, and purpose. When we talk about empowering positive moments, this is what we mean. A student discovers they can be a leader. A team choosing compassion over competition. A club being a safe haven. A classroom becoming a launching pad for dreams. A teacher realizing that they've made a difference. These moments don't necessarily make headlines, but they have the ability to change lives. That is what Empowering Positive Moments is all about, celebrating and uplifting students and staff of RUSD, and to remind ourselves that even one moment of support, recognition, or encouragement can be life-changing for another person. Let's keep making time for these stories to be told. Let's keep empowering positive moments together. Tonight, during our Empowering Positive Moments, we're highlighting students in the Adult Transitions Program, specifically Studio 24. And I would like to invite our students, Dylan, Zaylin, and Chewy, to come up, and their teacher, Sarah Walsh. How do you say her last name? Ostash. To come forward, and we are going to have the students lead us in the pledge tonight.

Ready, begin. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for one nation under God, one nation under God, indivisible, with justice for everything and all.

All right. Let's see. Good evening, Superintendent Cabral, Board President Michelle Rendler, members of the school board, administrators, staff, students, and community members. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you tonight. I'm excited to share the incredible work happening in our program and the impact of Studio 24 Restaurant. First, I'd like to recognize the teacher who laid the foundation for Studio 24, Mrs. Judy White. Her dedication, hard work, and passion for individuals with special needs created a space where students could thrive. Her legacy continues to influence everything we do today. I also want to thank the administrative team at RHS, Mr. Cullen, Dr. Rehage, Dr. Davidson, and Ms. Moon for their ongoing encouragement and involvement. Your support truly makes a difference. At Studio 24, students explore careers in food service and develop both the hard and soft skills needed to be successful in these roles. They apply for positions, interview and train for jobs such as greeter, host, cashier, beverage attendant, waiter, food prep staff, and dishwasher. This year, through the support of the Transition Partnership Program, our students have begun working toward earning their food handlers cards, which is a significant step and helps prepare them for real employment opportunities. And we practice these skills each day. Throughout the week, students are involved in every aspect of running the restaurant. They plan menus, budget, create shopping lists, and go into the community to purchase supplies. They fold napkins, prepare takeout packaging, assist with food prep, and help transform Studio 24 into a fully functioning restaurant by Friday. Our space includes tablecloths, silverware, beautifully folded napkins, candles, battery-operated napkins, Salt and pepper shakers, tea sweeteners, and floral arrangements. This year, those flowers come from Terrier Bloom and Garden Co., created by students in our new ATP class at RHS, led by Ms. Waranga. We're also grateful for the support and partnership of Ms. Dillow's Classy Flower Shop at Citrus Valley last school year. When guests visit, they can also go order a coffee drink at Terrier Grounds Coffee Shop, which is run by Ms. Natalie Kling. We are truly intentional about collaborating across classes and programs. Our community's support for Studio 24 has been truly inspiring. Former parents, retired teachers, neighbors, extended family members, and of course our own superintendents and board members have attended and championed Studio 24 with great enthusiasm. Local businesses like Martha Green's and Uncorked on State Street have also joined in, showing their support through participation and encouragement. The overwhelming generosity we continue to receive from our district, families, and the broader community is what fuels and sustains the important work we do. Tonight, I'm honored to be joined by three of our star students and Studio 24 staff members who would like to share their experiences with you. First up is Chewy Flores. All right, you got this.

OK, ready? Let me start here. Hi.

My name is Chewy. I am 21 and a student in adult transition. My favorite job is at 24. It is the greater because I like to be outside and welcome our guests. I smiled and say, welcome to Studio 24. I love Studio 24 because it helps me be an adult, helpful. I want to have a job when I am done with the program. Thank you. I would like to introduce my friend, Zaylin. Hi, my name is Zealand Jones. I am a an adult student in Ms. O's class at RHS. I love Studio 24, and my favorite job is being a waiter because I enjoy serving people and learning life skills. When I am older, I hope to get a job at Ranch Market and live on my own. Thank you. Next up, my friend and classmate, Dylan.

My name is Dylan Davis. I'm an adult student in Ms. Alsasha's class at RHS. I love Studio 24 because I enjoy helping my friends and my job coaches at the restaurant in our class. I love being helpful, friendly, and kind. My favorite job is being a host because I show the guests where they are going to sit and let them know the waiter will be with them shortly. I enjoy being a waiter to serve people. I take their orders and write them down. Delivery is also fun because we bring them the food they have ordered in carts and go to the north and south campuses. I recently passed my food handlers test and received my food handlers card. When I am older and done with the program, I hope to go to college and live on my own.

All right. As you've heard, Studio 24 is more than a class. It's a place where our students build skills, confidence, and community. I'm deeply grateful for the chance to highlight our program and the real-world learning taking place every day. If you'd like to follow us along in our journey, you can follow us on Instagram at RedlandsATP. Thank you again for your time and continued support.

Thank you, Sarah. Does anybody have any questions they want to ask?

No questions, just a comment. Thank you for coming out tonight. It's so great to have you with us. Thank you for being with us.

I'd like to say publicly for the first time, and we're going to celebrate a lot more than just this. However, the prestigious Golden Bell Award from CSBA Studio 24 along with Terrier Grounds and the Floral Class have won the award for this year. Congratulations. Can you all come through the barrier here? And we want to take a picture with you all because you're all famous.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay, moving on. Is there a motion to approve tonight's agenda with flexibility?

So moved. I'll second.

Thank you, Patty. Thank you, Melissa. Any discussion? 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? Aye, not aye. I think I heard it right. Clerk Wilson? Aye. Motion carried, 5-0.

Is there a motion to approve the minutes of the September 9th, 2025 and September 23rd, 2025 Board of Education regular meetings? I'll move. Second.

Thank you, Melissa. Thank you, Patty. Any discussion? I'll call for the vote.

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

Aye.

Motion carried, 5-0.

Moving on to community input for agendized items. 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 comment 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. The amount of time will be announced by the board president before the first speaker begins and will not exceed three minutes. How many speakers do we have on agendized items?

We have six speakers, but we have 11 items that they'll be speaking on.

Okay, three minutes is the time limit.

You call the first speakers. Erica Grossman with two items, Peter Hall and Joshua Hall.

Welcome, Erica. Thank you.

I'd like to speak on the services provided through the Inclusive Early Education Expansion Program. I believe that with professional guidance and training, more students with disabilities can be placed in inclusive programs from an early age. Our district has not yet met its goal for inclusive classroom placements. Too often, support for students with disabilities is framed as charity. I frequently hear the word compassion used. But access to appropriate education is not about kindness. It is a right. Students with disabilities are entitled to the same educational opportunities as their peers. The right to a free, appropriate public education is codified in Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, IDEA, signed into law by President Gerald Ford, a Republican president. Recently, the Department of Education terminated nearly all employees in its Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services without clear justification. This decision will significantly impact students with disabilities and undermines their rights. Our district should not align itself with such government actions. I'd like to read a testimony from my friend Deborah. She could not make it here today. My son, now 48, has the life he has now due to a very early intervention through public programs in Tennessee, and then as an elementary student in California. Inclusion must be more than a label. In some cases, students with disabilities are placed in general education classrooms without proper support. This affects not only those students, but also their teachers and peers. To make inclusion meaningful, we need more staff. Even the best techniques guided by professionals are ineffective without enough staff. This brings me to another agenda item regarding stipends for special education paraprofessional classified staff. I hope you approve the proposed $500 stipend, but I must say $500 is not enough given the current economy. This year's starting wage for special education paraprofessionals is $20.65, only a $0.23 increase from 2023. Meanwhile, the cost of living has risen by 7.9% since then. Among parents, many are single mothers who can only work during school hours. Many are college students who are paying for schools as well as rent, and some hold two or three jobs just to make ends meet. Supporting parents isn't just about labor. It's about supporting American families. Without them, our schools cannot function. Special education paras' roles and responsibilities are incredibly diverse, yet they are paid the same. That's simply not fair. Some paras work in highly demanding conditions with little to no support. It's no surprise that those classrooms are often short-staffed. People understandably find it unreasonable to take on such intense workloads for the same wage as staff in far less demanding roles. My late daughter was in RISD special education program. I was genuinely impressed by the progress being made in special education, especially compared to Japan, where many students with disabilities remain in segregated settings. In other words, we are on the right track, and we can do better. I also want to highlight the immigrant workforce that sustains our district's para staff. Many people don't realize many paras hold college degrees or had a respected careers in their home countries but cannot be licensed to work here. Some crossed the border as children and worked hard to obtain worked hard to obtain citizenship. Without immigrants, our school district simply cannot function. Paraprofessionals and other support staff are a powerful example that immigrants are not taking jobs from Americans. They're supporting American families, strengthening our schools, and contributing to the foundation of inclusive education. I hope you pay them in a way that reflects the weight of their work and responsibilities, and If you believe the school board has the power to remove the books they don't like, then that same power should be used to push for meaningful support for paraprofessionals. Thank you. Thank you, Erica.

Peter Hall.

Welcome, Peter.

I'm going to talk about the hiring of school personnel. And lately I'm seeing a lot of news reports about sexual abusers in this school and in others. And it makes me wonder why these people are able to get these jobs when the rest of us are having such a hard time finding work in this economy. Why are evil people... having such easy access to not just jobs but prestigious jobs and jobs where they're around children and can harm children. So I wonder what the school district is doing to curb the hiring of sexual predators because Red Ones has had some serious Red Ones has a history of sexual predators abusing children in their schools, and it's a well-known fact that schools like the Catholic Church and other institutions, public and private but large, are shuffling around sexual predators. When they get found out somewhere, they get shipped somewhere else to start fresh, and this shouldn't be happening. Thank you.

Thank you, Peter. Welcome, Joshua. Thank you.

I want to talk about the same thing. Groups like Together for Red Ones Now, while they promote the inclusion of MAPs, minor attracted people, They say that their group isn't abusing children when they are, and I think a lot of school boards intentionally hire these people and then cover it up.

Excuse me, what agenda item are you speaking to?

The human resources one. It's only listed as item 14 and 15. Yeah, 14 and 15. I was talking about the same thing he was talking about. Anyway, Red Wings, it was found out a year or two ago, is number one when it comes to teachers and school officials abusing children in the country. Everyone saw that documentary with the city councilwoman, Tracy Lowenthal, whatever her name is. She did a video back in 2018 talking about it. But so far, not much has been done to protect students against sexual abuse, and we need to do better vetting.

Thank you, Joshua. Valerie Tabor, Catherine Appleby. Valerie Tabor.

The agenda items that they were referring to was under personnel.

Welcome, Catherine.

Thank you. I will be starting with agenda item 11B, but I'm going to apologize because I have an introductory paragraph that ties into it. I promise, Michelle, I promise. So this is the agreement with Taylor and Siphon Consulting Engineers. Good evening, board members and Superintendent Cabral. My name is Catherine Appleby. I am a resident of Area 4, a parent of a Citrus Valley student, an RUSD alumni, and a lifelong resident of Redlands. Because I believe that one of the roles of a school board should be to make the business of the district transparent to all stakeholders, I come to you tonight to ask clarifying questions. So... Do you have paper and a writing utensil handy? Because I'm expecting you to take notes so that these questions are answered. Regarding this agreement with Taylor and Siphon Consulting Engineers, it's for an engineering feasibility study that is simply us sending them the blueprint for the existing stadium and then using it to evaluate the practicality and potential for success of the proposed press box addition. The current quote is for $26,500, and it does not include a site visit. That's an extra charge. This study is incredibly important, but I looked at the hourly rate for their staff and at that total quote cost, and I have to ask, how long does a typical feasibility report take, and is this comparable to other firms? My second agenda item is 11F. This is your revised board meeting dates. First, thank you for striking through the March 24th, 2026 date as this falls during RUSD's spring break. And our students, staff, and families deserve to spend that time relaxing and not worrying about whether this board will do what they have historically done and use a break as an opportunity to pass divisive policies. On that note, I would humbly like to suggest that the June 23rd and the July 8th, 2026 meetings are struck through and that two other meeting dates are added. I might suggest keeping the December 2nd, 2025 or the February 24th, 2026 dates or adding an additional date in May. I happen to think that an additional date in May would be perfect as the only meeting scheduled in May is to honor retirees and student representatives and maybe that should be its focus. But I recognize that the June 23rd meeting may be important as it is the last board meeting of the fiscal year, and that July 8th meeting also may be important as the first board meeting of the new fiscal year. Item 12c, the RHS AVID trip. You should most definitely approve this trip of RHS's AVID students to tour various college campuses. I hope you recalled, as I did when I read this agenda item, that on September 23rd, Superintendent Cabral shared that BSU, I think it was REVS, but I might be wrong, also wanted to tour college campuses. And I'm hoping that when you get to this agenda item, you feel led to ask for an update on those efforts so that those BSU students can have the similar opportunity to our AVID students. Item 12Q. This is the agreement for INVOLVE. Am I correct in understanding that the INVOLVE training is for our student leadership ASB students? The information in the agenda attachment was unclear. One of the items also unclear in this, and it's listed in the documentation, is item number three. It mentions travel, lodging, and accommodations for engagements. But what are these engagements, and where will they be held? My final item is actually agenda item 15, B through F. Now, I think that all of you up there have the capabilities to be thoughtful and creative thinkers, and I don't think you saw this, and I don't know what the solution is, but as an educator, this was deeply disturbing to me. Grand Canyon University pays the mentor teachers $500 a semester. CBU says they pay, says they don't pay. They don't list any dollar amounts, so it's unclear. Los Angeles Pacific University pays $200 to a mentor teacher per semester. The University of Redlands pays $350 per semester to a mentor teacher. And Loyola Marymount pays $300 per semester. There is a huge discrepancy here between all of these universities. And I don't know if we've already passed the agreement for Cal State San Bernardino and the University of Riverside. Maybe we don't ever partner with them. But this is shameful to our teachers who volunteer to be mentor teachers. One teacher could be receiving a $500 stipend, and their neighboring teacher next door could be receiving that $200 stipend. Now, I don't know how we resolve this. We can't dictate to the universities what they pay our mentor teachers. But I think if we want to honor our teachers, if we want to encourage them to mentor up-and-coming new teachers, that you take a look at this and that you put on your thinking caps and that you have some creative discussions.

Thank you, Catherine. Thank you.

My name is Valerie Tabor. I'm speaking on item 13A for Red Ribbon Week. Welcome, Valerie. I don't particularly have an issue with Red Ribbon Week, except that drug use is a symptom of a larger problem, and the approach of just say no is an inadequate approach. If the board wants to actually address drug use among students, then you need to be looking at more comprehensive approaches. Early intervention, mental health supports, and other interventions targeted at our most vulnerable youth that get them engaged in appropriate pastimes. That looks like funding arts, theater, mock trial, dance, sports, and other programs that keep youth engaged and excited about life. not hopeless and disengaged. It looks like not targeting some of our most vulnerable youth with hateful policies. I don't know exactly what the stats are on drug use in our schools, but I know from what I saw as a student, it's there and it's a large problem. You won't get anywhere with a say no approach. This issue will take more time and effort than that. Thank you.

Thank you, Valerie.

E Hamilton.

Welcome, B.

So I wanted to speak on 15M first. I wish to express my enthusiastic support for the proposed agreement with Anani Enterprises Consulting LLC. Dr. Chike Akua, the founder of the organization, appears to have both personal and professional expertise in providing culturally relevant instructional support that is not just beneficial but absolutely vital for cultivating an inclusive and equitable learning environment where students can thrive. We are experiencing in our culture today an erosion of people's constitutional and human rights. Every day we hear stories in the news about ICE agents arresting citizens of this country and illegally deporting them to other countries where they are either detained and or deported to a third country without due process. This initiative represents a necessary step to ensure the safety of the families in this district, to remind people of what the words in inalienable human rights actually mean. If we do not provide this type of education, the people who would divest them of those rights are more likely to succeed. In fact, the dismantling of education is often the first target in authoritarian regimes to cement power because an informed public is the biggest threat to their power. By investing in this partnership, we are investing in the future success and well-being of not only our students, but our country. My hope is that this initiative will help students recognize their voices matter so that they can stand up and make sure that they are seen, heard, and valued within the school community. I hope that it will cultivate a stronger sense of belonging for all, particularly for those who may feel marginalized or underrepresented. Everyone deserves to feel safe, affirmed, and fully embraced for who they are and to feel empowered to stand up to those who would abuse power at the national, state, or local level. I am optimistic that the collaboration with Imani Enterprises will prevent our school district from collapsing under such abuses of power, fostering a more inclusive, equitable, and ultimately successful learning environment for all students at a time when we need it the most. I urge you to approve this agreement in the hopes that it will provide lasting benefits to our entire community. The investment in our students and their futures is an investment in a brighter tomorrow. Moving on to 15N. I graduated from university in 2002, nine months after September 11th. And the economy was in a downturn. Housing prices were skyrocketing. Unemployment was rising. The promise of a good career awaiting anyone after college was broken. And because of this, I struggled with generalized anxiety disorder. The thing that saved me during that time was mindfulness. I've learned the techniques of mindful breathing, muscle relaxation, noticing thoughts and feelings as they come, allowing them space, accepting them, taking care of them, and letting them go. Mindfulness saved my life. It also saved the life of a friend of mine who was struggling with suicidal ideation. The night before he was going into an intensive outpatient treatment, I sat with him and taught him the mindful breathing techniques I had learned so that he could survive until the next morning. He and I are still alive today because of these practices. Hard as it is to believe, the times we are living in today are more stressful than they were even 20 years ago. The millennial generation of whom I am a part was the first generation to face the very real and likely possibility that their quality of life would be lower than their parents. Many of the kids, teens, and young adults in the generations that followed have lived with that very real possibility since birth. Their anxiety is real. Their stress is real. And the least that we can do as the adults who are there to support them is to give them the tools to manage it. Moving on to 15.0. This one is actually a question. I would like to better understand the purpose of this particular partnership with ProCare Therapy. And the reason I'm requesting this information is because earlier this year the school district cut funding that was necessary to keep school counselors on staff. Counselors who had personal relationships with my child and my family who benefited us immensely are no longer employed. To save money, many districts I know are employing outside companies whose employees are not invested in our students. These agencies often have high turnover, making it challenging to provide adequate support to services to students. If my child has a mental health issue, I want the counselor to be someone who works at the school where my kid attends, not someone they are seeing on a computer screen for the very first time. I want someone who knows the school, the teachers, the administrators, who can offer lessons on positive parent and anti-bullying strategies. If this agency can provide that personal touch, I'm all for it. If it's a situation where we're replacing meaningful mental health support services to our students with a model more like the one we see with Kaiser Permanente, then I think the district needs to seriously reconsider its priorities and what it means to quote unquote empower our students. If you could please clarify the intent of this policy for the community here, I would very much appreciate it. Could you? Would you respond to that? Because that was a request for a response.

Oh, do we have somebody who could respond to his? We can try to get that to you.

If not today, then by tomorrow, but not in the moment.

But if it's a situation where we don't know whether it's one where we're replacing school counselors or we're supplementing it or that sort of thing, I would ask that the board not vote on it tonight if they aren't even clear what they're voting on. Moving on to 15B, P, as in Paul, the special education evaluation services.

Point of order really quick. I just want to clarify. The items that you're speaking to are in section 12, not 15. Oh, 12. Just wanted to throw that out there.

Thank you. Okay. As a parent of a child with special needs within the school district, I unequivocally support the proposed agreement with Dr. Robin Morris. The cornerstone of an effective educational system lies in its capacity to identify and cater to the diverse learning needs of every student. Comprehensive special education evaluations are not merely procedural. They are fundamentally crucial in accurately pinpointing the specific challenges and requirements of our students. Given the challenges that my family has faced to acquire services and the Trump administration's recent dismantling of the Department of Special Education, I feel it is urgent that the board do what is necessary to ensure that every student have access to a free and appropriate public education. Early intervention is paramount. By addressing learning differences and challenges at the earliest possible stage, we can prevent students like my child from falling behind and foster a lifelong love of learning. Accurate assessments from qualified professionals who are in compliance with the law are equally vital. As I have mentioned previously, my son was illegally denied an IEP for two years because the district determined he was performing above academic level. This despite him having sensory meltdowns in the classroom and despite him having an autism diagnosis, which the California Supreme Court has determined qualifies a student for an IEP regardless of academic performance. Given the autism diagnoses have increased in this country, not because of vaccines or aspirin, but largely because parents are having children later in life due to socioeconomic pressures, it is imperative that we provide students with special needs the necessary support that they need to succeed in school. I firmly believe that this agreement will serve as a catalyst for creating a more inclusive and equitable learning environment for all children like mine within our district. By prioritizing comprehensive special education evaluations, we are sending a clear message that every child matters, regardless of their background, identity, or learning style. And this commitment to inclusivity will empower students who may feel marginalized or underserved, ensuring that they have the resources and support they need to reach their full potential. The federal government is doing its level best to gut special education programs, so it is up to our local school districts to ensure that every child with special needs can succeed. By investing in special education, we're investing in the future success and well-being of every student, and by extension, our entire community. Thank you.

Thank you, Bea. That's it. Thank you. Moving on to association reports. Steven Caperton for RTA.

All right. Good evening, board members. Superintendent Cabral, cabinet. I'd like to first start off by saying, you know, round of the round of applause for Studio 24. Those guys are great. Thank you. And I can say as an RHS teacher of many years, I have used their services more than once, and especially the coffee group. That has been a lifesaver on more than one occasion. Tonight's speech will be on a little bit lighter note than my last couple weeks, so hopefully you enjoy. First, I would like to clarify a statement I made last month. When discussing the ongoing safety issues that my members are facing, I reference our broken workers' compensation system. I just wanted to clarify that it is California's workers' comp system itself that is broken. That is what I was referencing. I would like to thank Risk Management under the direction of Carrie Ann McEwell-Covey for their efforts in helping my members navigate this system. They've been doing a great job, and it's a very difficult situation they're in. So I just wanted to make sure I was clear on that. October has seen a lot of member engagement activities for RTA. On October 3rd, we hosted our annual fall festival. Over 150 members attended, enjoying barbecue and ice cream with their colleagues. I want to extend my public gratitude for the numerous local businesses that generously donated gifts for our members. Special thanks go to Chili's, Starbucks, Lakeshore Learning, Suds Brothers, and BJ's Restaurant, who donated a lot of prizes for our teachers this year. This week, we are hosting our monthly free member movie night at the Look Theater. The movie for Wednesday is Tron Aries. And next week, we are hosting our new educator dinner, an annual event to welcome new RUSD educators to the fold. We are finishing our first round of site visits this year, and we will have visited all of RUSD's campuses by the end of the month. Late in September, I was able to participate in RESPA's site blitz. I was honored to assist in a small way with RESPA's ongoing member engagement efforts. October is also a busy month for CTA and RTA conferences. We will be sending over 50 members to conferences to learn about leadership and how to advocate for themselves and our students effectively. In fact, last weekend, over a dozen RTA leaders attended the Fall Leadership Conference. Thank you.

Thank you, Stephen.

And now we have Respa, Liz.

Good evening, president Renler, members of the board, superintendent Cabral and cabinet last month from September 23rd through the 26th, RESPA held a districts wide site blitz over four days. We visited 32 school sites. Our team included CTA staff, bargaining team members, organizing team members, and our executive board. I want to share just a few of the powerful stories that we heard. At adult education, a graduate who now works as a para at Victoria has not only earned her bachelor's degree, she is now working towards her master's. In tech services, one of our staff gives his free time after work coaching youth baseball, serving our community kids in another way. At Rev Theater, we saw the amazing work Emerald is doing. Some of her students have gone on to work for Disney in production. At Clement, the librarian and library para thanked us for simply sitting and listening. Sometimes that's all people need. At one of our high schools, I ran into some of my former students from Mariposa. They are now playing freshman football. That was a proud moment for me. At Totally Kids, we witnessed the care, the compassion of these parents and teachers working with our most fragile students. Their dedication is unmatched. These visits reminded us that behind every policy are people, dedicated employees who make a difference every single day. We wrapped up our Blitz with a fall union reunion. Over 200 members and non-members came together. There was food, raffle prizes, games, Happy Camper Creamery, and even our brand new mascot, Ollie the Orange. CTA President David Goldberg joined us and gave a wonderful speech about the importance of unions in standing together in challenging times. I left that evening full of pride and gratitude. Our educational support professionals work so hard every single day, often without recognition. This event reminded us to celebrate us. and the amazing work we do together. Way to represent RESPA. And as you see, here is Ollie, the orange. He is our new RESPA mascot. We just thought this would put some light on. And if anybody would like to take a picture, you're more than welcome to. Thank you.

Let's go take a picture with Ollie.

Michelle. Wait, Ollie. Ollie. Ollie.

Ollie is one of our members, by the way. We're not going to say who it is, though.

I'm sorry. All y'all though. Okay, next up we have Jenny Dyerly with REPA. Is Jenny here? There she is.

Good evening, members of the board. Thank you for having me tonight. I'm here to represent RAPA. I just wanted to share a few things that we have going on. We approved an additional scholarship for high school seniors this year. So we'll be giving out five of those this year for non-members. And then also, RAPA participated in the Believe Walk. We had a group of RAPA members. On October 23rd, we will have our first breakfast of the year with two district speakers. So we're excited to have our management team here for that. We are also in the midst of planning our holiday party. And then this year, our management team has taken advantage of our ASCA Region 12 education series and is participating in some of those in the fall and the spring. That's all. Thank you so much. Thank you, Jenny.

On to board committee reports. Anybody have anything to report?

Okay, I just have something from CryRop, just something small I wanted to highlight that the first set of six students took the ASL Avant test at Redlands High School and all six passed. This is a step in the direction to get our ASL students certified with a seal by literacy. So it's very good news and I'm very proud of those students because these aren't current seniors, these were last year's seniors, so they have retained the information. So we're very proud of our RHS ASL students and Misty. It's a wonderful class, so

I just want to welcome our staff from Prirop over here today. So thank you.

Anybody else?

Yeah, we had our, for the Compact Club, we had our first advisory committee meeting for the year. And I can't speak highly enough about this group, especially because it's such a good example of a community networking with the district, a collaboration. And the advisory committee for Compact Club works so hard to provide events for the students that are enrolled in the club. And our first event coming up is October 30th. It's a mixer. and the students use that time to learn how to communicate with adults and hold conversations, how to shake hands, introduce themselves. It really is the start to helping the students get ready for a year of learning more and more advanced skills in pursuing jobs and degrees and different programs, learning about careers. And so I'm hoping some of the administration would be involved in the mixer and you can get more information from me or anyone in the community that would like to come and have a chance to experience this with the students and be there to kind of be the adult in the room to give this experience to them.

Thank you. Kenny? Rep is just discussing starting to formulate plans for the turkey trot. So it's the big event of the year. Last year we had so many attendees that they ran out of plaques or whatever the sign is. Bibs? Bibs. Thank you very much. Bibs. So this year just starting to work on that.

All right, thank you. Moving on to superintendent's report. Mr. Cabral, do you have anything for us today?

Just a couple things. I also want to welcome Dr. Angle and his cabinet team, or part of his cabinet team here from CRYROP. Thanks for coming. A couple questions were asked that I think can be answered, and so I want to make sure that we just answer some of those questions. One is the stipend amount that our teachers get for mentoring classes. It's $500 for everybody. There are some colleges that don't pay anything, and we cover that cost. And then if it's less than 500, we cover the difference. So everybody gets paid 500 bucks. Is that enough? That's another question. My official answer is yes, it is. I'm going to ask Patty to answer the question about ProCare.

Yes, ProCare therapy, it is for one of our OTs that's out on maternity leave, and that's a specialized position we don't have a substitute for, so we need to contract for that for a short period of time while she's out on leave. Thank you.

Other than that, oh, one other thing. We have the OAG is going to visit us in November. We are on track with all of our mandates. This is something that was part of the judgment in year two. They were going to do a visit, and so that's getting scheduled. They've given us three dates in November. the 13th, 14th, or 15th, and the 20th. But we're going to choose one of those dates. We'll let the board know exact times and everything that they'll be here. So we're looking forward to that visit. And that's all I have.

All right. Moving on to consent items under business services. Mr. Hill, do you have any changes or additions?

I do have one change. Consent item G. It is a claim that is the JPA that we work with changed the number.

So I'm changing the 661532. That is listed over to 658492.

Same claim, same information. It's just a different number. Thank you.

Okay. Is there a motion to approve all consent items as detailed in items 11B to 11H? So moved. Second.

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

Yes, I'm happy to see some progress at the Redlands High School press box. That was a stadium that was built without one, and since then we've learned. CB got theirs. Our rep got theirs. It would be great to have one for RHS.

I thought we did want to make some changes to the meeting schedule, the board meeting schedule.

November 4th. You're right.

Letter F. So the changes, November 4th, the November 12th meeting will be changed to November 4th.

And maybe just explain why. The 11th is a Tuesday, and it's a holiday. And then the 12th is CryRop, and Melissa and I are both on CryRop, so you would not have our presentation. So we went with the previous week before, in case you were wondering.

February 24th, somebody asked why that one is not going to happen. That will be the State of the District that night, so- And, yes, we didn't realize that March 24th was spring break when we first made this calendar. So I'm glad it was cut so that we could take that meeting off.

So those are the only changes.

And the reason we don't, just to answer, the reason we don't have any in May is because we already have testing, right? It's the end of the year, and there's already a lot going on at that time.

School award programs and things like that all happened.

Okay. That's all we do at it. Somebody was saying.

I'm sorry. Do you need some? Were you going to say something?

There is a meeting in May, but it looks like it's only, it's reserved to honor retirees.

Well, we just honor them at that meeting. We have a meeting. Oh, it's a regular meeting. Okay.

Okay. Any more discussion? We'll call for the vote. Board Member Ayala-Quintero. Aye. Board Member Olson. Aye.

Well, we're approving it with the November 4th change, right? Yes, with that change. Aye. President Rendler?

Aye. Vice President Mulligan? Aye. Clerk Wilson?

Aye.

Motion carried, 5-0.

Moving on to educational services consent items.

Are there any changes or additions, Mrs. Buckmuller?

Yes, I also have a correction for consent item Q. I'd like to change the funding source to LCAP funds instead of the CYBHI fund.

Thank you. Is there a motion to approve all consent items as detailed in item 12B through 12R? I'll move.

Second. Thank you, Melissa. Thank you, Patty.

Any discussion? Happy to see our students going on Catalina trips for our fifth graders. And our RHS AVID kids going to... looking at colleges and our mock trial and everyone else.

And I'm really excited for the two members of the Redlands East Valley wrestling team going to Clovis High School for the tournament.

All right, so we will call for the vote. I wanted to say something.

Oh, I'm sorry. Regarding the Imani Enterprises Consulting, I just have a concern that A couple concerns, a few concerns actually with it. The first problem I felt was very manipulative because there are dates, locations, times already planned out for this training, and it hasn't even been approved yet, which feels, you know, it doesn't feel quite right to me. And another thing is the amount of money that's spent on just, you know, $6,000 per training. per talk, per session. And I think that I just feel that when we are starting to provide money and services in the name of a race, that we go down a pathway of dividing things or giving special attention or special favors or treatment to one particular race. And I think that setting a precedent may be challenging because what if the Hispanic Club wanted to have a expensive speaker or an expensive luxury or you know workshop and then what about the asian club or this club or that club and we can't discriminate so i think once you start giving treatment um just based on race i mean that in itself to me is not to me it feels like that's the definition of being racist is treating people according to their race and providing or not providing based on someone's race So I am concerned that the speaker in particular is very progressive and is a believer in systemic racism, and I do not subscribe to systemic racism. So I don't think that that's the right direction. So I have a lot of concerns. I did see a lot of the content, and a lot of it was very good and inspirational. However, I just can't agree that doing something based on race is a good direction. We're all Americans, and as we divide each other based on race, then we're focused on skin color instead of opportunities or academics.

I can answer some of that because Dr. Akua, who is the presenter that we're excited to invite, his schedule opened up and he's available these dates. And so what we do is when we can secure the dates, we secure them. He is well aware, though, that it must be board approved first. But we want him to save the date for us. So the worst that can happen is it doesn't pass, and then we just notify them that it didn't pass. There's nothing manipulative about that. It's just when we have speakers that are nationally recognized, we try to secure the date as soon as we know about it. As far as... bringing a speaker that is going to be telling us how to close the gap for our black students who have historically achieved at a much lower rate than some of our other groups. I would say I believe in the genius of and. It's one of the values that I lead by, which means that if that means that we are going to bring more presenters that can help us with our other subgroups who are also struggling, then I'm in favor of that too. If we need to spend more money to help with our foster youth, for example, who is also learning at a very much lower pace than some of our other groups, our black students are graduating at a rate of 88 percent as opposed to our overall grad rate of 92 percent just three years ago our black students were at as low as 83 percent and some of the work that we've done to focus on closing that gap have actually raised those rates up by five percent in two years i'm excited about that i think that the speaker helps Our staff learn more strategies. If you look at the average rate for a presenter and what they charge, this is not different than that. We brought somebody, for example, to our advance who helped us with AI. That rate was very similar to the rate that this person is charging. So it's not different than the going rate for a nationally recognized speaker.

And isn't the local control and accountability funds that we get, isn't that what it's supposed to be for?

LCAP does help us fund specific strategic ideas that will help our subgroups who need more. Yes. Yes.

I think that something that would help all students that need more help instead of just targeting a race would be more appropriate with those LCAP funds.

I was just going to point out that this is open for the entire community to come participate. The afternoon session is not closed. It's not just any specific group that's invited. The entire district is invited.

Yeah, I was wondering about that because I saw something that looked like it was, and then I saw something that looked like it was mostly encouraging the day pack parents. So I wasn't sure who it is for.

It would be advertised for the entire community to participate. There's only one group. There's two sessions. The afternoon session that's during work is actually for our administrators and for our managers. So that's not open to the public. But the evening session, which begins at 5.30, 5.30 to 8.30, is open to everyone. And there is targeted strategies to help our specific subgroup of black students. However, his message is... Good for all community members to hear.

Well, I don't know if this is possible, but I was thinking it would be great to have a report back from the DPAC parents on what they learned in terms of practical tools and techniques. Because I would like to see money spent on more tools that can be used throughout the year. Maybe it's buying books for the parents, buying... You know, putting money towards tutoring, putting some of that money towards actual hands-on services and tools for the students. And also, I hope we can start looking towards, I mean, as our district goals include increasing attendance and academic scores, that we keep looking towards more increased tutoring, continuing to focus on the school climate, which applies to all the kids, and engaging kids together and feeling united and part of their school community, because that also does tie into academics and attendance.

I agree. I think we should do both.

Just as an FYI, take handy, because there wasn't on the schedule. I know a lot of the times, and we do it when we go to bid on items, too, we piggyback off other contracts that come in. And Mr. Acuya happened to be in Reno Valley. Yeah, I know. I read that. Yeah, so I put it, too. And then I don't know if you know, but that Accresure contract, arena which is out in like indio there's a new concert place and they built that purposely because there were concert people who were performers coming from arizona and they're on the way to la so they built this arena now there's a lot of concerts there so you kind of just they picked it up and they just piggyback off when they're going to be geographically it's just convenient and it worked out

Well, and I know a lot of people bring up from the audience and myself the cost that some of these presentations require. And the superintendent has told me that they are normal costs. I still wonder if we are tight with our budget, if we can also really start looking for... support outside consultants, whatnot, that don't need to make, you know, $2,000 an hour. I just, it's hard for me to swallow. Well, I don't know. In almost anything, you pay for what you get. I don't, that's not always the case, though. There could be some really great young, you know, teachers that worked on their dissertation and came out of a university that have great ideas and have done research and studies, and they're not going to probably charge $2,000 an hour. So, I mean, it's just, you know, that's something I look at, too.

Well, I mean, we're open, we're welcome to attend this as well, correct?

Yes, and actually I didn't answer. I'm sorry. We can have somebody come back and give a report. No, that would be cool. I think that would be great for us to hear. But you also can also participate, be there, and hear for yourself the presentation, which you're invited to do. It's at Citrus Valley, 530.

And I mean, the day pack committee is open to anyone. I've attended Michelle. I mean, we've had various people. I mean, you can attend a day pack meeting to see what it's about. But I also wanted to comment something on your comment about efforts we make in order to foster a better school culture. With our all-cap funds, we do pay for ASB for all of our students so that they can attend any school event. I mean, there's competitions held between the grade levels. So we are making efforts in order to help promote a positive school culture.

Yeah, that's why I said I hope we continue to do that and even increase it, which the Involve program, which comes up after this, looks to be really focused on that, which I love. I know I feel like I have a pretty good handle of what we currently do, but I think it's super important to attendance and academic increases when kids feel part of a school community.

And the date that we have scheduled, Patty, do you remember the date?

It's short notice.

October 27th, Monday, October 27th. Okay, so 530. Okay, 530 at CB. Okay.

Okay, any more questions?

Okay.

Now to educational services action items. Mrs. Buckmiller, any... Oh, we didn't need to vote.

Oh, sorry.

Well, I did have more on... Oh, you do have something? Yeah, I hate it when we clump this many together. On Q, the... I did research that a lot, and like I said, I think it looks like a really great program. And I did have a lot of questions similar to what some of the community speakers had. Patty maybe could address those as far as the rate, including the travel and who gets the training and how that works exactly.

Yes, absolutely. Okay, so the travel rate was for the consultant, Scott Bakovich. He's back by popular demand. He's worked with us in the past and just had rave reviews from both students and from ASB advisors as well. And he's coming out to work with students. It's to enhance our student leadership skills as well as their advisors and the leaders that lead them as well, the link crew, ASB, and WEB. And he'll be coming out for both high school and for middle school. And he's really centering on student engagement and helping our students with strategies to build the culture of their schools and to involve all students and to help them learn how to track student engagement through Five Star or through Minga so that they can make sure that all students on campus feel like they belong. So it should be exciting. And you're welcome to attend those as well. We don't have the dates yet. We're pending approval from you guys.

And I had mentioned to Patty, Juan, that I thought using the five-star tracking, if we could then turn it into a little bit of hard data for our district on how much it has increased student engagement, I mean, as much as possible, I think that would be really cool. And then also we were talking about trying to have the students look at events and activities that might entice kids to come to school on days that perhaps there's lower attendance. I don't know if that might be a day before a holiday or, you know, what dates, typical Fridays, end of the school year, as a way to keep kids in school so that they can continue learning.

Also, I just want to add a correction, too. Dr. Akua is at 5 p.m. for people watching. It's at 5 p.m. at Citrus on Monday, October 27th.

Thank you. Okay, now we'll call for the vote.

Board Member Ayala Quinto?

Aye, but I'm going to abstain on cue as my daughter personally benefits from this, so I'm going to abstain from that one.

So we're voting on everything all at once in one block?

Unless somebody wants to pull something.

I would like to pull M. So we're voting on 12B through 12R, excluding M. Why are we pulling the whole thing?

Oh, okay. So do I need to vote again? Yes, correct. Correct.

Can you call the vote again? It's 12B to 12R, excluding N? M. M, sorry.

That will be voted on separately.

Board Member Ayala-Quintero? Aye, with an abstention on cue. Board Member Olsen? Aye. President Rendler? Aye. Vice President Hollihan? Aye. Clerk Wilson?

Aye.

Motion carried, 5-0 with one abstention on cue from Board Member Ayala-Quintero.

Is there a motion to approve consent item 12M? I'll move.

Second.

Thank you, Melissa. Thank you, Patty. Any discussion? All right, we'll call for the vote.

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

Aye.

Motion carried for one.

I think next time when we do that, we should pull it from the beginning if it's going to be separate item.

Well, I thought that was clear. I had several problems with that. You never once said that it was to be pulled. I should have said that.

But yeah, so maybe next time just say I'd like to pull it because then we spent all that time on discussion.

Yeah, no problem.

Now, on to educational services action items. Mrs. Buckmiller, are there any changes or additions?

No changes or additions. Thank you.

Is there a motion to adopt resolution number 9, 2025-2026, National Red Ribbon Campaign Supporting Red Ribbon Week, October 23rd to October 31st, 2025? I'll move. I'll second.

Any discussion?

Any discussion?

I noticed one of the community members brought up the just say no approach. Is that being utilized with this resolution?

I don't know.

I think it's part of it.

I think it's always part of it. I think it's all part of it.

Well, I agree. I think they do a lot of...

Ways to tell kids about drugs.

They who. So this is just a resolution that we are going to support Red Ribbon Week.

Yeah, well, companies do. National PTA does a Red Ribbon Week campaign, and then it gets sent to all the schools. And there is one person at the school who's in charge, and they help promote all the Red Ribbon Week activities that they're going to do.

Well, I definitely would hope we could give them a message that Just Say No is silly.

I've not seen a Just Say No campaign, but it doesn't mean that it's not out there. This resolution allows for the board to officially agree that we want to support

What happened to that group that was going to do some drug and alcohol education?

It's still happening. That is actually planned. I don't know the dates, but we do have that. Oh, great. Okay.

And every year they do a theme anyway for Red River Week. There's a new theme. Every year there's a different theme. It's just life is a puzzle, solve it drug-free. So every year it's been a theme since I've been here on.

All right. Any more discussion on this one? Call for the vote.

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

Aye.

Clerk Wilson?

Aye.

Motion carries. Five-0.

All right. Is there a motion to take items 13B through 8 together? So moved. Second.

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

Call for the vote. Board Member Ayala Quintero? Aye. Board Member Olsen? Aye. President Rendler? Aye. Vice President Hollihan? Aye. Clerk Wilson?

Aye.

Motion carries, 5-0.

Moving on to consent items under human resources. Mrs. Bruick, do you have any changes or additions? No changes or additions, thank you. Is there a motion to approve all consent items as detailed in items 14B through 14AA? So moved. Second.

Second. Melissa, thank you. Patty? No, it was Candy. Oh, sorry. Candy, thank you. All right, any discussion?

All right, we'll call for the vote. Board Member Ayala-Quintero? Aye. Board Member Olsen? Aye. President Rendler? Aye. Vice President Hallahan? Aye. Clerk Wilson? Aye. Motion carries, 5-0.

And now on to action items under human resources. Mrs. Bruig, do you have any changes or additions tonight?

No, I do not. Thank you. Is there a motion to ratify, adopt revised resolution number 3, 2025-2026, action regarding teaching outside credential authorization?

So moved.

Second.

Andy, thank you. Jeanette, any discussion? I'll call for the vote.

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

Aye.

Motion carries. By vote.

Is there a motion to ratify approved student teaching agreement between the Redlands Unified School District and Grand Canyon University effective June 30th, 2025 through June 30th, 2028? I'm a second. Thank you, Melissa. Thank you, Patty. Any discussion?

Yes, I just want to thank Superintendent Cabral for clarifying about the discrepancy between the pay, the stipends. I also, I'm just interested, so do they, do we pay the difference or do we pay it all together and we get the reimbursement from the schools? Yes.

Depends on the school. If they only pay 250, we pay the difference. If some of them pay zero, we pay 500 anyway.

But do we pay them in advance and then we get reimbursed from the schools, or do they pay the student directly?

Probably two separate payments. They get a payment from us and a payment from the school.

Thank you. 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.

Is there a motion to ratify approved student teaching agreement between the Redlands Unified School District and Cal Baptist University, effective July 1st, 2025 through June 30th, 2028?

So moved.

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

Call for the vote. Board Member Ayala-Quintero? Aye. Board Member Olsen? Aye. President Rendler? Aye. Vice President Hallahan? Aye. Clerk Wilson?

Aye.

Motion carried, 5-0.

Is there a motion to ratify approved student teaching agreement between the Redlands Unified School District and Los Angeles Pacific University effective July 30th, 2025 through June 30th, 2028? So moved. Second. Any discussion?

Call for the vote. Who's second? Me. Board Member Ayala-Quintero? Aye. Board Member Olsen? Aye. President Rendler? Aye. Vice President Hollihan? Aye. Clerk Wilson?

Aye.

Motion carries. 5-0.

Is there a motion to ratify approved student teaching agreement between the Redlands Unified School District and University of Redlands effective August 18th, 2025 through June 30th, 2027?

So moved. Second. Thank you, Melissa. Any discussion on this one? 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?

Aye.

Motion carries. Five-0.

Is there a motion to ratify approved student teaching agreement between the Redlands Unified School District and Loyola Marymount University, effective September 20, 2025, through September 20, 2028? So moved. Second. Candy, Patty.

Candy, thank you. Patty.

Any discussion? 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.

Okay, now it's time for public participation, community input. Public comments are permitted upon submission of a completed registration card prior to the start of public participation. This is not a forum for debate. Policy concerns 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. The amount of time will be announced by the board president before the first speaker begins and will not exceed three minutes. God bless you.

All right, how many speakers do we have? We have 18. Okay, we have 18.

All right, three minutes you have to speak.

First up is Michael Pastner, followed by Trisha Keeling, Patricia Molnar.

Welcome, Michael.

Thank you. Mike Paisner, District 5, parent in the district. I could spend my limited time this evening refuting each and every outrageous falsehood and slander that was thrown at Together for Redlands members last meeting. Or I could speak to the hypocrisy of complaining about name-calling and then calling someone the child of Satan. Or we could just write the whole episode off to people being disappointed that the rapture did not go the way they hoped. But instead, allow me to point out the true purpose of the exhibition we witnessed at the last meeting, which was to distract from the continued reckless behavior of Tandy Olson and Jeanette Wilson. Because the truth is, Ms. Olson doesn't want to address the more than 800 email complaints against her, or her hateful and bigoted social media posts, or the false accusations she's made against Together for Redlands, or the ongoing FPPC investigation against her, or the legal and social costs of the culture war policies she continues to promote. Ms. Wilson doesn't want to have to defend her bigoted comments captured on video or be reminded of the time she failed to condemn the Nazi flag as a symbol of hatred. So these board members rally their community to attack us because they can't defend their actions and they know there is overwhelming evidence that their policies are a waste of tax dollars and based on hatred and bigotry. What Together for Redlands has been engaged in is dissent and criticism based on the board members' actions and the harmful policies you've passed. And our right to do so is based on the First Amendment of our Constitution. You should read it sometime. Dissent is patriotic. We are not going away. We are not going to stop. The lies you tell about us will be exposed, and when you cross the line, as Ms. Olson recently has, we will avail ourselves of all legal remedies to defend ourselves and hold you accountable for your actions. And Ms. Rendler, I understand you've had some pressing commitments recently that precluded us from meeting, but it has been months I've been asking to meet with you, and it still hasn't happened. I hope that really changes this time because it's getting old and it sends a message to the community that you don't care what we have to say. So please do something to change that narrative.

Thank you, Michael. Welcome, Tricia.

Okay. Hello, my name is Tricia Keeling. I'm the executive director of Together for Redlands, and I'm here to read a statement written by our board. Together for Redlands has issued a formal cease and desist to trustee Candy Olson, trustee Jeanette Wilson, and their affiliated platform Awaken Redlands, following the publication of false and defamatory statements directed at our organization. The letter formally demands that Ms. Olsen, Ms. Wilson and Awaken Redlands immediately retract the false allegations made against Together for Redlands, cease and desist from publishing, circulating or endorsing any further false or misleading statements regarding our organization or its members, issue a public apology Acknowledging the falsity of their prior claims and the harm caused by their dissemination and preserve all related evidence, including social media posts, drafts, communications, and other records concerning these allegations. These directives are not optional. They are legal demands made in anticipation of potential litigation to protect Together for Redlands reputation and the rights of its members. The letter also serves as formal notice that any continued publication or repetition of false information may constitute defamation and subject the responsible parties to legal liability. Together for Redlands mission is rooted in civic engagement, transparency, and accountability. We categorically reject any form of violence, harassment, or intimidation and expect the same standards of integrity from public officials. This cease and desist letter represents a lawful and necessary response to defamatory conduct that undermines public trust. Together for Redlands, we'll continue to act within the bounds of the law to ensure the truth is upheld and that those who engage in harmful misinformation are held accountable. Thank you. Here's a copy of the cease and desist from our lawyers. Please give them to Jeanette and Candy, and one for the board. You should have received an email with it. Thank you. Thank you, Tricia.

I'm Pat Molnar, and I'm Area 4, capably represented by Melissa and Patty. I'm here to talk about freedom. I'm here to talk about the freedom. I'm wearing these colors for a reason, because I believe part of being an American is that you will... support people's right to have different opinions, and all kids. And when I say all kids, I include my son, who went to the school. And in Omisho, we had many conversations about our children. Yours that I taught, my son. I will tell you that my son and other students like my son, LGBTQ students, are getting harassed at my school, at other schools. They're being told they should unalive themselves. They're being told they don't count. And they're saying that teachers, other staff, people don't notice. And they deserve protection. And it's more than you think. It's more troubling. People seeing flags like I'm wearing and will continue to wear here tell my kids, tell my students who are LGBTQ, that they matter, that they're safe. And yes, that alone doesn't say that. It should, but it doesn't. Because the flag has been used over decades. It says everybody, but when somebody's house is burning, you don't say all houses matter. When somebody's race or somebody's gender or somebody's nationality is being attacked, you don't say. All kids matter because there's kids that need extra help. And yes, if they're African American, I'm going to reach out to them. I'm going to make sure that they're okay. I'm going to make sure that when people are saying things about their community, when they're facing historic challenges and people insulting them and... Things that at the federal level we're saying, oh, slavery didn't happen. Things like that. What does it say to African American students? What does it say to LGBTQ students when they're being removed from the Pentagon, when there's soldiers that look like them are being fired? What does it say? Does it say they count? Does it say they exist? And yes, I know certain people from certain churches say that it's abomination, et cetera, and that's okay speech here. It seems to be okay for some reason. I don't understand it. When people say things, my son counts. My son's a human being, and students like him are human beings. And yes, they deserve to know that they're okay, and they deserve to see things. I put up flags, as you saw in my classroom. You too, please come to my classroom, come to my classroom, and you will see all students are made welcome. I make sure of it, and I go visit them and talk to them. We need to do better, protect all students, and dissent is patriotic. Thank you, Pat.

Lawrence Hebron, Dale Broom, and Jean Saglin. Could you ask Ms. Olson to pay attention, please?

Welcome, Lawrence.

Good evening. My name is Lawrence Hebron. I live in Area 3 of the Redlands School District. I've come to correct a serious injustice which has been committed because by now it is obvious that those guilty of that injustice have no intention of correcting it themselves. Two meetings ago, on September 9th, Erica Grossman took this podium and told lie after lie after lie in order to support her own agenda because the truth could not do so. She referred to Dr. Robert Newman, a psychologist, and said that Jeanette and Candy had brought him to the board meeting. That is not true. Dr. Newman came at the urging of another individual. She went on to say that Dr. Newman's, quote, license had been revoked for sexually abusing patients. He groomed them. One of the accusers was a teenager. That also is not true. Dr. Newman's three licenses were temporarily revoked because he had had a dual relationship with one of his patients, meaning he had social contact with a patient outside his practice, something which is no longer forbidden. And what was this social contact? The patient, who had computer expertise, tutored Dr. Newman's son on computer operations. She also had attended social gatherings at the Newman home, including a celebration of her receiving a master's degree, all of which were accompanied by Mrs. Newman. The review board never ruled that there was a sexual component to the relationship between Dr. Newman and his patient, much less any abuse. So why were charges brought against Dr. Newman? Because he, an honorable person, would not validate the disability claim which the patient wished to file because he believed that it was not justified, and apparently she was rather vindictive. And by the way, that review board agreed to reinstate Dr. Newman's licenses, but he declined because he refused to be subject to a board that could behave so abominably and unprofessionally. Ms. Grossman then said, quote, I heard that Mr. Hebron knows about Mr. Newman's case, sexual abuse case, and appears to be defending his sexual abuse. I don't know where she heard that. Was she screaming at herself in the mirror? Perhaps. But nevertheless, I never heard of such abuses because they never happened. So no, I was not defending them. Ms. Grossman and her allies like to talk about Redlands being a welcoming community. Dr. Newman did not receive that welcome during his only visit here. Apparently, courteous conduct is only to be extended to those who share the views of Ms. Grossman. This case also serves as a powerful warning to our board members, namely that many people like Ms. Grossman have no concern for the truth nor integrity. They only care about winning and will say anything they have to in order to do that. So please beware. Thank you for your consideration.

Thank you, Lawrence. Welcome, Dale.

Thank you. Dr. Dale Broom from Area 1. At the last school board meeting, Chris Claudus, a former teacher and school board member from Redlands Unified School District, and others from the Together for Redlands, have been claiming that the school board had stripped students of their rights simply because they passed a policy that allowed parents to be able to appeal sexually graphic books in the libraries or in the curriculum. What kind of teacher and what kind of school board member thinks that books with sexually graphic descriptions of anal and oral sex, pedophilia, incest, and teen fornication have any business being in the libraries or the classrooms? And since when does the Constitution give children the right to read obscene material? The United States Supreme Court has consistently upheld the authority of local and state governments to restrict access of obscene material to minors, and the policies passed by this school board are consistent with that. He also claimed that the school district has a long history of limiting discussion of human sexuality. And yes, that is because it's decency, something that he doesn't seem to believe in. So as Chris and others together for Redlands, they would like an expansive discussion of human sexuality to include false notions of transgenderism and that sexual activity between homosexuals and heterosexuals are equally safe. These are destructive falsehoods that are causing all sorts of harm to children. And thank God Chris is no longer in the classroom and no longer on the school board. The teaching of homosexuality in schools should be limited and should be medically accurate and does not undermine the moral and religious values of our families. So just because someone is in the education does not mean that they have the best interests of children at heart. We need more school board members like Michelle Rendler, Candy Olson, and Jeanette Wilson who will protect our children from sexually graphic books, curriculum, and instructional material. And unfortunately, sadly, Patty Houlihan and Melissa Ayala-Quintero have failed to do that. And that is precisely why I have decided that I'm going to challenge Patty Houlihan for the school board race in Area 1. Thank you. So I look forward to the challenge because there's been a lot of decisions that have been voted against by... I'm speaking.

Dale, no campaigning.

Okay. So in any event, there's a need to have good school board members on this representation. Thank you.

Thank you, Dale.

Good evening. Welcome, Jean. I'm from Area 4, Melissa's area. I'm a parent. I'm a retired RSUD employee. I want to thank Patty and Melissa for standing up for all children disabled, colored, ethnical background that doesn't match their own for our LGBTQ. And I want to point out that Candy Olsen has not yet apologized to me for laughing while I spoke in June. and then you were confronted about your behavior, unprofessional, rude behavior. You're supposed to represent all of our district, and yet you can laugh at a member of our district? Why is that appropriate for a board member? I think you should personally resign, but you're not. You ignore people when they come up to speak. You're so disgusting. The hatred that you share online. And then you're going to look at me and start smirking? I have nothing more to say than you should resign, Candy Olson. You're disgusting.

Thank you, Jean. Next, we have Erica Grossman, followed by Aaron Fernando and Peter Hall.

Welcome back, Erica.

Thank you. So this is LGBTQ History Month. LGBTQ plus community has a long history of fighting for basic human rights, and yet they continue to face discrimination. Some people think being transgender is a new concept, but trans people have always existed, including trans youth. In 1970s New York, records show that many transgender teens lived unhoused after being kicked out of their homes. I personally know several people in Japan who were forced out when they were young simply for being trans. It breaks my heart to think that anyone could discard their own child simply because of who they are. Some claim transgender is a social contagion and that many teens undergo medical procedures that they later regret. But how many teens do you personally know who received such treatments and regret it? Media have recently spread false narratives portraying transgender as violent or dangerous. How can anyone accept that when LGBTQ plus students are actively facing discrimination? Anita Road used a slur against our student. Our board member, Candy, made a trip to harass a trans student in another school district, as her mother told me directly. I've read news reports of families with trans kids leaving the United States to seek safety, and that's the reality. Speaking of false claims, during the last meeting, there wasn't much discussion about truth and lies. Janet's comments in particular left me dismayed because during her campaign, Janet told people that schools are placing cat litter boxes in classrooms for students who identify as cats, and the schools are medically transitioning students. It's astonishing that someone would spread such baseless lies to win a school board election. We all know those things simply don't happen in schools. Even a routine medical procedure like wisdom tooth removal requires parental consent and process. It's common sense. In celebration of LGBTQ History Month, let's bring back our common sense and historical truth. LGBTQ plus students deserve to be treated with the same dignity and respect as any other student. Let's protect all students.

Thank you, Erica.

Welcome, Erin.

All right, Aaron Fernando, Area 2. I'd like to start by giving kudos to whoever worked on getting the student highlight as part of the agenda. I think everyone who has come to these meetings will agree that it's really inspiring seeing all these bright students share what they're working on in school. And Michelle Renler, you are really right, especially about the power of one moment of encouragement in a student's life. I mean, I don't know about the rest of you, but today's presentation had really inspired me to give my all to my work. And I'm not even a student. So I just wanted to say that was a really nice moment. But as nice as it would be, it's not feasible to have a presentation for every single student group, right? But thankfully, there are other ways to provide encouragement, and one particularly effective method, I think, is promoting diverse books. It's great, isn't it? There are so many authors out there who are telling stories to encourage and uplift all kinds of students who need it. You should stop trying to ban them. All that does is hurt the kids who need to see positive examples of kids like them persevering through the same kinds of hardships they face. The protagonists of these stories help them feel less alone, help encourage them to not be afraid to ask an adult for help with whatever they're facing, helps give them hope that they're going to be okay. It's so much easier to focus on your studies when you have encouragement like that, isn't it? So thank you board members Ayala Quintero and Hollihan for your unwavering commitment to the students in your district. Your community appreciates you and your efforts so, so much. To Candy, Jeanette and Michelle, I can't wait until the day you're no longer able to get in the way of encouraging all of our students. To Candy specifically, it's wild that you think you can lecture us on racism and you're not looking at me. It's wild that you think you can lecture us on racism because to paraphrase Jesus, let she who has not shared Hitler means cast the first stone.

Joshua.

Welcome back, Joshua. Joshua.

a few words about B. Hamilton at the last meeting. He lied about how, like, books that are being taken out because they promote LGBTQ plus sex. And we're taking out books that promote We're taking out books that promote underage boys and girls having sex or adult males having sex with young females. We're taking out those books too. It's not just singling out LGBTQ+, but he lied about that. He also lied about how immigrants are entering the country legally when they're not legally. And entering the country illegally is a violation of Title VIII U.S. Code 1325. Marrying someone just to avoid being detained or arrested and deported is also a violation. And starting a business... if you're an illegal immigrant, is a violation of 1325 Title VIII. And also, it's a violation of the Immigration Reformation Act for an employer to hire unknowingly an illegal immigrant. If you hire someone and they're an illegal immigrant, that's illegal, even if you didn't know. But a lot of companies are knowingly hiring illegal immigrants. So that's a violation, too. Thank you, Joshua.

Thank you, Joshua.

Peter Hall, John Berry, and Samantha Trash.

Good evening. Hi, I'm John Berry.

Welcome, John.

I'm sorry.

Oh, what happened to Peter Hall?

He was next. Oh, I'm sorry.

Peter, John, and then Samantha. Okay.

Welcome back, Peter. For my public comment, I'd like to talk about the vandalism of the Ark Church that happened back in April 17, 2025. They still have not found the person or people who did it. At least two swastikas were spray-painted on the property. John Berry actually has video of at least one of the perpetrators, and while the person... who did it cannot be clearly identified. He believes that the figure in the video has the same profile of Michael Pizner and is wearing the same shoes.

Yep, really. This doesn't have any jurisdiction on the board. This has nothing to do with the board.

It's funny how they can call us Nazis, but we can't speculate as to who may have vandalized the Ark Church. They say they're against violence. They're not against violence. They're lying.

Point of order, please, Madam President. Are you finished? Okay. Thank you, Peter. I mean, Joshua. Sorry. Okay, John.

Yeah, evening. I am John Berry, and I just published an article in the San Bernardino County Sentinel chronicling the behavior of Together for Redlands. All information is derived from the public record. It includes the restraining orders filed against Tricia Keeley and her best friend Amber Easley for the restraining orders were filed against them because their cyberbullying was so severe it caused an autism to make down. It's totally wrong. Anyway, I'm here. Save my time.

Madam President, point of order, please.

Enjoying the meltdown. Anyway, I'm really here to congratulate Candy, Jeanette, and Michelle for the courageous defense of our kids in the wake of the sustained and slanderous assaults against their character. As a result of their fearlessness, district students can learn without the pressure of joining a transgender cult. And also as a result of your courage, People like you throughout the country, transgender identification, this nuttiness among youngsters, is plummeting. It's now less than 4%, up from 10%. It's high in 2023. Second, it's time to declare victory over these people who push this sexually explicit material onto our young. We must label our opponents for who they really are because the same ideology that assassinated Charlie Kirk is present in this room. Their behavior through the public record includes doxing their opponents. They've doctored social media. They've cyber-bullied individuals. They encourage children to talk filth to elected officials, vandalize the Ark Church. Wow. And magic how, after the FBI questioned some of the others for Redlands, that the vandalism suddenly stopped. What a coincidence that is. Slandered Jesus Christ, blasphemed the Bible. They dehumanized opponents by calling them Nazis and fascists. And Aaron Fernando, who just didn't have the courage to stay in the room, slandered my Jewish golf buddy by calling him a Nazi, and he refuses to apologize. They picketed Michelle Rendler's church. They attacked Candy Olsen's nursing career. and they wasted And as you can see here, they've wasted all the public's time on this immoral nonsense.

Madam President, there has been a multiple. I still get my time. There have been multiple point of orders requested.

You have 47 seconds left. There have been multiple. Because they're cowards. Excuse me, I am speaking. Excuse me, hold on. You have 47 seconds left when we're done here.

There have been multiple point of orders requested by Vice President Hollihan, and they're being ignored.

I'm not ignoring them.

You haven't acknowledged her. I'm just asking that you please, like...

I heard her. Everyone has freedom of speech.

I'm asking, you didn't even ask her what her point of order was about.

I heard the altercation between, there was... Look, they ran away.

I get a finish.

When it's your turn to speak, you can come up and speak.

Their behavior proves why the Redland School Board will always need a surplus of police protection, because despite all their humiliating losses, this transgender cult will not give up. They never do, and the Charlie Kirk assassination proves that. Thank you. Thank you, John. You guys lost.

I have a question before you begin my time about public comment. Are you allowed to stand up here and gossip? Are you allowed to run for office and campaign for yourself in public comment? Because I thought public comment had to be related to the school district. Excuse me. People keep coming up here all night long telling lies about our organization that has nothing to do with the school district. Is that allowed, Michelle?

I think it falls under the First Amendment right that they can come and speak.

Oh, because in the past you've stopped people if they weren't talking about school district stuff.

Her comment is supposed to be timed and not she's bogarting her time here.

And no, you cannot come up here and campaign.

No.

Dale Broom just did that and you didn't stop him. I did. All right.

OK. My name is Samantha Trad, and I am one of the founders and leaders of Together for Redlands. I want to clarify who Together for Redlands is, because there's been a lot of lying. We are a diverse group of parents, students, teachers, grandparents, people who don't have students in the district but care deeply about our community and how their tax dollars are being wasted by you. In fact, we have thousands of supporters. Did you hear that, Michelle? Are you just writing scripture and ignoring what everybody says up here? as your meditation. I don't know, but you certainly don't seem to listen. We are the community of Redlands, and we have thousands of supporters. We are not a fringe group. We are the people who run this community. You knowingly pass policies that are illegal in the state of California that will harm students and will drain our schools of funding. Our schools are already underfunded and lack the support they need from the board. You say you want to protect students, but your actions do the exact opposite. Tonight, Candy and Jeanette complained about money being spent on speakers and events for non-white clubs, yet you're just fine spending over a million dollars on lawyers and legal fees to pay for lawsuits you know are coming because they came in Chino, they came in Temecula, and you passed the same policies, and it's clearly illegal in the state of California. President Rendler, I've noticed you have been at a lot of school events recently. Where have you been the last few years? I haven't seen you until now. Why are you suddenly showing up? It's almost like there's an election coming up. But I want you to know that the community sees through your disingenuous efforts. They know what you have said, and they know what you have done. But then again, you probably know that. How has your reception been when you've come to these community events? I heard you got booed at McKinley and other schools. How did that feel? By the way, Together for Redlands had nothing to do with that. In fact, we were at a board meeting when people started texting us to tell us that it had happened. This is your community booing you because of your actions and your words. And it's disgusting. Thank you, by the way, for finally putting your pen down and listening. People know what you have said and they know what you have done and they are angry and they won't forget. They're going to make sure that you lose your election, Michelle and Jeanette Wilson, that you lose yours as well. And Patty, we got to make sure you win. Thank you for standing up for all of us. Thank you. Thank you, Sam.

Next, we have Jeff Kogi, followed by Valerie Tabor and Catherine Appleby.

He's right there. Welcome Jeff.

reviewing the board policies manuals goal for the district number three is to ensure all students achieve academic proficiency number five was to develop in some perspective These goals were last reviewed October 13, 1998. They were for a long, long time. I charged the board members who voted for the changes to explain how the recent changes

policy aren't directly contributing to these goals.

Has the board, sorry, has the board majority even read them? Please abide by your own goals.

Thank you. Thank you, Jeff.

I'll come back, Valerie. Thanks. I was going to spend my time up here talking about the implementation of AI and how I don't think it's appropriate for our schools. But instead, I'm going to spend my time talking about how you don't give a flying poop about freedom of speech. Because it's freedom of speech until someone cusses. It's freedom of speech until something that you don't agree with. And then you're happy to say something, Rundler. But you don't when it's people that you agree with. You do not apply the rules that you're talking about equitably. And it's so apparent to everyone that is here. And your little petulant, I'm going to pick up the pen when she said, thanks for putting down your pen. That was so ridiculous. If you can't actually equitably address these rules, then you shouldn't be in a position to run these meetings. Every single time we open up public comment, you sit there and you say, you are allowed to address stuff about the jurisdiction of the board. Half the stuff that is up here and being said is not the jurisdiction of the board. And I don't believe that if the audience hadn't said anything, that you would have stopped those people from talking and defamation of so many people that are sitting here. I just, it's ridiculous. It's so freaking ridiculous. I wish I could cuss, but I get kicked out because that matters to you. That matters. I am so curious about how diatribes like those given by some people that come up here have anything to do with the jurisdiction of the board that you don't interrupt. You constantly allow things like what just happened, where that man is the only person, where he's not even the first person to use this dais to campaign and announce being running for office. In fact, I remember Candy coming up here and doing it, and I'm sure Wilson did too. And you just, you don't interrupt them. You just let them do whatever you want. I just, it's ridiculous. Maybe if you care so much about decorum, you'd enforce your own rules fairly. Last week, in honor of Band Book Week, I watched a community showing a band together, and I suggest you implement one of the rules featured in the documentary, which is that people at the dais are not allowed to address other community members while at the dais. Like, by name. They are not allowed to say other community members' names because that helps with decorum, if that's so important to you. Just ridiculous. Anyways, I'm disappointed about the relationship between RUSD and Google Gemini AI, and I strongly ask you to reconsider this partnership. destroys communities. The documentaries where they have these data centers next to cities is disgusting. It ruins communities. And we are just casually implementing it into education. And I'm not saying it can't be used effectively or usefully, but it really should not be used as often as it is. So please reconsider that partnership. Do better. Thank you, Valerie.

Welcome, Catherine. Thank you. Those of you that can make it to Preview of Champions, thank you for coming. I know it conflicted with Family Services Dinner in the Grove. No way to avoid that. Both are important things. Citrus Valley Classic was this past weekend. I'm sorry, Jeanette, I did not extend an invitation to you. That is my fault. It was wonderful to see both CV and Red Lens there, as well as several of our neighboring marching bands. On September 9th, I asked about the status of updating the board handbook. You started this over the summer, but you've not provided any updates to the public. And I understand it's an internal document, but I am concerned by the fact that board members have called for things tonight and procedure was not followed. I am concerned that your board handbook, I'm assuming it's unfinished at this point. Actually, I'm sorry. I just have to make that assumption. I am concerned that that failure to complete it is leading to further breakdowns of this board, is leading to poor leadership, Michelle, from you in not acknowledging Patty. I do believe Melissa was right in calling that you should have asked what Patty's point of intention was for that. And what is the status for that? When is it going to be made available to us? I know, Superintendent Cabral, we have to come to the board, to the district office to view it. It's not publicly available. But we all deserve to see what your guiding document is. Candy, you do know you voted to pass the LCAP for 2025-2026, right? It included specific subgroups and targeted interventions for them. I don't know if you ever want to go back and look at your voting history or if you even remember, but your comments tonight in light of that were golden. And the book reconsideration submissions have started. So what's the transparency for that look like, y'all? Or do I have to submit a FOIA request to see what books have been challenged already? And Superintendent Cabral, according to legal, how many books or what percentage constitutes a pattern? what's legally permissible as a pattern and what's not. And then as the reviewing committees are set, I do not want the reviewing committee members' names, but I do want to know their roles. So what's the transparency for that as well?

Thank you, Catherine.

Next, it's Gregory Britton, followed by Bea Hamilton and Christy Dotson.

Welcome, Greg.

In 1170, King Henry II infamously said to his courtiers and his knights, speaking of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Beckett, whom he was feuding with, will no one rid me of this troublesome priest? And lo and behold, shocking development, his knights went and murdered the Archbishop of Canterbury. And why is this relevant now? You hear the Together for Redlands people, you're a bunch of Nazis, you're a bunch of fascists, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then when someone threatens the life of school board member Candy Olsen, it wasn't us, it wasn't our group, we're against the violence. Really. Why is all this happening? I was gonna talk about raising standards tonight, but in light of the comments thus far, I wrote my comments here. Why are we doing all this? Why do we have this every time? And the reason is, as I have explained, what Abraham Lincoln said, the philosophy in the classroom in one generation is the philosophy in government in the next. And the left full well understands this. One of their role models, Vladimir Lenin, give us the child for eight years and it will be a Bolshevik forever. They talk about culture war. The left has waged culture war. for decades against the principles and values on which this country was built. And now some of us traditionalists that believe in those things are starting to push back. Oh, culture war, you don't want to do that. Habitually, the left will criticize other people for doing what they do, oftentimes while they are doing it. They complained about talking about politics. What did they do? They talked about the upcoming elections here tonight. And, of course, they said dissent is patriotic, except, of course, when you dissent from what they want, whether on a national level you dissent from the COVID policies or around here you want to dissent from their indoctrination and sexualization of children. They talk about being inclusive. well, we're going to have flags only for certain children, but not flags for all children. And when they put up the pride flag in the classroom, what they are saying is to every believing Christian, Jew, and Muslim is that your parents, your pastor, your rabbi, your imam, your religion, your God is wrong. And that's not inclusive.

Thank you, Greg.

Welcome back, Bea.

I don't appreciate the board calling me a liar. I do my best to present factual information to this board, and nevertheless, I made a mistake. I stated that legal fees are double what they were last year, which is true, but I misspoke when I said it was because of the policies we have been debating. Even though people within the district have told me I didn't get it entirely wrong because there have been major expenditures related to these policies, such as having security here late into the night, I will own this mistake because I want to highlight that I have the humility to admit when I am wrong. Olson and Wilson will never admit such a thing. They will never admit. I never said they are planning to run someone against Michelle Rendler. What I said was the Ark Church is planning to replace her with one of their own when they are done with her, and we just heard that announcement tonight. They lied about what I said just as they lied about the purpose of the illegal policies they ran through, the research they used to promote them, and the legality of the policies because they are trying to cover up the ugly truth that the Ark Church members are the ones propping them up and the Ark Church does not speak for the Redlands community. Olsen and Wilson will never admit any wrongdoing. Olsen will not acknowledge that she destroyed roadside shrines or shared and liked incendiary posts on social media. Wilson will not acknowledge that she defended the rights of Nazis from the podium. They would rather lie and obfuscate and place blame on everyone else because they cannot own their own mistakes. Michelle, I don't see that in you. You have done things that have angered me to my core. However, I have seen you apologize for and address mistakes. There's a reason that I keep coming and trying to reach you because you are the only one who might work with Holohan and Ayala Contero to address issues of student violence that President Capertino mentioned a few meetings ago, funding cuts to school counselors, the salaries of paraprofessionals, quality textbooks, and maybe even finding a solution regarding books. I admit I could be wrong believing in your humanity, but I would rather be accused of that than submit to despair and let our students fail. Michael Paisner has reached out to you from Together for Redlands to speak with us. Please reach back.

Thank you, Bea.

Welcome, Christy.

Hi, good evening. My name's Christy, Area 1, and I'm an English teacher with 26 years' experience. I'm also the PLC coordinator for our school and have been for 10 years. So I spend a lot of time with data, especially looking at school populations and minimizing gaps in student group achievement. I'm here to attest to a matter that my school, which is a close-knit charter community of professionals and students, we took part in diversity training in interest of boosting specifically that black student achievement gap that we're concerned with. We did it for two years, from 21 to 23, and during that training, this close-knit group of teachers and staff experienced a vision we'd never known in the 11 years I'd been there, which was really sad. The trainers put us into groups, blocks of belonging according to skin color, and we were pushed to see our students the same way for their benefit. And a mentor was hired who invited only black males to his intervention club, a place where that one group belonged, but others were literally turned away as others were trying to join. That two years nearly broke our school's culture, and there's still a quiet healing taking place amongst staff and students who were here when that happened. The worst part is it did nothing to shift the student data. There was nothing that was helping black students to be more engaged or achieving better despite implementing what we had learned from their training. The mentor program basically evaporated. Attendance fell dramatically. The mentor did eventually agree to invite other races, though not other genders, and no students would accept the invitation. It fizzled out. What happens when an educational program focuses on only one race of children is it risks creating division, it risks reinforcing group labels, and it risks conveying that belonging is conditional or hierarchical. These all seem like risks, but it's not an actual like what if or slippery slope because our school lived it. Fortunately, our administrators saw the need to create community and unity in our culture again and find another solution for the sake of staff and students. And they invested last year in this, Belonging for Schools. And I brought it tonight as something that you might be interested in looking into. Bless you. It's by Corwin, and they come out and they do PDs for staff. They also do it online. A good quote that they shared with us was, how could you ever feel comfortable if no matter where you went, you felt like you belonged somewhere else or in another group? The key to student success across all colors, genders, interests, capabilities is belonging. Belonging is the feeling we're part of a larger group that values, respects, and cares for us, and to which we feel we have something to contribute. And that's a quote from this training. Fisher and Frey online multiple dimensions of belonging, like feeling welcome, known, heard, needed, included, valued, and they show how educators and leaders can design systems and interactions to foster those dimensions. It's a training that is proactive. Belonging isn't incidental. It's intentionally cultivated. And is it effective? Well, half a million students in this long-term study found that increases in belonging from one year to the next are associated with better attendance, fewer behavioral infractions, and gains in reading and math scores. The positive effects were especially notable among different races and genders. Black students especially often start with lower sense of belonging, so the gains were even larger. Thank you, Christy. Thank you.

That was our last speaker. Thank you. Moving on to board comments. Jeanette, would you like to go first?

Let's see. This past couple weeks, I was able to do a site visit at Kingsbury Elementary. And I was able to see some of what the Mindfulness in Motion funds are going to be able to provide and assist for some of the special needs students there. And it's really amazing what that's going to provide for them. And I was overall very impressed because that principal is brand new, and he's taken on a lot of challenges at the school, and he's so excited about it. And you can tell that the kids... We got to see the kids... the playground and lunch not just in classrooms and that was really a good experience to see how they were pretty much abiding by the rules and hanging out with each other and getting along and the teachers were really engaged so I enjoyed that site visit a lot and I would like to say as regarding the question about the board governance handbook, we are working on that. It's, it is almost done and, um, we have been taking some intentional time with that, trying to have it, um, not only help us with the board, but also reflect the reality and truth of what our challenges are as a board. And, um, I just want us to all continue, like I said earlier, just focusing on our district goals, which is to increase attendance, increase our academic scores and do everything we can towards that, which will ultimately increase our graduation rates.

We had a great time at the Superintendent Awards. It was really great to see all the kids honored. And I really appreciate the speaker coming tonight talking about a program that does not divide students by race and instead just focuses on a sense of belonging. And it's interesting that when you focus on race in particular, you cause a lot of unintentional side effects and things where different races start singling each other out instead of focusing on the things they have in common. And that program sounds actually very interesting, and I will be looking into that because I think that That is something that sounds like a much better use of LCAP funds to help all of the kids that are disadvantaged, regardless of what color that the child is. And anyway, I appreciate you bringing that because that is very interesting to hear a program like that. And I look forward to a next. We've got some busy couple weeks ahead. So that's my comments for tonight.

I'm going to go next. Thank you all for being here, and thank you for staying.

First, I want to start my comments by congratulating Kristen Mariani, a TK teacher at Mentone. She was recognized last month for being one of four Teachers of the Year in San Bernardino County. We appreciate your dedication, Kristen, to some of our youngest learners. You, along with many other TK teachers in our district, are helping these young students to empower themselves to be lifelong learners and develop a plan after their graduation in 2039. I was able to visit classrooms at Clement, Beatty, Judson and Brown, and Kingsbury. I am so impressed by all our teachers and staff and administrators. They all work tirelessly to help students get the most out of their educational experiences every single day. Our students are respectful, eager to learn, and generally have a positive attitude. Parents and guardians, you should be very proud of them. Keep encouraging them on this path of learning and their futures will be bright. I also want to thank RHS for hosting the band preview of Champions a few weeks ago. What a great start to the band tournaments taking place this year. And thank you to CVHS for hosting the marching band tournament last Saturday. There were so many bands performing. It was a lot of fun to watch. And I want to congratulate CV for coming in second and RHS for taking the first place trophy. It almost, but not quite, made up for the loss to Rev in the smudge pot game the previous night. which leads me to the congratulations to Rev football team and Coach King in his first year and to all his other coaches. It was a great win. My husband and I also enjoyed watching a performance of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown at CV a few weeks ago. I'm continually impressed by the talent of our students across our district. And for a few of the performers in that show, this was their first time on stage. Congratulations on a job well done. Last week, I attended the day pack meeting and had wonderful conversations with the leadership and parents. Thank you for those who were in attendance and asked questions and gave valuable insight regarding issues. in our district i truly appreciate your perspectives and your suggestions congratulations to cope boys and more girls teams on their season wins in the volleyball in our middle schools doug mccasey said there was a huge crowd at rev for the final games i was unable to attend both matches were between cope and more and were very exciting each were playing three sets i'm looking forward to watching some softball games in the next few months Yesterday, I was at COPE to witness their first quarter incentive rewards, the in and out checks. They came and gave lunch to students who had zero to less than five marks on what they're calling their talent ticket. It's a quarterly incentive program for students with academics, attendance, behavior. And students who had more than that were even given a chance to rectify their mistakes and attend the lunch. Over 1,100 lunches were provided. Way to go, Eagles. The lunch periods went very smoothly with no real issues. I want to thank Principal Kores for allowing me to be part of that day. Lastly, I want to give a big thank you to a group of teachers at eAcademy for inviting me to speak with you about important issues that we're facing in our district. I look forward to more discussions with all of you.

And that's all I have. Thank you.

Okay, thank you. First of all, just want to say thank you to Dr. Angle for still being here tonight. I know it's a little bit different than what you're used to at our meetings, but we appreciate you and Dr. Gutierrez for being here. So thank you very much for your support. I also want to thank Studio 24 for coming in tonight. It's always great to see what our students are doing and accomplishing. And then also I participated in the Believe Walk, and I want to thank RAPA for participating as well and to all those who participated. As you know, I'm a breast cancer survivor, and so it's very dear in my heart. I appreciate our officer over here with this pink ribbon. I appreciate Consuela with her pink shoes, my pink sweater, and all those of you because it was a very challenging time. And I made it. So don't forget, all you loved ones out there, make sure that you get checked for your mammograms. It's important. Did a lot of going around. Went to CV Homecoming. Went to Dinner in the Grove. Attendant Superintendent Awards, Attendant Chesed and Brown Tour, and football games. As you know, a big passion of mine is football, so CV at Rev and RHS at Rev. I'm sorry to miss the game this weekend, but I'll be out of town. And then, just if you're wondering, the Dodgers did win Mr. Cabral. He's a big Padre fan. Oh, sorry. And then also, just to let everyone know, I was elected in 2006, and then I won again in 2010, won again in 2014, and I was elected again in 2008, and again in 2022, and I am the district. I represent District 1, and I am the school board member, Patty Hollihan. Thank you.

All right, well, I just want to congratulate Redlands High School Marching Band for taking first place in their class, Division A, and for getting an award overall for high percussion and high general effect at the Citrus Valley Classic. I, too, did attend the Contest of Champions and the Dinner in the Grove and made it to Judson and Brown and our Superintendent Awards. It's been a very eventful month And I just want to shout out to all of our students and all of our staff for putting in that extra effort to make all of these events so much fun to be at. We have a lot of parent help, watching all the parents running in and out of different events or boosters, not only for marching band, but choir as well. I was at the choir show last night. It really is a village that comes together and makes all these programs and events go on. And I have to thank you because it's a lot of sacrifice of your own personal time for the greater good. And it's amazing to watch everyone. So I just want to say thank you. And I'm very proud of you, Patty, for continuing to wage on the fight. And thank you for the reminder about... breast cancer awareness. Um, it is tomorrow's the last day of Hispanic heritage month and it is LGBTQ history month. So I just, if, um, that is something that you, um, look into that is, it's a great time to learn about different things that maybe you didn't know about. So, uh, with that, I am done, but, um, have a good night, everyone.

Superintendent, comments?

Thank you, yeah. I'll keep it really short. I just want to say thank you. A little personal this evening. A year ago today, my mom passed away. And, you know, it's heavy on my heart. It's my first experience with somebody so close. And everybody has their way to grieve. Everybody grieves differently. And my thank you is to my team, my cabinet team, because a year ago there's just no way I would have been able to, you know, do what I needed to do with my family at that time without Jason taking over for me during that time period, without the board support, many of my cabinet members and so forth. It's been on my mind today, and so there's a lot of great things going on for our district, but we have a work family, and so I'm throwing out a shout-out to my work family tonight, so thank you.

Okay, no discussion, nothing for discussion. We will adjourn this meeting.

There's no... Where?

Oh, gosh, I can't see that.