Board of Education — December 9, 2025

I would like to call this meeting on the Redlands Unified School District's Board of Education to order on December 9th, 2025 at 6 p.m. Thank you all for coming. We'll start with roll call. Board Member Melissa Alicantaro. Present. Board Member Olson. Present. Clerk Wilson. Here. And Vice President Hollihan. Present. And I am here. May I please ask Clement's jazz band presenters, Evelyn Correa and Benjamin Riley, to come up to the podium and lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance, please. Thank you. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Okay, hold on one second.

Empowering positive moments, our student highlight for tonight. Thank you, everybody. I would like to introduce Clement's principal, Natalie Johnson. Is she here? And their jazz band director, Haley Sembrano. To please come and introduce Clement's Jazz Band and some of the members.

Good evening, everyone. Like she said, my name is Natalie Johnson, and I am the proud principal of this amazing award-winning jazz band of Clement Middle School. This group is truly a very special group on campus. You can hear their music around the entire school and feel their beat and their heart and their dedication to our campus. Ms. Zambrano can speak more to how close-knit they are. But just to show you how close-knit they are, we asked for a couple of volunteers to come today and represent Clement, and they all wanted to come. So that shows how amazing they are. And we do have two presenters speaking today. And you'll hear from them shortly.

Hi, my name is Evelyn Correa, and this is my first year in the jazz band. So far, I've had a great time with this program because it's very fun and interesting learning about the history of jazz and its various styles. We are able to develop our skills in teamwork and express ourselves through the music that we perform. The Clement Jazz was started about five years ago when Ms. Zambrano started directing our band. Without her, we wouldn't have the determination to achieve as much as we do today. She has led our program to win multiple awards at many festivals. We've won second place two years ago and first place just last year at the Riverside Jazz Festival. Ms. Zambrano always makes our class exciting and inclusive and we're very lucky to have her with us. Good evening. My name is Benjamin Riley. I've been going to the Clement Middle School since the beginning of sixth grade and I'm now in the eighth grade. I started band when I was in the fourth grade and I've continued to the present day four and a half years later. I started out by playing the trumpet, which I still play, but my favorite has to be the drums. At the end of sixth grade, I decided to learn how to play the drums and to audition for the school jazz band. When I started playing the drums, I'll be honest, I wasn't great. I honestly felt like I was pretty terrible. But over the first year, I progressed so much. At one point, my drum teacher, Mr. Mantle, was so surprised to see that I had taught myself something that took him 15 years to learn. Being able to learn drums has given me a lot of confidence and made me realize that I can do a lot of hard things. Jazz band hasn't just influenced my drumming skills, it has also influenced the person I am today. Last year, as a seventh grader in a class with a lot of eighth graders, I thought they were so cool and I really wanted to look up to them. To be honest, I used to be a little annoying and try to act nonchalant, but when I would go to the jazz class every day, I would see the way they acted and it influenced me to be more like them. That's why my favorite thing about jazz is the people. They're not annoying and nonchalant like I was. They are some of the best type of friends you can have. Friends that are genuine. I also want to thank my teacher, Ms. Zambrano, for being my favorite teacher throughout these last few years. She's an amazing teacher and deserves so much credit for all she does. She's not only helped us learn to play music, she has taken us on field trips, experienced places like Disneyland and at plays, as well as helped us to win trophies for our performance. If it wasn't for teachers like Ms. Zambrano and having music programmers at the school, I wouldn't be the person I am today. Thank you for listening. What I have to say, have a great night.

I could please have the whole jazz band stand up for a quick moment. And thank you, Ms. Zambrano, for inspiring your students every single day. We appreciate you.

Thank you so much. When I talked to Ms. Johnson about the jazz band coming, they wanted to perform, and that would have been excellent for us to see a performance. I know you all would have done a great job, but just logistically it's not something we were able to work out. So I'd love for you to let us know when is the next opportunity for everyone to go see the jazz band perform. Do we know a date?

Yes, next Wednesday at the Winter Concert at 6 p.m. at RHS. Clock Auditorium.

Next Wednesday, 6 p.m., Clock Auditorium at RHS. Thank you so much. If we could have all the students who came tonight and are wonderful speakers. You did a great job, by the way. And your teacher and principal come up here towards the stairs so we can take a group picture with the board.

Mr. Cabral, I have a comment. I am so proud, and I was a Clement Viking myself many, many years ago. So... And I saw your band leader at the parade, and so you guys did a great job, and I'm so very proud of you. Keep it up, Vikings. Thank you.

What do you play?

Everybody look this way. All right, and ready, one, two, three.

Her head is totally not... This one? Yes. Yeah, because if not, you're like covered up by her head.

Okay, there we go. Thank you. I'll share with you guys next.

Do I have a motion to approve tonight's agenda with flexibility? So moved. Second.

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

All those in favor?

Aye. Aye.

Aye. Are we not going to take an individual vote? Are we going to do the individual vote?

Oh, yeah, I'm sorry. I messed up. So we'll call for the vote.

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

In closed session, the Board unanimously took action to accept the resignation of Classified Employee 2025-26-07, effective December 10, 2025, and to approve the separation agreement in connection therewith. In closed session, the board unanimously took action to terminate the employment of classified employee 2025-26-08, effective December 10, 2025, pursuant to Education Code Section 45113, and direct the superintendent or designee to send out appropriate legal notices. Also in closed session, the board unanimously took action to accept the superintendent's recommendation to approve the compromise and release agreements regarding students number 2025-2026-5585 and number 2025-2026-4667. Moving on to organization of the board. We will start off by electing the president of the Board of Education. Elect a president of the Board of Education for a one-year term to fill the expired term of Michelle Rundler in accordance with education codes 35022 and 335143. Upon election, the president will take the chair. Do we have a nomination?

Yeah. Yes. I'd like to nominate Candy Olson. I feel that she has the skills for being president in terms of maintaining control, consistency, monitoring decorum, and keeping up on all the various things going on at one time. So I would like to nominate Candy. Is there a second?

I'll second. Okay. All right, any discussion?

Anyone call for the vote?

Board Member Ayala-Quintero? No. Board Member Olson? Yes. President Rendler? No. Vice President Hollihan? No. Clerk Wilson? Yes. Motion not carried.

All right, is there another motion? I'd like to nominate Michelle Rendler. Do we have a second? I will second. Any discussion? All right, we'll call for the vote.

Board Member Ayala-Quintero? Yes. Board Member Olson? No.

No.

President Rendler? Yes. Vice President Hollihan? Yes. Clerk Wilson?

No.

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

On to election of the vice president. The next election is the board vice president. Elect the vice president of the Board of Education for a one-year term to fill the expired term of Patty Hollihan. Do we have a nomination?

I nominate Patty Hollihan. I will second. Any discussion? All right, we'll call for the vote.

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

Thank you. We're on to elect the clerk of the Board of Education for a one-year term to fill the expired term of Jeanette Wilson in accordance with Education Codes 35121 and 35143. Is there a nomination?

I'll nominate Melissa Ayala-Quintero.

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

All right, we'll call for the vote. Board Member Ayala-Quintero? Aye. Board Member Olson? No. President Redler? Yes. Vice President Hollihan? Aye. Yes. Clerk Wilson? No. Motion carried with the ayes being Board Member Ayala-Quintero, President Redler, Vice President Hollihan, and the nays being Board Member Olson and Clerk Wilson.

Next up, we are affirming the Secretary of the Board. Affirm 1, Jay Cabral, Superintendent of Schools, as Secretary of the Board in accordance with Education Codes 35025 and 35035. Do you have a motion?

So moved. I'll second. Who's second? Did you second?

I first.

And Melissa. Okay. Oh, Candy. Candy. She's so soft voice, I couldn't hear her. Okay, any discussion? We'll call for the vote.

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

On to election to the Regional Occupational Program, ROP Board. Elect one member of the Board of Education as a voting alternate to the Colton Redlands Yucaipa Cala Mesa Regional Program, which is called CRYROP, Governing Board, to serve a one-year term as a voting member when a regular representative is unable to attend to fill the expired term of Michelle Rundler. Do we have a nomination?

I'm already on, so I can't be an alternate. Did you want to do that again?

I would like to nominate one of you if you would like to do that position, one of you.

I didn't get any information on it, so I don't know what it entails. We can talk about that right now. Why don't we just pull those because we don't have it.

We can talk about what it is. Do you want to explain?

It's a time commitment. It's the second Wednesday of the month. We start at 5 p.m., and it can go to 6.30 p.m. Plus, it's a meeting, so you'll have agenda. You'll review just like you do here for a board meeting. Usually the Wednesday after our board meetings. Second Wednesday of the month. 5 p.m. to 6.30, and you meet over at the Cryrout building on Indiana. Indiana.

Who else is on the board?

Patty and Melissa are all on the board.

There's two from Redlands Unified, two from Colton Unified, and two from Yucaipa Cala Mesa.

And then one alternate for each.

One of the main people being up for election.

For us, it's the alternate.

Yeah.

So we serve a two-year term. It's a two-year term.

That's what I'm asking. So next year?

The alternate is just a one-year term, so.

So next year's the answer.

I would love to do it again if you don't want it. This is one year, the alternate. Next year we go up for two years.

Right, you just said that.

I can nominate. Can I do that now? Sure. I'll nominate Michelle Rundler.

All right, do we have a second? Second. Thank you. Any discussion? All right, we'll call for the vote.

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

Okay, election of representatives of the County Committee on School District Reorganization. Elect one representative who shall have one vote for each member to be elected to the County Committee of School District Reorganization. organization for a one-year term to fill the expired term of Michelle Rundler in accordance with the education codes 4005, 35023, and 72403. Do we have a nomination?

Do you have an interest in? I would like to nominate Jeanette to that. She is the alternate this year.

I learned a lot as an alternate, so sure.

Do we have a second? I'll second. Okay.

A what? I would like to know what it involves to see if I would be interested in it.

What's involved?

The county committee. The county committee. So what I learned when I did research, because I didn't know anything about it before. Did you go to the meeting? Yes. Yes. We had two meetings this year. We had two plus a voting meeting. So I did three things this year.

But before I was on it, I didn't know what it was, so I had to do research. It's a committee in San Bernardino County, all school districts, and people in the community, too, are involved in it. For redistricting, if some district wants to move into a different district, they want to redo that. The whole time when you did the redistricting for trustees, that was in there. I think almost every district's already done that.

Yeah. And it meets the third Wednesday of the month at 6 p.m., but we only met once this year.

There was nothing, no business.

The third Wednesday of every month, except for you met once. 6 p.m.

If there's not an agenda that needs to be done, then there isn't.

Well, I'll be an alternate then. If Jeanette wants to be the primary person, I'll be an alternate.

Okay, we'll get to that one. Michelle and Patty are both on it this past year?

Well, she was the elected on the committee, and then I got elected to the committee. And so I was elected on the committee, plus I was a voting member from the board.

At our joint committee meetings, if you go, this is one of the things that takes place during that time. And you do not have to be a school board member. It could be any member from the community who wanted to run for that position. So it's an open position. It's not a school board per se position. So we have people who are on that work for a congressman. We have someone in there who's a community member, and it goes all the way down to the west end. And we meet the second west end. But if there is not an agenda, then there aren't items you do not meet.

You're still interested? Okay. All right. Any more discussion? We'll call for the vote.

Member Ayala Quintero? Just to clarify, we are voting on Jeanette? Yes. Okay. Yes.

Aye.

Board Member Olson? Aye. President Rendler? Aye. Vice President Hollihan?

Aye.

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

Okay. Moving on, we'll elect an alternate to attend the meeting if the elected representative is unable to attend, who shall have one vote for each member of the county committee on school district organization to fill the expired term of Jeanette Wilson in accordance with the education codes 4005, 35023, and 72403. Do we have a nomination?

I'll nominate Candy.

I'll second it.

All right. Any discussion?

All right, moving on. Board Member Ayala Quintero. Aye. Board Member Olson. Aye. President Redler. Aye. Vice President Hollihan. Aye. Kirk Wilson. Aye. Motion carried, 5-0.

Thank you. Next is appointments to committees and commissions. We'll appoint board members to the following. Redlands Compact, it's currently Jeanette Wilson. Ms. Wilson, would you... like to still serve.

Oh, I would love to still serve.

Okay. All right. I'm good with that. Redlands Educational Partnership Foundation. Rep, currently it's Candy Olson.

Candy, are you still interested in serving?

I'm interested in the parks and rec. It looked like that schedule aligned with my schedule a little bit better.

Okay. Is there anybody else that would like to take the Rep Foundation? On a Wednesday. They meet on Wednesdays. Is it the second Wednesday?

If it aligns with Chiropractic, we wouldn't be able to.

Oh, is it still the second Wednesday or the third? It's the third Wednesday.

It's the county committee, so I can't.

Okay. I will go when I'm able. Like, if we have a county committee, I wouldn't be able. But other than that, I'll take that one and go on the times that I'm able to.

Okay, and then we need an alternate also for that one. It's currently Jeanette. You want to stay on as alternate?

Okay. All right.

The City of Redlands Cultural Arts Commission. Currently, that's Melissa...

My schedule didn't allow me to attend the meetings this year. I can make another attempt to make them this year unless someone else wants it.

They're still meeting on Mondays every other month, correct?

As far as I'm sure, just the dates that they were meeting, I had prior engagement, so I wasn't able to go.

Is anybody interested in that one, the cultural arts? Okay, if you can stay on, that would be great.

Thank you. City of Redlands Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee. Currently, it's Patty, but then it moved to me at the beginning of the year. So anybody, you would like to take that one, Candy? Okay. And the times are good for you?

Yeah, I looked at the schedule. There's only like two. No, it said 9 o'clock.

No, it's at 4 or 4.30. They switched.

They got the email from you said 9 o'clock.

Oh. It's at 4 o'clock on a Thursday.

Are the days correct?

Thursday at 4. Yeah, the first Thursday it was.

It says 9.30 on the second Thursday in January, March, June, September, and December.

Well, maybe they changed it. Well, parks meets every month.

I'm going to double-checking, but that information we asked for as recent as this morning, and that's what we got.

We'll alternatively sign up for it, and if it looks like it doesn't meet, we can figure it out later.

Okay. CSBA region.

Oh, did we? This went out. Okay. Yeah, but why does it say you? It says currently Patty Hall had it on there. And I think it was a confusion. Okay, but we don't have the information for that.

Or CSBA, we do not.

We don't. Okay, so we don't have the information on who we're voting for for that one, so we're just not going to do it right now.

When I thought about it, I don't think that's the voting one. That's throwing just two delegates so that we can cast the vote when we need to, if I'm not mistaken.

Because I thought the president cast the vote every time.

Does it need to be done today, or can we do it at the next meeting?

We can wait until January.

Can we get some clarification? Thank you. Okay. All right, so we'll figure that one out for January.

Next up, item H, designate board meeting dates. Does it make a second?

We need to take action.

Oh, is there a motion to accept the representatives as discussed? So moved.

Second.

Any discussion?

I just want to clarify, tentatively as discussed, correct? Because we're still waiting on some things.

Who's the representative? The representatives of one through five. Of the top ones that we did. We'll hold off on that. It's the SBA Delegate Assembly one. Any more discussion? All right, we'll call for the vote.

Board Member Ayala-Quintero? Aye. Board Member Olson?

Aye.

President Rundler? Aye. Vice President Hallahan? Aye. Aye. Clerk Wilson? Aye. Motion carried, 5-0. Thank you.

All right, now next up is item 8, designate board meeting dates. Designate the second and or fourth Tuesday of each month, or as otherwise approved by the board, 6 o'clock, the boardroom, 25 West Lagonia, Redlands, as the regular board meeting dates and location.

Do we have a motion? So moved. Second. Thank you. Jeanette, thank you. I mean, Melissa, did you, or was that Patty?

Me.

That was you. Okay. Thank you. Any discussion on the dates?

All right.

We'll call for the vote.

Board Member Ayala-Quintero? Aye. Board Member Olson?

Aye.

President Rendler? Aye. Vice President Hollihan? Aye. Clerk Wilson?

Aye.

Motion carried, 5-0.

Is there a motion to approve the Board of Education meeting minutes from November 4th, 2025? So moved. Second. Thank you, Patty.

Thank you, Candy. Any discussion?

I just wondered if my absence at the last meeting could be notated as due to being ill.

Okay. I don't know that we do that. We just...

Unless there's an objection to doing that at the request of the board member who was absent, we can certainly do that. It's in the notes as the reason.

All right. We're on to ‑‑ oh, we didn't vote on this yet. Did we vote on the minutes already? No. No. Call for the vote.

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

Is there a motion to approve the adoption of the Board of Education Governance Handbook?

I'll move.

Second.

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

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

All right, we have no association reports tonight. We're moving on to public participation in the public hearings. Public hearing regarding instructional materials challenge, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. In accordance with the district's complaints concerning instructional materials policy, the board will conduct a public hearing to consider... the appeal, and determine whether the presented material is appropriate for students. The board shall vote to designate the appropriate grade level access. If the material is deemed unsuitable for any level, it will be permanently removed from the corresponding schools and district facilities within five business days of the board's decision.

Oh, yeah. Yeah, we're going to do 30 minutes, so we'll be set.

Okay, just to describe before the gavel, because this is a hearing which is a little bit different than the other opportunities to speak. One is the, of course, agendized items, which is still open for the public to submit at this point, if you have not submitted yet. The hearing is specifically for, we're going to do one at a time. The first one is for the book, The Bluest Eye. There will be a total of 30 minutes allotted for that hearing. We asked folks to let us know if you were interested in speaking so that we could have it somewhat organized. And I do believe that we have a list that we're going to go off of. This does mean, though, that if you have not had a chance to sign up to speak, you still have an opportunity right now. But what we want to do to get started is look at the amount of speakers we have and then divide that by 30 minutes to determine the amount of time that each speaker will get to speak. So, Ms. Consuelo, how many speakers do we have for the bluest eye?

Thirty-five.

Thirty-five. So... That's a little less than a minute for each speaker, and we can get the exact amount. Again, just to make it very clear. The action item for the bluest eye is also an agendized item. So if you would like to speak, if you didn't have an opportunity during the hearing, or if you'd like to speak during the hearing, you've already signed up for that, and you want to talk about it again, you have a chance at the agendized item section to talk about it again. Third opportunity to talk, of course, is during public comments, which everybody has an opportunity to speak again at that point. Okay, just want to make it very clear because we've not done this before. Okay. 50 seconds. So we're going to set it at 50 seconds. I'm going to take a moment to reorganize because we're going to move the clock over to the other side. So just one second before we gavel and start 30 minutes.

We're going to bring the meeting back to order. We're bringing the meeting back to order, and each speaker will have 50 seconds.

Our first speaker, you can come on up. Patricia, followed by Tessa, followed by Gina.

All right, the hearing is now open.

Toni Morrison is one of the most important voices in American literature. Her work is taught in universities across the country, honored with the Pulitzer Prize, and celebrated for its depth, honesty, and cultural impact. The Bluest Eye explores themes of racism, beauty standards, trauma, and survival, issues that remain deeply relevant to students today. When you remove a book like this from classrooms or libraries, you aren't protecting students. You are robbing them of the opportunity to engage with one of the most profound examinations of America ever written. And let's be clear, this is not the only book with a black author that Rendler, Olson, and Wilson are targeting. This is a pattern. It is a pattern that is explicitly illegal under California law. With the passing of AB 1078, California made it clear that districts may not remove curriculum or library materials based on discrimination against protected groups or authors. Thank you.

My name is Tessa Lynn Hodge. I'm a licensed clinical social worker and I'm a mental health provider. The importance of a book like The Bluest Eye cannot be understated. Whether people like it or not, the white upper class experience is not the only and certainly not the predominant experience in this world, this country, this state, or even this community. Books like The Bluest Eye... provide an opportunity for members of our community to see representations of their experiences, providing validation and amplification of voices that have been historically silenced. It also provides members of our community an opportunity to build empathy and understanding for others. In a world where we are seeing more hate and division, books like The Bluest Eye provide an opportunity to engage in conversation, connection, and community. Jeanette Wilson, you are a stain on the field of social work as you directly oppose everything the social work field stands for.

Gina Porter, Citrus Valley High School librarian. Toni Morrison is an American treasure. She has won the Nobel Prize for Literature, the Pulitzer Prize, the Coretta Scott King Award, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Her works are frequently referenced in the AP literature test with the bluest eyes specifically referenced in 2008, 2009, 2016, 2019, and 2022. The Bluest Eye was published in 1970 and has been in the RUSD high school libraries in some form since at least 1997 with no issue. It is not required curriculum. However, if you've ever read this book, you would see that it is a beautifully written piece of literature that employs numerous complex literary devices that are meant to challenge readers to their fullest potential. Removing this book from our libraries is a disservice.

Thank you. Next is Janan, Patricia, and Erica Grossman.

Hi, I'm Janann. I'm another district librarian. Board members, I urge you to follow the policy you yourselves voted to enact and listen to the recommendation of our district level review committee. They are educated professionals who found that the books under review must remain in our libraries. These books are not pornographic. They are raw, powerful narratives of trauma that reflect the harsh realities many of our students unfortunately do face. The graphic depictions are necessary. A sanitized version does nothing to help a student process their own reality or build essential empathy. Our district prides itself on equity. For many students, our school library are the only places they have equity. to get these materials. Furthermore, Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye is a College Board AP recommended book. The current policy allows concerned parents to restrict access, yet one parent's only done that. Do not bend the knee for a policy that the majority...

We live in a diverse community, so why would you take away a book that reflects that? We live in a community that values culture and tradition. Why would you take away that? Why would you take away the voices of African American students as you have heard the voices of people who have faced trauma, We do not live in a Tom, Dick, and Harry world. We do not live in a 1950s sanitized place.

If you want students to lack critical thinking, taking away books like this that challenge that narrative will damage the students in their future, will damage their ability to understand the complex world they live in.

I read this book in college. I did not suffer trauma from reading it. But I did learn that the world was different than the world I grew up in in sweet little Claremont. Our students deserve no less.

WSI is one of the most important works of American literature. If the only parts you think of in the book are sexual content, that reveals more about your own fixation than about the book itself. It's strange that people who grew up watching Grease and Sixteen Candles now act alarmed about literature. I don't believe you truly think books dictate behavior. If you did, the outsiders assigned in middle school would have been banned long ago. Did that novel cause your kids to start smoking or fighting? I don't think so. This school board is incompetent. Your focus is on removing books instead of addressing issues that would actually help our students.

Next, we have Sue Headey, followed by Aya and Catherine Appleby.

Thank you for listening to me. Our teenagers in high school are much smarter than you give them credit for. Recently, at the Band Book Book Club here in Redlands, we spoke about the importance of having access to the bluest eye in our public schools. Have you read Judy Blume's Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret? The Bluest Eye is a horror version of that. If you had actually read it, you would see exactly what I mean. I don't know if you are aware of what a red herring is, but batting books after a committee has already decided they belong in the high school libraries is a damn big herring. Spending valuable time and soon-to-be lawyer fees on this non-issue takes away resources that the board could spend on dealing with actual serious issues like pervasive proof.

Hiya.

As an RHS student, I believe that the fundamental purpose of this book banning is to further the pedagogy of the younger generations into education uncritical of the inherent colonial logic of what they call American democracy. Knowing full well that much of today's youth-only pathway in life is to be perpetually indebted and stuck working at abusive, dented jobs at abysmally low wages. The Bluest Eye is one of the many books that confront the history of our oppressive reality and its many shades of racism and patriarchy, and while heavy in its exploration of these themes, reflect a reality that conservatives are afraid to deconstruct. The fact that so few students come to these settings, despite being the most effective, demonstrate a fundamental contradiction in our social-political order, and either we look beyond mere compromise and work towards efforts that are completely transformative and not...

Thank you.

Good evening. The Blue Stein Push, which are being reviewed today, are not pornographic. They are raw and powerful narratives of trauma, stories that reflect the horrific consequences of abuse, assault, addiction, and systemic injustice. Those depictions of assault are not there to titillate and certainly do not come across as something meant to turn anyone on. And if they do, those people need therapy. These books do not glorify assault. They name it, confront it, and offer a path to healing. Reading materials do not make students enact scenes that they've read, but sanitizing reality does not protect our kids. It leaves them more vulnerable and less equipped to discuss things that happen to them, around them, and to people that they care about.

Next, we have Jermaine Miles, Jack Lucas, and Jonathan Marcus.

Good evening, Jermaine Miles. You have a policy that you put into place, and the committee did what they were supposed to do, and I feel it very important that you abide by their recommendation. I also feel it very important to point out that there is and has been a process in place where parents can opt their children out of reading these books. We keep hearing about parental rights, but banning books for which parents already have the right and the ability to deny their children access, you are denying my parental right to allow my child to access these books. And we also hear the word about freedoms, and freedoms are being taken away. You're taking away my freedom to, again, allow my child to read this book, when parents have the freedom to block those books from their children's access.

In 2017, PBS interviewed an English teacher named Shakima Silveri, who has integrated the Blue Assign into her lessons and said it has resonated so greatly with some students that they were able to open up about sexual abuse they or loved ones had suffered. She said about teachers' relationships with their students, books allow us to help them heal in ways we as educators couldn't help them heal on our own. If any students or teachers tonight share with you equally deep value from reading this book, will that convince you to back off? The committee assembled to review this book following the guidelines you created did not recommend removing it. Previous evaluators have concurred. I cannot imagine a scenario where any of you F students would have apathetically accepted that a book you profited from was inappropriate for a school site, which I always hear needs to be a site for candid exchanges of ideas. So as you undermine the basic freedom to read and the student populace, I see what little worth intellectual integrity has for you.

incest and rape is what this book talks about crawling on all fours toward her he raised his hand and caught the foot in an upward stroke picola lost her balance his mouth trembled at the firm sweetness of her flesh he closed his eyes letting his fingers dig into her waist a bolt of desire ran down he wanted to f her f-u-c-k her this has no place in front of a child what are we thinking man But the tenderness would not hold. The tightness of her vagina was so round. Dude, this is just stupid. Why would we put this in front of a child? Where's the common sense? Pedophilia from a church pastor. With two little girls, while justifying his behavior before God, gave them mints. That would distract them, and then he could touch them between their legs. Yeah, that's good.

Next is Joshua Hall, followed by Peter Hall and Lawrence Hebron.

Daddy put his pee-pee-snowing thing in my mouth, my pussy, but never hold me. I see me first grade, pink dress, dirty sperm stuff on it. No one combs my hair. These books shouldn't be in the school, but they are. And the whole book ban thing is stupid because you can still go to Amazon and get these books. You can still go to the Redlands City Library at Smiley Park and get these books. So the whole book ban argument is stupid.

It's not real.

Yeah, as my brother said... The whole book ban argument is ridiculous. These books are not being banned just because they're being removed from a school library. You can still get them in other venues and you can read them if you want. But they should not be allowed to anybody who isn't at least around the age of, I don't know, like say 16. How about that? How about you should be at least 16 years old to read this book?

Good evening. My name is Lawrence Hever, and I live in Area 3 of the Redland School District. The dirtiest things described in the dirtiest language. That's the issue here. Pedophilia, incest, rape, prostitution, sex trafficking of children. These are the topics, and they're described using the most lurid, filthy, salacious street terms imaginable. Now, should these matters be addressed and discussed? Of course, but not by children. The job of responsible adults is to protect children from these things, not to immerse children in them. In that these books include the dirtiest things discussed in the dirtiest language, I urge the board to remove them from our school libraries and protect our children from these toxic influences. This isn't about banning books. It's about protecting children and doing your job.

Next, we have Valerie Saves, followed by Sarah Kattis and Aaron Fernando. I'm going to pass for the agenda to Valerie. I'm going to pass for the agenda. Okay. So Sarah Kattis and Aaron Fernando, followed by Michael Paisner.

I hope you have read the book, The Bluest Eye. It was profoundly affecting to me, and it gave me insight into an experience that I, as a white, privileged female, will never experience. And it is just essential that people are able to read this. And this is not for little children. This is for high school age. This is a time when they are forming their opinions and they are having some of the experiences that are in this book. Banning books removes intellectual freedom. It would be a travesty to ban this book. This is something that is so important, and Toni Morrison is the most amazing author. Really, you need to read the book to understand.

I'm Aaron Fernando. I thought you were only banning pornography. Because a Nobel Prize winning novel is not pornography. Seriously, go into a porn shop. Ask them for the bluest eye. Tell me what they tell you. You'll get laughed out of the place. It hasn't escaped my or anyone else's nose that the first books you brought up to ban are both by black women writing about how systemic racism allows unspeakable horrors against children to continue long past the point someone should have stepped in to help. Unspeakable horrors. That's part of the problem, isn't it? How can we fix something if we refuse to speak about the horrors? Yes, this book describes a little girl being raped and impregnated by her father. It's a gut-wrenching scene, but for too many little girls, similar scenes are reality. This novel set in Ohio in the 1940s, but just a few years ago, a 10-year-old in Ohio had to flee the state because she'd been raped by her father. Not by her father, sorry, because she'd been raped and...

Mike Paisner, as someone who has worked professionally in the safety field and earned the designation of a certified safety professional, let me advise you that banning books and stifling conversations about sexual abuse guarantees that sexual abuse will continue in our schools. The most important step in addressing a risk that cannot be totally eliminated is to build public awareness of that risk. We need to inform and empower people to identify and speak up about sexual abuse. Banning books about sexual abuse is the exact opposite of what we should be doing to address Redland's troubling history on this topic and guarantees that abuse will continue to plague us for years to come. That will be your legacy, Ms. Rendler, if you are the third vote to ban books. Silence the discussion the community needs to be having. Then you will be the one that lays the groundwork for sexual abuse to continue...

Next, Dale Broom, followed by Ellen Grunbaum and Gene Saglin.

Yes, Dale Broom, Dr. Dale Broom, Area 1. I wanted to address this issue of the books. You know, over the last 20 years, the school district has paid out over $50 million because of sexual misconduct of teachers with students. And now we're on probation with the California Department of Education and the Attorney General's Office for numerous Title IX violations associated with sexual misconduct of teachers with students. If this school district is serious about preventing pedophilia, then we should remove library books such as The Bluest Eye and Push, which condone and even glorify incest, child rape, and pedophilia. These books are so sexually graphic. You can teach a lesson, and you can teach things about these subjects without having to be this sexually graphic, but they are. This book is very sexually graphic. It includes rape, sexual touching, masochistic sex acts with children, and this is resulting in multiple pregnancies.

Hello, I'm Ellen Gruenbaum. I'm a resident of Redlands and a grandmother of two children in our public schools, one in elementary and one in high school. I'm sympathetic with the desire to have children read age-appropriate literature, and I'm pleased that the process that has taken place has already established that by the professionals with allowing still parental rights to guide their children in what they would prefer them to read and not read. When I taught at Cal State some years ago, I included the bluest eye in the college curriculum of one of our courses. And college students, of course, can be as young as 17 or 18 as well. But it was very successful as an assignment. We found that it was an important opportunity for many of our students to develop a sense of empathy, to understand about trauma. It stimulated...

There is no need to ban The Bluest Eye because these books are already restricted and are only checked out with parent permission. A police report of sexual violence is not pornography, nor is this book. The Bluest Eye give voice to children's survivals of sexual abuse and physical violence. Women and children survivors of sexual crimes need to be heard and seen. This is a proven fact. By law and order, SVU is the longest running primetime drama. Women and children survivors... and need to be seen and heard. Banning this book does not stop the predators and perpetrators of these crimes. It only silences survivors.

Next is Jessica Callender, Mark Laird, and Quinn Shea.

She's outside, it may take a moment for the live stream to catch up.

Just a moment, I'm not quite ready, but I can take over. We're waiting for someone outside, right? Because I can go now if you'd like. Yes, go ahead. Awesome. All right. Well, my total right now, I hate to say this, is at 30. What am I talking about? I'm talking about in the time that I've worked in a TK through 8 school, mandated reports that I've made. And quite frankly, I'm not going to talk about details. Most of those were for sexual abuse. not even in a high school setting. Now, as a library media technician within a high school, I find it embarrassing that, one, the board has appointed a panel that has said that this book is fine. It is college board approved. If I look at Tidal Wave, which is a resource that we librarians and educators use, it's recommended for grades 10 and up. And all of the stuff in here What is it that's not meeting our learning objectives? African American. We've got literary fiction. We've got coming of age.

I'm Jessica in area two. I wish when I was younger I had had a book or had been aware of a book like The Bluest Eye. As someone who is a victim of sexual assault and abuse, to see a story that sounds familiar, even though I'm not African American, To see a story that sounds familiar, it allows you to feel less alone. It gives you a way to connect with something. So God forbid any of our students have that experience. And to take this book out is a disaster. Hello, my name is Quinn Shea. I am a middle school student in Area 2. This, as my mom just mentioned, this book has impacted her in more ways than none because she relates to the story as she may not be African American, but she has been a victim of sexual assault, as she mentioned, by her first marriage. And it is hard to It's hard to understand. I just wanted to read a quick thing. The death of self-esteem can occur quickly, easily in children before their ego has legs, so to speak. Couple the vulnerability of youth with indifferent parents, dismissive adults, and a world which, in its language, laws, and images, reinforces despair and the journey to destruction is sealed. By abandoning this book, you would create this.

Next, we have Samantha Trad, followed by Elise Klauser and Antonio Endicott.

Good evening. 50 seconds isn't really enough time. I was going to speak on behalf of students. I normally speak on behalf of parents in these meetings. I will say, as a black woman, Banning these books, discussing these books as though they are only about sexual acts and not talking about the racism. As we look out in the audience, we are not reflected the way that we actually are reflected in the district. I hope to speak more about this later, but the fact that the two first books that you brought were books by women of color speaks volumes. I will not take away from my students' voices by trying to rush through what they wrote. I hope to be able to read their statements later.

When I was a senior at Redlands High School, Mrs. Kanjo had us read The Bluest Eye in AP Literature. This book greatly affected me. It was one of the most critical books we read that year. It was very hard to read. I get it. It is so hard to read some of those scenes. But Mrs. Kanjo helped us understand that that actually happens to people. She helped us to get out of our bubble and understand that this is what happens in people's life. That book is not pornography. It's about race. Shame on you, Michelle Rendler, for banning Toni Morrison from our schools and from our students. It's unacceptable.

Hello, members of the board. My name is Antonio Endicott. I'm a student at RHS. I am disappointed that you have continued to try and censor what students can see and read. And I am also, frankly, aware that trying to talk to two of the members of this board will be futile. But Ms. Rendler, you have an option today to make the right decision. Given with your earlier voting, you may be willing to do that today. I really hope you do. I will say you have listened to students, teachers, people who actually live in Redlands, and now even victims of sexual assault say what they needed to say. Please listen to the people who actually represent our community and not a bunch of people from three towns over.

Next, we have Patricia Wilson, Greg Britton, and Shannon Simpson.

Hi, my name is Patricia Wilson and I'm a resident of area three and a parent of a Citrus Valley student. I'm here tonight to ask you to please not ban the book The Blue Aside by Toni Morrison. It is very upsetting that this amazing piece of literature by a Pulitzer Prize winning author would be removed from a library. Taking passages out of context is a reductive way to look at this beautiful and heartbreaking piece of literature. Our students deserve access to this story. If you feel your child is not ready to read this book yet, you can always request that they not be allowed to check out the book. Do not make that decision for all of our students. I read this book years ago, and it is transformative. If you do not understand the value of the book, please look to people who do, our librarians.

Opal Singleton, the crusader against child sex abuse, said recently that when you expose children to stuff like he wanted to F her tenderly, on and on and on like that, you make the job of child sex predators easier. You've exposed and normalized this behavior, these words, this conduct to impressionable children. Don't do it. We elect you. Not librarians, not teachers, not unaccountable employees. We, the people, elect you as our representatives to control our schools. The buck stops with our elected representatives. In this case, the school board. You know this is wrong. Stop it.

Shannon Simpson. Valerie Tabor. Bea Hamilton.

I read this book in eighth grade English. Claudia is gifted a doll with white skin and blue eyes. She pulls it apart, trying to deconstruct what makes those eyes appealing, only to find they are two metal balls. Outraged, the adults punish her. Pecola is desperate to be white with blue eyes so someone will love her. After her father assaults her, she goes insane, believing that her eyes are now blue. As for the white characters, nothing happens to them. This book reminds me of these meetings. The values of the white board members are held in high esteem. They punish members of color for deconstructing their opinions. The community opposing BookPants has attacked itself, going insane. Meanwhile, nothing serious happens to the white board members even when they receive 874 non-duplicated complaints about Candy Olson's conduct, 856 of which called for her resignation. This book is relevant.

This book was reviewed in 2023 by a site committee. It was then reviewed by a district committee and then it came to the board in 2023 who declined to review it because you trusted the librarians and you trusted the committees did their job. It has now been reviewed by yet another committee who has told you that it should not be removed. And so at this point, it is an abundance of disrespect to the time and money and commitment of the people on those committees if you end up removing these books. There are already protections in place so that parents can decide what is age appropriate and what is appropriate for their students. Please respect that.

Next we have Daniel Tinajero, followed by Susan McCarley and Alicia Heater.

Hello, everyone. I want to express my concern on these two books being challenged today. Together for Redlands members continue to call this a book ban, and that is not accurate at all. Parents like myself are pushing back to try to get this book out of the reach of students at school. Kids have no business reading about sexual and spiritual materials. We just want to focus on what really matters, academics, and not on gender, identity, or anything like that. This is not about black, brown, or gay actors, or brown like myself being canceled. This is about morals and ethics. Please get these books removed from school. They're not helping the kids at all. They're just giving them ideas that they're not supposed to have at that age. Thank you very much. God bless you all.

My name is Susan and I want to talk about how this affects people who have already been molested. This is very triggering. It can cause people to disassociate who are reading this. It is very harmful. The effects of sexual abuse and of pornography on kids has been very well documented and this is one of those things that is triggering and can cause people very great harm. I want to say that there was an Instagram post recently stating how important these two books are, The Bluest Eye and Push. Yes, they are crucially important to the people who want to sexualize our children and for their own

We sexualized our children the moment we gave them a phone. We sexualized our children the moment we gave them free range tablets and other internet devices and leave them alone in their bedroom for hours on end. Sexually explicit material refers to the context that primarily focuses on the portrayal or the description of nudity sexual acts in a way that is intended to arouse sexual interest. This includes written discussions of sexual activities or organs. That is not what this book does. This book is so important for our youth to be able to understand that they can come to parents and they can have the discussions. When I had to talk to my boys, I have three boys. I've had to talk to all of them about periods. And what do you do to help a girl? What is consent? I have to have these discussions with my boys. These books allow for us as parents to make paths to teaching and talking to our children about issues that are very, very hard to talk about. And this is about race.

The hearing is now closed. Public hearing regarding instructional materials challenge push by Sapphire. In accordance with the district's complaints concerning instructional materials policy, the board will conduct a public hearing to consider the appeal and determine whether the presented material is appropriate for students. The board shall vote to designate the appropriate grade level access. If the material is deemed unsuitable for any level, it will be permanently removed from the corresponding schools and district facilities within five business days of the board's decision.

How many do we have?

31.

Okay, so 30 minutes. We'll do the same 50 minutes. I mean 50 seconds per person. All right.

The hearing is now open.

Just to organize, if we say 50 seconds, there's going to be more than 30 minutes spent if we break it down because of the transition time. uh... and he started as soon as they get to the podium and when they start talking side my calculating in my head but i'm imagining that that's going to add at least five minutes on the thirty minutes it's gonna seem like it's what what is more than thirty but if we do thirty one speakers we do fifty seconds again It's likely going to be about 35 total minutes, maybe even 40, depending on how long it takes to transition.

That's what I'm misunderstanding. Are we doing 30 total minutes, or are we using that 30 minutes as a template to then divide that? Because... Are we doing 50 seconds? Are we doing 30 minutes divided? That's what I'm asking. So which are we doing?

We can't do both. What we decided to do is whoever's already told us that they're going to speak, we're going to give them the same amount of time. And the most reasonable way to do that is to say it's a total of 30 minutes. We're going to divide that time, and you're going to each get this allotted time. Okay? So 50 seconds. We're doing 50 again. Yes. Okay.

Tricia Keeling, followed by Tessa Honge and Gina Porter. I guess I'm opening the hearing. The hearing is now open.

Okay, I'm here tonight because banning books is one of the most insane things that this district could do. When we remove books from shelves, especially books that deal honestly with trauma, identity, and survival, we are not protecting students. We are abandoning them. I'm talking about the book Push by Sapphire. Yes, it does contain graphic scenes, but we need to be honest about why. The story follows a teenager who is being groomed and sexually assaulted by her own parents. These scenes are not written for shock value. They are written to help readers understand the reality of grooming, how manipulation works, and and how abuse can be recognized. For some students, a book like Push may be the first time they see their own experiences reflected, validated, and named. And in this district, with our history, where students have been harmed by adults who were supposed to protect them, you would think that we would want more resources, not fewer, Candy. Thank you. Thank you.

My name is Tessa Lynn Hodge, LCSW. I am not only a therapist, but I have worked in child welfare with victims of sexual abuse and commercially sexually exploited children. In the field of social work, there is an ongoing conversation of how to build resilience in those who have experienced abuse, neglect, and trauma. I myself am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and neglect, and as a child, I found solace, comfort, and escape in books during some of the hardest times in my life. I credit my own resilience to reading stories that mirrored my own and showed that I could overcome and be successful just like the characters in the books, just like Precious in the book Push. The material in books like Push are not sexually explicit. They are depictions of abuse that I, as a mental health therapist, have helped far too many real clients, including children, to process.

I read Push before it was challenged the first time, and it was a stark reminder that there are children in this country who are victims of unspeakable acts of cruelty, abuse, violence, and sexual assault, and that sadly, that abuse too often happens in the child's home. However, this book is also a reminder of the power of education because Precious is an illiterate teenager, and by the end of the book, she is reading, she is writing, she is journaling, she is processing. It's also a reminder of the importance of having supportive adults in your life who believe in you. Any book could be on the agenda tonight, and I would be here to speak in the same way because all books are important and they have value. Please don't take that.

Next is Janine Elias, followed by Erica Grossman and Sue Headey.

If I'm emotional, it's because I've been hearing everybody's stories and it's affecting me, so I apologize. And something important to remember is that the committee has already recommended to keep these in libraries, not with unrestricted access. That does not mean kids are going to come into the library and every kid's going to be handed a copy of these books. Parents have to mark that it is acceptable for their child to check out this material. Sapphire's push addresses harsh realities like trauma and assault that many of our students do in fact face. It is not pornographic, but essential for building empathy and critical thinking, a necessary component of rigorous academics. Removing titles like this undermines our commitment to equity, as the library is the only access for some of our students. Please represent the families of our students that we serve, and trust the judgment of our professional educators that have already checked out this...

When you label this book as pornography, you minimize the profound realities of sexual assault and child abuse, and you shame survivors. This is victim blaming. When you argue that book makes students more susceptible to sexual assault, you're blaming victim's behavior for assault. This book is difficult to read, and it may not be for everyone, but high school students can make that choice. It also carries a strong and positive message about learning, resilience, and achievement. If you dismiss all that and focus only on its sexual content, I believe you have serious issues of sexual fixation. If my teenage child experiences arousal from reading this book, I do contact a psychologist.

I'm a Redlands resident, mom to a Cope and Redlands High School student. I am here instead of at the school play where my daughter has a main role. Sexual explicit content is a problem for kids on phones. Visual acts of sexual activity can harm kids, which is the exact study Candy Olson read aloud in a previous meeting. You were talking about porn, okay? Not written material in literary books. Books do not harm kids. Books make difficult subjects a point of discussion, which you as a parent can have with your kid. Banning books does not make terrible abuse in the real world go away.

Next is Aya, followed by Catherine Appleby and Jermaine Miles. Your seats.

We'll wait for Mrs. Wilson to get back.

Okay, the meeting is back to order. The Board of Education values the perspectives and participation of our community members. Public comment provides all an important opportunity for individuals to share their views on district matters. The Board encourages comments, feedback, and input from all voices in the community. including those who may have different opinions and perspectives. The California Office of the Attorney General asked us to share that, in their view, matters pertaining to specific, identifiable students or any group of students should remain private to the extent possible. If you have a complaint about an employee or a student matter, please utilize the appropriate complaint procedure. Contact Dr. Rudy Wilson, Assistant Superintendent of Compliance, who can assist you with filing any such complaint. As a reminder, not all speech is free from consequences. And since this is a board's meeting in public where minors may be present, we encourage all participants to conduct themselves in a civilized, non-threatening manner. Thank you for your cooperation and for contributing to a civil and student-focused discussion. Members of the public may address the board on matters within its jurisdiction by submitting a completed registration card or the QR code to the clerk or designated staff member prior to the start of public comments on agenda items. 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?

We have about 33 speakers. Speaking times, but it's less speakers.

Okay. Okay. So the decision we made was if it's over 25, two minutes. Is that what we decided? Okay. So each speaker will have two minutes.

Catherine Appleby with three items, four items. And then Rachel Ugly, followed by Peter Hall. Okay.

All members will kick out.

Thank you. Board members, Katherine Appleby, Area 4.

I'm sorry. Welcome, Katherine. I forgot during that whole public hearing.

It's OK. But welcome. It's been a lot, Michelle. Four items. I'm going to start with 7J. I know you already voted on this one. But your board governance handbook. I'm glad you were finally able to share this document with the public. But I read through all the pages, and I noticed that there are some glaring pieces of information in this. Specifically about what will be done if board members do not follow this document. What happens when a board member, quote, substitutes their personal judgment for the professional expertise of staff, end quote, page seven. What is the recourse for when a board member only represents part of the community or does so with a personal agenda, page eight. As a community member, how will board members be held accountable if they do not listen respectfully to all speakers at the podium? Page 11. How will the board president be held accountable when she doesn't manage the flow of conversation? Page 12. Without recourses for when, not if, when the board does, the board members do not follow this handbook, then this board governance handbook is just 24 pages of empty words. Thank you. Next is 13A, your agreement with Contribute for the FIT inspection software. I think that this software, it will provide a benefit to our maintenance and operations staff as they care for our aging buildings. In fact, I read this contract and I was very excited for what it would do. However... Will our RUSD staff have access to the photos and reports if we do not renew the contract in June 2026? I didn't read anything in the contract that indicates if and how RUSD retains the information that has been uploaded. If RUSD loses that information, then there will be a gap in our maintenance and operation records. And then 16C. Your appeal of the bluest eye. I'm asking you to follow some of the words from your own board governance handbook as you consider the appeal of the reviewing committee's decision. One of your commitments is to, quote, actively work to identify and eliminate barriers to student success. Page 10. You have heard that the bluest eye is a title often referenced on the AP English literature exam. You have also heard the fallacious statement that it's not a ban since you can just buy it. If you vote to remove the bluest eye, you are creating a barrier to student success instead of eliminating it. substitute my personal judgment for the professional expertise of the staff. Page 7 of your governance handbook. Per board policy, you must have the hearing we just did. But per your own governance document, you must not allow your personal judgment to override the professional expertise of the staff who read and reviewed and initially selected those books. I plead with you to vote based on the professional expertise of the RUSD staff. Quote, respect the involvement of parents in their child's educational experiences from page five of your handbook. This means you respect all parents for their own children, not the parents you agree with and not that some parents get to decide for all children. Follow your handbook. Thank you, Catherine.

Jeff Pogge, followed by Greg Britton with three items, and Tricia Keeling.

Welcome, Jeff.

Thank you. Jeff Poggi, Area 2, parent of two students who went K-12 through Redland schools. Let us be clear. This is and has always been about banning books. Restricting, as the committee suggested, is not enough. I would like to read from Bluest Eye. Love is never any better than the lover. Wicked people love wickedly. Violent people love violently. Weak people love weakly. Stupid people love stupidly. But the love of a free man is never safe. I'm going to break through or somebody going to break through to me. I'm going to learn, catch up, be normal, change my seat to the front of the class. So when everybody talks about the aggressive sexuality and the horrors depicted in Push, remember that quote, please. There are so many beautiful passages in both of these books You do a disservice when you pull them from the shelves. And the other thing I've got to tell about, everybody's talking about we're giving these books to kids. We are not giving the books to children to read. They have to go to the library, they have to have parental permission, and they have to ask to read them. Nobody is sharing pornography with anybody except the dirty minds that want to restrict this.

Thank you, Jeff.

Thank you.

Evening again. I'll start with the board policy. Welcome, Greg. Start with the board policy. And on page 7, they mean much of, you will not substitute your personal judgment for professional expertise of staff. Well, why the heck even have you guys up there? Just submit the staff report and rubber stamp it, and it's the policy. That's not how representative democracy works. It starts with the citizens. We have an election, and citizens can't run every government agency, so we elect representatives to control our various government agencies on our behalf. You all work for us. And if you do not exercise your personal judgment, yeah, you want to listen to all the opinions. You want to listen to the comments out here of the citizens as well, as well as professional staff. Absolutely listen to them. But ultimately, it is your judgment. You're the ones that went around and knocked on people's doors and said, here's what I'm running on. Please vote for me. And you're all up there because you got the most votes. That's how representative democracy works. And to then surrender. Your independent judgment subverts that. You don't see that in Congress. You don't see that in the state legislature. You don't see it anywhere else. But only here do they want you to give up your independent judgment. It's wrong. And in 16 seconds, if you think something's going wrong, you have an obligation to go out and tell the public about that, not be silent, and not just go along with what you know and what you believe is wrong. That's, again, how representative democracy works. The books are just one example, these specific books, of a much larger trend. And we see this trend all across the country. And two minutes isn't enough to really tie to what's behind this trend. But it is to sexualize children. Part of it's in the government-run schools who have been giving this material, exposing the children to it. It's called the mere exposure effect. So when you see it once, you see it twice, you see it three times, four times. Then when you actually see it again, maybe in real life, when the child's sex predator contacts the child through the Internet, it's no big deal. I've already read all those words about all those different kinds of acts five times in school. Now, do you get it elsewhere? Do you get it on the phones? Do you get it in the media? All those things, yes, that's all true. But we don't control all of those things. To then throw up our hands and say, okay, well, because I can't control what's on the phones, I can't control what's on the Internet, I'm not going to do anything in what's in my area of control, and that makes absolutely no sense. This is your area. Parents entrust their children to you, all of the parents. These books may be good. They may not be good. Parents can buy their books. We can't control what parents buy for their children at home and what books they read. Once you turn 18, you can buy and read any book you want to as an adult. But we give protection to children, like in movies. You put an NC-17 movie out there, children can't see that, even with a parent. That's not banning movies. It is a recognition that children's brains are not as well developed and cannot handle some of these things as well as an adult. And when they're in the schools, we are trusting you to do the right thing and protect them.

Thank you.

Thank you, Greg. Thank you. Welcome, Tricia.

I'm just going to finish my speech from earlier. Do I have three or two? Two?

Two.

Okay. Can you reset the timer? Thank you. Okay. So talking about push. Push also matters for another reason. Sapphire is a black author writing honestly about the aspects of a black experience, of poverty, racism, family trauma, and survival. Silencing that story means silencing voices and truths that students deserve access to. When we ban books by black authors, by LGBTQ authors, or authors of color, we narrow students' understanding of the world and of themselves. Book bans do not keep kids safe. They keep kids uninformed. They keep kids vulnerable. Our students deserve truth, representation, and access to literature that may help them recognize abuse, build empathy, and understand perspectives beyond their own. This is actually a waste of our district's resources. I remember during a workshop earlier this year, it was stated that The reviews that happened in 2022 cost our district $20,000. I'm really curious how much this has cost our district right now and how much all of these meetings, when we're going to go over book after book after book, are going to cost our district. That's real money that's being taken out of our classrooms. And then also, I'd like to address something else along with that book. I put in a public records request for information as to who challenged these two books, because if we're going to upend students' access to literature, the community deserves transparency. Instead of receiving the information within the allotted time limit, I was given an extension. And let's be honest, the timing is very convenient. That extension pushes the release of information until after this meeting, after tonight's votes, when the damage is already done. Why should the community trust a process that hides basic information until decisions are already made? Transparency shouldn't come only when it's politically convenient. Thank you. Now on to the blue side. Again, talking about the Bluest Eye and the establishment of AB 1078. From my understanding of AB 1078, it exists for a reason. The state will not tolerate discriminatory censorship. Instead of silencing black authors, we should be uplifting them. Instead of removing stories about trauma, resilience, and race, we should be teaching students how to be thoughtful, critical, and have conversations about them. Literature like the Bluest Eye gives students the tools to understand complex realities, build empathy, and see themselves and others more clearly. Banning books betrays students. It betrays educators. And in this case, it also breaks the law. So if you care about that, I wouldn't do it tonight. I urge you to stop this pattern. And that's what that would be. Banning two books by black authors would be establishing a pattern. And that is something that 1078 absolutely addresses. Do not ban the bluest eye. Protect our students, our district, and our legal standing by protecting access to literature. Thank you.

Next is Janan Elias, Aaron Fernando, and Michael Paisner.

All right, I'll start by talking about The Bluest Eye. Welcome, Aaron. Thank you. I'll go back into my thoughts from before. So I was saying, yes, this book describes a little girl being raped and impregnated by her father. It's a gut-wrenching scene, but for too many little girls, similar scenes are reality. The novel's set in Ohio in the 1940s, but just a few years ago, an even younger girl, a 10-year-old, had to flee the very same state because she'd been raped, and it was illegal for her to terminate her pregnancy. Ban the books to protect kids, the rights screams, while trying to force a kid to be a mother. Now, if you listen only to the detractors, you'd think that this book was a 211-page-long rape scene. That scene is a tiny part of the book, but it and a few other scenes are the only excerpts they want you to hear. If you're really curious to hear that scene, try saying systemic racism exists three times in a mirror at night and a racist doctor might pop up who hasn't memorized already. But no, that's not what this book is about. The book is about a little girl who believes what society says about her, that she's ugly, undesirable, invisible. She knows what her father did to her is wrong, but she thinks, why would anyone care or want to help? Maybe if she had blue eyes, she convinces herself everything would be okay. But no, she was born an ugly black girl, so she deserves her lot in life. Can't you see how important it is to confront thinking like that? For a kid who might be thinking similar thoughts, it's so much easier to realize how wrong they are when seeing someone else's story. Of course she doesn't deserve that. And they might think, well, if she doesn't deserve it, maybe I don't either. A vote to ban this book is a vote against that kid and all the kids like them. And that will be all on you, Ms. Rendler. All right, moving on to PUSH. I'll start. It doesn't surprise me that the right has such poor critical thinking skills that they think a book that condemns rape and child molestation is a how-to guide. I mean, look at how they use their favorite book to beat everyone the book tells them to love. So let me spell it out for you. The point of the book is that what happens to Precious is not normal and should not be normal. Precious thought it was normal. Education showed her otherwise. I hope there's not a single kid in our schools that knows what it's like to be raped by their own family, to have to carry that person's child inside of them. But we all know it's not impossible for a kid to be going through that right now. And even if there's none in that specific circumstance, there are definitely kids going through other tragedies. Homelessness, alcoholism, drug abuse. Maybe their father hits them. Maybe he loves them dearly, but he got snatched by masked goons in an unmarked van. The message from this book to all those children is that it can get better. You're not invisible. Someone out there cares for you. Keep asking for help until you find them. Don't give up. Your life adds so much beauty to this world, and it would be a tragedy to lose it. And for the people who aren't in a situation like that, who could never imagine anything close, even in their darkest nightmares, the book has another message. Be the person who cares. Be the person who won't let your eyes slide past someone in need. You cannot claim to be working to improve education while banning a book all about the uplifting power of education. I could talk for hours about this book, but there's really only one last point I want to make. It's not hyperbole to say that this book has saved lives. There's a scene where the main character goes to an incest survivor meeting and she looks around at all these other people there and she realizes, I'm not alone. There are others like me. That is what this book is for, for the people who need it most. And if you ban it, Michelle, their blood will be on your hands.

Thank you, Aaron. Welcome, Michael.

Thank you. Thank you. Mike Paisner, I also wanted to express my dissatisfaction with the FOIA process. I requested information about who challenged these books, and I was told it would not be provided until after the hearing. The challenge is public information, and I do not agree that that should be withheld until after the hearing. You need to comply with the law. And speaking of the law, that 1078 prohibiting banning books based on certain groups, it should be noted that two members of this board are already documented as saying they need to pass this policy in order to prevent the normalization of LGBTQ. Those two members were corresponding with leaders of the Ark Church. It specifies what their intent of the book policy you're currently working with is. It seems pretty obvious that since that information became public, they decided to pivot. Well, we can't explicitly ban LGBTQ because our intent has been documented, and now suddenly it's two books written by black authors about black characters. The good news is I don't have to call my lawyers about this because this is going to be enforced by the state superintendent and the attorney general, which is already breathing down your neck. Please keep that in mind as you go through these book bans. You're going to have to face consequences if you break the law. Thank you.

Gina Porter with two items, Valerie Savis with two items, and Jermaine Miles with one item.

Welcome, Valerie.

To be clear, I believe in the importance of literature, the value of diverse voices, and the need for students to encounter challenging ideas as they grow. However, I have serious concerns about the books Push and the Bluest Eye, accessible to school-aged children. These novels contain graphic depictions of sexual violence, incest, explicit sexual acts, and extreme trauma. These scenes are not merely implied. They are described in detail. While these works may have literary and historical value for the mature readers, the nature and intensity of the content raises legitimate questions about developmental readiness and emotional safety for students. As parents and educators, we have a responsibility to ensure that what we place in front of students is not only educational but also age-appropriate. Children are still forming their understanding of boundaries, relationships, and personal safety. Graphic depictions of trauma, especially sexual trauma, can be confusing, disturbing, and emotionally harmful. The fact that these issues exist in the real world does not automatically make every depiction suitable for all age groups. Additionally, Many families in our community hold cultural, moral, or religious values that give them legitimate concerns about exposing children to explicit sexual content, regardless of the book's literary reputation. Parents should have the right to guide their children through these sensitive topics at a time and in a manner they believe is appropriate. My request is not to erase these books or deny their existence. Instead, I ask the board to consider providing alternatives that address similar issues, identity, race, resilience, without exposing students to explicit or graphic content. We can respect literature without sacrificing the emotional well-being of children. Protecting children from content they are not prepared to process is not essential.

Thank you, Valerie. Welcome, Jermaine.

Thank you. I just want to clarify a couple of things for people regarding these two books and regarding this policy. There is a process in place for parental rights where they can opt their children out of these books. So the statements being made that we're pushing these books down the kids' throats are completely inaccurate. So why we would ban these books when we already have the process in place where I as a parent can opt my children out if I choose. I don't want you or any of these parents to opt my children out of what I want them to read. And as far as my being a white woman up here speaking, I have four grandchildren, none of which are white. They are Korean, they are mixed, and they are black. And it is my duty to represent my grandchildren in this process. And two of those grandchildren, one is already in this district, the other will be in the district in another three or four years. So that's my obligation. And even before I had children in this district, I will fight for these books to be available as stated, as recommended, for age appropriate, which is high school. No one is forcing these books onto third graders or kindergartners or even seventh graders. It's high school. That process tells you that we have looked at those books and we know what's appropriate. Follow the guidance. Don't allow these people insulting the teachers and the librarians of our school. They are not to be insulted by saying that they have no say, they have no expertise, and you are the only experts. That is unbelievably disgusting and I hope every one of you were disgusted by those statements. Please, do not ban these books. Thank you.

Thank you, Jermaine.

Mark Laird.

Before I start my time. Welcome, Mark. Hi, thank you. I'm just going to go over real quick. I'm going to be speaking on the two book items. I believe it's 16. Is it C and D? Am I right on that? Yes. Okay, perfect. So I've been hearing a couple times tonight, just buy it on Amazon. Wow, that's privilege right there, honestly. I work with students that are McKinney-Vento. For those of you that don't know, that's homeless. I work with foster youth. I work with students from all backgrounds. And for you to say for a student that doesn't even have a credit card or a dollar to their name to go and buy it on Amazon is absolutely disgusting to me. That's privilege right there. That's someone who is not aware of the fact that many of my students that come to school every day, the only thing that they have in their bellies is whatever they received at school the day before or from support services or in a to-go bag, right? That's privilege. And for those of you up here right now, respectfully, there is not a single, and you know what, maybe I'm assuming, so I will correct myself on this, but based on what I see right now, there is not a single African American person on this board right now. And we're discussing two books, both by African American authors. Shame on you. And also, we're going against the wish of the panel that Y'all just put into effect. We were fine with your policy to have people opt things out. Okay, well now it's time for the panel. The panel's here. And the panel determined that these books were fine for limited access. So why are we not listening to the panel? Why are we not listening to what the community wanted? I thought the community wanted a panel, right? So let's have that panel. Let's listen to those experts. I don't believe that any of you, respectfully, even the people that I love up here, none of you are qualified to be looking at these books. Quite frankly, you don't even know what the word title wave is, which is the resource that we use to see if a book is even appropriate or not to put in the classroom. If you don't know what title wave is, you don't belong on this panel right here telling me whether or not this book belongs in a classroom or not. Tony Morrison. And you know what? Both of these books touch on sexual abuse, yes. And as a victim of sexual abuse myself, I found myself in books like this, right? Should I even have to be up here right now speaking to that? No. In fact, it's aggravating me right now that I'm here. Yeah. I have so many other places I'd rather be right now. But here I am, yet again, at one of these meetings. And honestly, it's because Tony Morrison, AP Lit. I took AP Lit. And you know what I read in AP Lit? Even The Color Purple. The Color Purple? African-American author. A book about childhood sexual abuse. You know what? Guess what? I read it in high school. I wrote my AP Lit paper. I changed as a human being. I got a good grade on my AP Lit paper. And I now remember that book forever. So, why are we banning AP Lit curriculum? Hmm? Anyone want to speak to that? We've gotten no answers. If, once again, the panel that you have put into effect has said that this curriculum is okay, then why are we banning it? Limiting access? Understandable. Not every book for every child at every age. But none of the content in this book is pornography. You know how I know that? Once again, I go to Tidal Wave, the resource we use to see if a book is appropriate in an educational setting. And it would let me know if we had erotica. It would let me know if this was pornography. None of the learning objectives from any of this material falls into that realm. If you find childhood sexual abuse to be pornography, that is your problem and disgusting, and you are hurting children by blocking access to books that will allow them to either understand what they've been through or see who they are. Thank you, Mark.

Alice Klosser. Dale Broom with two items. And Kai Marie with two items.

Welcome back, Alice. Thank you, Elise. Okay. I'm just going to read the two student statements. Good evening. My name is Naleah Miller. I serve as president of our high school's black student union. I'm here because banning books is not only harmful, it's dangerous. Books give us the power to learn about our history, our culture, and the voices that shape the world we live in. When a district chooses to remove books, especially those written by black authors and other marginalized communities, it sends a message that our stories don't matter, that our existence should be erased, and that is something we cannot and will not accept. Education is supposed to prepare us for the real world. How can we understand society and the mistakes, the victories, the struggles if we are denied the truth? We deserve the opportunity to read, to think, to question, and to build a better future. Tonight I'm asking you to trust your librarians and your students. Trust our voices. Do not take away the tools that help us grow into informed, empathetic, and empowered young adults. Do not ban these books because when you silence our stories, you silence our people, and our voices deserve to be heard. The second is Kaia Anthony. Hello, my name is Kaia Anthony. I'm a senior in the RUSD district, also a BSU president. I'm speaking today because I do not support Banning the Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. This book is not harmful. It's honest. It tells stories about trauma, racism, abuse, and survival that are real for many students and families. Removing this book does not protect students. It erases experiences some are already living. As a black student, I rarely see myself represented in what we read here in this district. And when black stories finally appear, they are the first ones for removal. This sends a message that our voices are too uncomfortable to be heard. Literature is supposed to challenge us, teach us, empathy and start conversations, not hide the truth because it makes adults uncomfortable. Banning these books is not education, it's censorship. If we only allow books that feel safe, then students will never learn how to understand the world we are actually growing up in. We deserve diverse books, we deserve representation, and we deserve to be trusted. Thank you, Elise.

Welcome back, Dale.

Yeah, I just want to verify I have two sessions. Okay. Yeah, so I want to talk a little bit about some of the misinformation that's been put forward here regarding, first of all, is this a violation of AB 1078? To remove sexually graphic books from the library is not a violation of AB 1078. We are not discriminating against LGBT in the process of doing this. In fact, both of these books, which have been challenged, have nothing to do with LGBT behavior. It is about sexually graphic material. And second of all, pornography is not... It doesn't matter what race the author is. It doesn't matter what race the victim is. Pornography affects everybody and it has a horrible, powerful impact upon adolescents. And I'm going to read a little bit of scientific literature that talks about this. The effects of pornography exposure upon young adults and adolescents was recorded by a study by Zillman and Bryant in the 1980s. And the following observations were noted regarding young adults exposed to pornography compared to control groups. Male subjects demonstrated increased callousness toward women. Subjects considered the crime of rape less serious. Subjects were more accepting of non-marital sexual activity and non-coital sexual practices such as oral and anal sex. Subjects became more interested in more extreme and deviant forms of pornography. Subjects were more likely to say that they were dissatisfied with their sexual partners. Subjects were more accepting of sexual infidelity in a relationship. Subjects were valued marriage less and were twice as likely to believe marriage may become obsolete. Men experience a decreased desire for children, and women experience a decreased desire to have daughters. And further studies have also been shown that adolescents who are exposed to this are more likely to be involved in criminal sexual behavior and violent behavior toward particularly other adolescents. So this is a harmful exposure when kids are exposed to pornography. A second thing that I wanted to discuss regarding these books, The Bluest Lie and Push, is first of all, restricting access to these books is not sufficient. Just because a few parents think that the books are acceptable reading material does not mean that we should shelve those books on our libraries. Just because some parents allow their teens to smoke weed does not mean that we should allow them to smoke weed in schools. Also, I want to bring up the fact that the rubric that was used to score these books, if you look at the rubrics, the rubric scores that were given for the two major categories of sexually explicit material and depiction of sexual violence, each of those people who reviewed these books gave it a four or five, the highest being five. These really had very sexually graphic material and depicted sexual violence. But in the overall scheme of scoring this, they downplayed those by giving lower scores for some of the other items which were much more subjective, including contextual purpose, age suitability, potential negative impact on students. These are very highly subjective. And what I'd like to say is it does not matter about the subjective material. What matters is, is there sexually explicit material in the book? When a district attorney is prosecuting somebody for possession, sale of, or production of child porn material, They don't sit around and debate the artistic merits or the contextual purpose or the intent or the age suitability of the material. That what matters is, is there sexually explicit material involving children? And that's what they prosecute on, not on the subject of the things. And I think when we look at these books, we need to look at the criteria. Is there sexually explicit material and is there sexual violence? And if so, those books should be removed from the library. Thank you.

Thank you, Bill. Thank you. Welcome, Kai.

Hello, Michelle. You might recognize me, although this is my first time speaking. But here I go. I am a black woman whose family has suffered sexual abuse, abortion, and poverty. I understand the cultural hardship in these novels better than most of the people in this room, I believe, I think. I've read these books and understand the larger narrative, but I'm still concerned about the sexual content. This is why. I have been exposed to the sexually explicit novels in schools. Because I've read many books that empower me despite the color of my skin, I wish I hadn't read these books, The Bluest Eye and Push. Because I suffer from the consequences of feeling empowered, by my sexuality rather than my strength and my understanding of my value of life. I don't believe it's up to the schools to determine what our children can handle, but the protective communities they find in their families. But as a black female student, I would submit to the board that I would like to see a culture change brought by the fostering of gentleness and purity of black souls. Books like these encourage black people to put on another badge of victimhood. It wasn't my trauma that told me I was an undesirable, ugly black woman. It was an entitled world that told me I need white people to fight for me. I don't. Because I do belong and I know that. Please don't let these disingenuine or false heroisms allow these books into school libraries. I'll let the time finish.

Thank you. Thank you, Kai.

I did submit to requests. Oh, okay. I guess with the rest of my time, I would just submit to everyone here. I understand you're in.

Yeah.

What's your agenda item you're talking on now? So the second is 16D. but it's still referring to both the books.

Okay, and speak to the board. Okay, thank you.

I understand the argument, and as well as the foundation of those who would disagree with me, I would just say that as someone who's gone through the school system, now out, I... my experience speaks against what is being said here. I don't think that because the novels were written by black women, that means that that story defines how we view all black people. Not even my story, not even my perspective. It is just a new one that I hope that you consider. Um, but I think it should be said and that you should consider that the idea of these are novels written by black women. It, That doesn't mean anything because whether they're written by black women or white men, if it's true, it's true. If it's false, it's false. I just don't want to see any more students sexualized the way that I was. Thank you.

Thank you.

Sorry, Alicia Hester, Valerie Tabor, and Chris Plautus.

I'll come back, Alicia. Okay.

Thank you. I don't want anyone's voice to be silenced. I don't want any person's experience to go unnoticed, and I don't think anybody should be made to feel invisible. And everyone's voice matters. But by eliminating books like these, we're trying to make ourselves more comfortable with what our kids bring home and the questions that our kids ask us, instead of being willing to answer the hard questions, or instead of maybe to be willing to do the research ourselves. If I didn't know of something, my sibling was killed tragically a couple years ago. They identified as non-binary. And whenever I had a question about their lifestyle or when my kids came to me and they asked me what a definition of something was and I didn't know, I had no problem calling Sam and asking him, hey, what's a people? Or if you're not an aunt or an uncle, what do the kids call you? and by not giving light to our children to be okay asking us those hard questions, then we're pervasing childhood by not allowing them to grow up. And I want to know, what age is it appropriate? At what age is someone's experience okay for the rest of the world to know about? Or just kids their own age? If the only rescue any child has is through a book, and you're going to ban it, then shame on you. Thank you, Alicia.

Welcome back, Valerie.

Thank you. Um, I wanted to speak about the lack of transparency with this. Um, I want to echo what Michael Paisner and Tricia Keeling had mentioned, which is that if people are flying information, it should be provided. You should not be delaying it. And much like all the other committees are available for the public to know who is on the committee, who has been selected, who filed the complaints, Why isn't that part of the documents that are provided to the public for your public hearing? Because I do think it matters who is submitting the complaints. Is this someone who is a parent who is part of the community of these schools? Or is this someone who has submitted it on behalf of an organization, as we know, in 2022-2023 was Awaken Redlands? And that's not to say that Awake and Redlands can't do that. I think that organizations, sure, they can file those complaints. But we should be allowed to know the information. And if you are going to have public hearings, I don't think a pop-up on your website and an announcement in your agenda is enough. I don't think it's sufficient. You have an entire ParentSquare app that you can send out notifications instantly. Why wasn't there a notification sent out about the public hearings? Why not? I think that if you're going to talk about transparency and you're going to talk about doing the benefit of the good for the community, you need to be more transparent and upfront. And people who participate in these committees should know that they are going to be known to the community because that creates trust. The transparency creates trust. And you're not creating trust right now. Thanks.

Thank you, Valerie.

Welcome, Chris.

My name is Chris Claudus. I am a resident of Redlands, a retired public school teacher, a school board member, and grandfather to four RUSD students, one of whom has spoken to you very eloquently this evening in defense of these books. The banning of these books is an act of unapologetic racism. You are directly attacking what it means to be black and white America. There are numerous books on this subject, but I guess if you can ban enough of them, you can make the black students feel invisible. This is not what you're supposed to be doing. You are here to educate. You are not here to indoctrinate. The black students have as much a right to a real education as does anyone. And for you to say that they have to tag along with the whites and are not allowed to have their own experience is just awful. You need to respect all your students. You do not want to marginalize any of them. And if their reality... is any of these things portrayed in these books, they have a right to confront that reality. You're way out of line trying to tell these people, if we pretend this doesn't exist, it won't exist. That is just crazy. Thank you.

Thank you, Chris.

B. Hamilton.

Welcome back, B. I wanted to speak on item 13J. This is the item that's basically to approve school resource officer services. I feel it is vital to approve this right now. And to explain why, I wish to read the social media comments of Joshua Hall, a regular meeting attendee. While these are selections, I am only removing the profanity. Everything else is in its entirety. Hall states, we are going to have to get our hands bloody eventually with the blood of the political oligarchs and criminal foreign invaders. There's just no way we can survive.

What does that have to do with... Security and safety. Security.

Yeah. I'm getting... I will get to it.

But it's a public...

Yes, but it's because somebody like this is quite violent, and the words that he uses are being used against certain minority groups, and the thing is that he's coming here to these meetings, and we should be allowed to speak on the issues of security as they are relating to racism, prejudice, and violent rhetoric.

And can you keep the names out of your speech?

I do want to point out that this was not part of the things that we had said at the beginning. And I do think it is important to bring up those names because it's important for people to be informed about it for their own personal safety.

I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY. WE MADE A STATEMENT, PRESIDENT RENDLER MADE A STATEMENT ABOUT COMING UP TO SPEAK AND BEING VERY CLEAR THAT YOU ARE SPEAKING TO THE BOARD. IF YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT SAFETY, THAT'S HIGHLY APPROPRIATE. IF YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT SPECIFIC PUBLIC MEMBERS WHO YOU FEEL THREATEN THAT SAFETY, THAT I THINK SPEAKING IN GENERALIZATIONS LIKE THAT IS OKAY. BEING SPECIFIC WITH NAMES IS NOT OKAY. That's all we're trying to say is you can continue but leave names out of it and just say public member as a suggestion.

Okay. Can I? Is it all right if I read the comment though? Okay. Okay. We are going to have to get our hands bloody eventually with the blood of the political oligarchs and criminal foreign invaders. There's just no way we can survive. I can hear it from the Christian boomers now. That's not loving or Christ-like. Who cares? The Christian faith is a slave doctrine created by the Jews to maintain control over the Gentiles. It is also a blueprint for global Jewish domination. These are violent, treasonous words, and this is a person who is here to protect children. I shudder to think what he thinks that looks like. What might he do to a student who is Jewish or an immigrant? What might he do to a transgender parent like myself? Would he bloody his hands if given the chance? There is a school board candidate member here who keeps this person in close company. How safe is he? Does he endorse these views, condone them? Is he even possibly responsible for them? Would he bloody his hands if given such an opportunity? The board has made it clear, even right now, that they find it appropriate for these people to be around our children. They feel it is appropriate that they remain anonymous. If they refuse to ban them for the persistent threat that they pose, the least they can do is to ensure the district work with law enforcement to keep our kids safe.

Thank you, Bea.

That's it? Okay, that's all.

Okay, we're on to board committee reports. Does anybody have anything to report? Oh, did I skip it?

I have no report. We don't meet until next Friday because of the organizational meeting.

And the Parks and Rec Committee meeting was canceled. due to no attendance.

I have a couple things. We had the compact mixer on October 30th, and it was great. There was a lot more community involvement this year of adults coming to help kids learn how to interact in a professional setting, it went really well. And I also want to comment, I was able to go on a site visit to Mission Elementary School and was very impressed with the principal and her commitment trying to work with her staff on some very difficult student issues there. So I was just really impressed. Also, I went to more site visit, and Jenny Dyerly, the principal, was explaining to me about a behavioral class they've implemented that's sort of a pilot. Well, I hope it's a pilot. I hope it's going to be continued at other schools because it sounded like a really great way to go in terms of some of the behavioral issues at school. In fact, I'm hoping I can get more information about it. And then I was able to go to Studio 24 since I was...

I'm sorry, but this is your personal board report? These are supposed to be... Are these your board comments, or is this a committee report? We're on committees.

I thought you were doing the compact committee. Oh, I did. Yeah. And I just kept listening. I was like, all right, any other committee reports?

No? Okay. On to superintendent's report. Mr. Cabral, do you have anything to report?

I do have a couple of things to report to the board. I'm excited about our Spanish dual language immersion program that we are starting the fall of 26 at McKinley Elementary School. I'm also proud to announce that we selected Ms. Minerva Castorena to be the principal. As many may know, or as all of you know, Jennifer Sherman has done a great job for us. She's retiring actually in two weeks. So we're excited for her, but we had to find a principal, and we decided to have the DLI program start at McKinley. The reason why we wanted to put a principal over there so quickly, not only because Jennifer was leaving, but also because we need to start the process of selecting the students who are going to participate in the program. We hope to not only select students from McKinley, but also district-wide, and then also invite students from surrounding areas who want to join Redlands Unified to be a part of this program. Initially, we'd like to have at least three classrooms begin over at McKinley. That means that we would be adding three classes. So anybody who's going to McKinley currently will continue to be able to go to McKinley. And then we'll have the DLI program begin. And so we're super excited about that.

Do you have a question? And what grades will be at starting?

TK and kindergarten.

How will people be selected, or how do parents apply to get their kids?

We're going to have information go out, I'm going to say late January, where we will invite folks to give us notice that they're interested. Then we're going to have a meeting inviting them to hear the information, and then they will have to sign up. If things go well, we will have too many students. And then we will have criteria that we will share with you to be able to select and to finalize who that will be. The model that we're using that you've heard is having 50% Spanish speakers and 50% non-Spanish speakers. So if you have a class of 30, you're talking 15 and 15. So there has to be a test given to Spanish speaking students to ensure that they are Spanish speakers. And that is significant because when learning the language, you have to have that collaboration amongst peers, that peer group, in order for that language to be learned. And so we're very excited about this. This is a program that exists in many districts, and we're hoping that it's just the beginning. McKinley is the start, and we're hoping to expand that. in the fall of 27 to an additional school because I do believe we're going to get a number of students who are interested, a number of families. SECOND, I WANT TO LET THE BOARD KNOW THAT I MET WITH OUR STUDENT BOARD MEMBERS LAST MONTH. THEY'RE EXCITED TO COME BACK AND JOIN US BEGINNING IN JANUARY. WE HAVE THREE STUDENT BOARD MEMBERS. WE'VE ALREADY DIVIDED. THEY WILL EACH BE PARTICIPATING ON THE DIAS TWO DIFFERENT MEETINGS APIECE. WE HAVE A STUDENT FROM RHS, A STUDENT FROM REV, AND A STUDENT FROM E-ACADEMY. They are familiar names because they were with us last year and now are seniors this year. And so they will be here at the first meeting in January, which I believe is the 13th. And then really quickly, I do want to address the PRA request questions that have come up. Because just to give you an idea of what that looks like, because we have been getting a number of PRA requests. we have one person who is overseeing the completion of those requests. It depends on what the request is asking, but sometimes that requires having to redact information from 150 emails before that can be sent back. we are averaging asking for extensions on just about every PRA request that we get. We also sometimes have to ask for legal support in order to make sure that we are following the correct or we're giving back the right information. Secondly, if we get a PRA request, for example, for the books that we're talking about tonight, that process, like that information cannot be shared until the process is completed, right? because we do not want the process to be influenced in any way. And so tonight may see the end of that process, which then would make it appropriate for that information to then be shared. It isn't a delay to delay things. It's in order to protect the process itself. I have no problem with being able to explain these types of things to anybody who puts in a pre-IRE request. Typically, those will come to me or they may even go to Mr. Hill. We send them to our communications manager, Christine Stevens, who oversees that. and then she gets support from legal when we need it, and we talk about it. I am very aware of every PR request that comes in. I'm also aware when we have to ask for extensions, and we are asking for them because we need them, not because we're trying to have any delay, and we're trying to make sure we follow the correct process. Okay, that's all I have to report.

Thank you, Mr. Cabral. We're now going to move on to a presentation, the first interim financial report by Jason Hill, Deputy Superintendent of Business Services. Welcome, Mr. Hill.

Nothing better than a budget presentation at 9 p.m. Wake everybody up, right? It excites me. All right. This presentation is required by law. It is our first interim financial presentation. It's required to be presented to the board and approved by the board by December 15th. So that is the legal requirement for this particular thing. It identifies changes to the projected budget since the unaudited actuals in August and all the way from July through September in terms of accounting up until that point. Then we spend the last few months putting together the presentation for you. I don't do this work. My budget team does it. Kirtan Shah, my director of finance, normally is up here talking. He had a new child. So he is bonding right now. All righty. You don't need to worry too much about this. We base the budget that you're going to see on today on that last projected column of 2025. You'll notice that we base the budget on 19,081 students. The actual number of students on Seabeds Day this year was 18,999. So that is the official number of enrollment this year. You can see last year was at 19, 181. So we're down about 182 kids from last year. And you can see all the way from 2020 through 2025, we have a gradual decrease in enrollment. The yellow column is our actual average daily attendance. And so for every time a student comes to school, We get credit if they don't come to school. We don't get credit. And so if you look at that last column, we're projecting 17,841 students to attend. As we look into the LCFF, the LCFF is the way that California funds school districts. I'll take a note. At the first column, the base and add-on increase, we did receive about $2.4 million in increases this year. Primarily, that's to do with the addition of TK add-on. So there is an amount that the governor started to give us a couple years ago, which is an additional amount to introduce TK at the lower grade levels. We were receiving about $3,000 for every TK student. We are now receiving about $5,500 for every TK student. That's that base and add-on increase you see right there. The supplemental and concentration, you'll notice there's decreases in both of those. Without getting into the weeds, that is our LCAP, right? So we receive a base amount for every student that attends the school, and if the student meets certain criteria, they count towards LCAP. Our LCFF or our LCAP numbers have been falling, so we received a decrease in those supplemental concentration money. That supplemental concentration money is developed in the LCAP process in the spring of every year and then monitored throughout the year. So total projected funding for the year is $257 million. This is kind of a picture of this year. First column is the 2024. That is last year's actuals. I'll just take note on that first column. We started the year with $111 million. We had about $350 million in revenues. We had about $370 million in expenditures. You'll notice that our expenditures were greater than our revenues. So we had a deficit of about $20.5 million. We have heard that multiple times throughout the year, about a $20 million deficit. That's that number that we're looking at. That just means our expenditures outpaced our revenues. At the adopted budget, so we're moving through into August, we adjust those numbers. You'll notice our beginning balance when we kind of finalized last year was actually lower. Our revenues were lower and our expenditures were lower. You'll notice our ending balance still is a deficit of about $20 million. And then as the first interim, which is that third column, I'll just highlight the deficit. We are doing a little better at this point in the year. Instead of $20 million, which is what we presented as a deficit to you in July, we are now at about $17 million. Lots of... Yeah. So, any questions about that? All right. If I look at... Let me go back. Different button. If you look at that bottom line, which is ending balance, the next slide talks about what that ending balance is made up of. So, we have an unrestricted amount. The difference between restricted and unrestricted is restricted is... I call it money with handcuffs. So it's money that's come in from the federal government or the state that says it has to be spent for a very specific reason. And only that reason. That's restricted column. The unrestricted columns, that's money that comes in through LCFF that don't have any rules so we can spend it how we need to spend it. So revolving cash, $50,000. Nonspendables, about $1.4 million. We're required by law to have a 3% reserve for economic uncertainty. That's kind of like our fail safe. That sits at about $11.8 million. And then lottery money, as we get from all of you playing the lotto, We use that on staffing. We use that at the end of the year, so that stays high throughout the year, and at the end of the year, we'll push staff into that budget, and that'll be spent down. So a total of about $18.6 million in unrestricted, and we have about $55 million in restricted funds, totaling about $73 million in our ending fund balance. Next, we're going to talk about how we're planning for next year and the year after. You'll notice the LCFF has a COLA, so we take some advice from several organizations at the state level. So we're predicting a 3.02% COLA next year and a 3.42% COLA the year after. The PERS amount and the STRS amount is our contribution towards retirement systems. And step and column is how much everybody increases each year. So the way generally in school districts and the way we get paid is every year that you increase, you move up a year in the salary schedule. That's what that step and column is. We generally account for about 5% to 8% increase in utilities, and we have about 10% to 15% in property liability insurance. When we refer to the insurance that we pay out in claims, that's that number right there. And then any programmatic changes. So let's talk about the multi-year assumptions. This is going to look different than it's ever looked before, because I'm building in some reductions in the following year. So if we look at the second column, 2025-26, that's the first interim. That's the numbers I'm giving you today. So that's where we are today. You'll notice that we have an ending fund balance of $73 million. I want you to take a note of the expenditure line on that second column, $371 million. Look at the expenditure line in the third column, which is in the 26-27 year, $354 million. So I'm reducing our budget expenditures by $17 million. How do I do that? Well, I have to reduce expenditures by $17 million between this year and next year to make our budget work. We'll figure that out throughout the rest of this year. But without that reduction, we don't have enough in our ending balance to make the next two years. So you'll look at the 26-27 year at 354 million. I do not reduce any more in the out year of 27-28. You'll notice that goes from 354 to 357. That's generally your step and column increase. right that will automatically go up so you'll notice the biggest change in this temp this whole table right here is the expenditures between this year and next year that's where we're going to have to work really hard at figuring out how to reduce those expenditures Revenue is still relatively static. If I were to tell you why our revenues dropped from $354 million in the second column to $352 million in the third column, that's our projection on reduced enrollment and ADA, right? Because we have to produce every year since 20, we've had a reduction in enrollment. So I continue that reduction in the budget, which is why you see that reduction fall a little bit. All right. The reason why I do all of this is because we have to certify our budget. So what I'm asking you today is to approve a certification based on what our projections are. A positive certification means the district can meet its financial obligations for the next three years. Qualified is not going to meet its obligations for a few of those years. And negative means I cannot meet those obligations over all three years. If I go back here and I look at the first column, you'll notice that I go from 90 to 73. If I do not do those reductions between this year and next year, I will continue to reduce in the third column, and I will continue to reduce in the fourth column. Four years of reductions would mean a negative budget. So we are putting those reductions in so that I can certify this budget as positive. So what makes this particular budget look different than any other that I presented in the last six years is I have never built in a significant decrease in expenditures in any of our budgets, but that's kind of where we're looking at this year is, uh, and why do we get there? Uh, we had all districts had a very large increase in, uh, Esser funds, right? So during COVID, there was a lot of money that was flowing into districts. We, like any other district, pushed a lot of money into the classrooms. We increased our programs. We increased counseling. We increased services to all of our students, which is exactly what the money was designed for. And we have not yet kind of reduced back to our normal levels. because we've continued to support those kids. And so most districts are faced with the same thing, of trying to just kind of level back out after all that money influx during 22, 23 years. And... Next steps in January, we'll receive a governor's, we'll release his budget. That matters to us because he might provide additional funding, which will support the program, or he won't, depending on where the California's finances sit. So we'll get that in January. We will update these numbers after we get that budget. The second interim report will be in March, which is the same thing I'm giving you today. That March numbers, though, will reflect governor's budget a little bit. In May, you get a revision, which is the governor's budget updated with some of the legislature information. And then 26-27 budget will be presented to you in June of 26th. Any questions?

That's pretty dreary.

Yeah. I mean, you know.

In seven minutes?

Yeah.

Yeah, I don't think I've seen the negative that we've had here.

Yeah, it's a unique year. We offered an early retirement incentive two years ago, which helped us tremendously to kind of right-size ourself. But if any of you know how an early retirement incentive works is we pay into salaries for the course of five years for people to leave early. And so we're on year two of that payment. We have three more years that will pay off that early retirement incentive. And that works if you don't rehire anybody. Of course, everybody that takes it, we have to rehire some of them. It might be a specialized position that we had to rehire. So it did yield us a lot of positive movement. And so we did save quite a bit of grief by offering that a couple of years ago. I would love to offer one again, but we're still paying on the old one for another three years. So at this point, we just do the best we can to figure out savings and do our best to kind of cut where we can.

Questions? Comments? Well, thank you for a lovely presentation. Anytime. Appreciate it.

If I could comment really quick. I just want to add to that that we do plan to have information for the board in January with more specifics on what that might look like.

Well, thank you, Mr. Hill. Moving on to business services consent items. Mr. Hill, do you have any changes or additions? Yes. Okay. Do I have a motion to approve all business services consent items as listed under 13A through 13R? So moved. A second? A second. Any discussion? All right.

Seeing none, we'll call for the vote. Board Member Ayala-Quintero? Aye. Board Member Olson? Aye. President Rendler? Aye. Vice President Holohan? Aye. Clerk Wilson? Aye. The motion is carried. Five votes.

Now it's time for Business Services Action Items. Mr. Hill, any changes or additions? Thank you. Is there a motion to adopt resolution number 10, 2025-2026, resolution of the Board of Education of the Redlands Unified School District, approving the annual and five-year reportable fees report for the fiscal year 2024-2025 in compliance with government code sections 66006 and 66001?

I'll move. Second. Melissa, thank you. Jeanette? Any discussion? All right. We'll call for the vote.

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

First Interim Financial Report H-251, Resolution Number 11, 2025-2026, in accordance with Assembly Bill 1200 and Education Code 3-5-0-3-5-G. Do I have a motion? Move approval.

I'll second. Any discussion?

Thank Croton for that. And your budget. Call for the vote? No, your budget staff.

Oh, yeah.

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

Revision of Board Policy BP-3440, Inventories. This is the second reading.

Do we have a motion? So moved. Second. Thank you, Candy. Thank you, Patty. Thank you, Patty.

Melissa.

Oh, I always think it sounds like her. Sorry. Melissa, 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 Hollihan? Aye. Clerk Wilson?

Aye.

Motion carried, 5-0.

Now consent items under educational services. Mrs. Buckmiller, do you have any changes or additions?

None tonight, thank you. Thank you.

Is there a motion to approve all educational services consent items as listed under 15A through 15F? I'll move. Second. Melissa, thank you, Patty.

Any discussion? Always happy to approve. Our AVID student's going to look at schools and our elementary's going to science camp.

All right. We'll call for the vote.

Clerk Ayala Quintero. Aye. Vice President Hollihan.

Aye. He went out of order, but okay.

President Rendler. Aye. Board Member Olson. Aye. Board Member Wilson. Aye. Motion carried 5-0.

Now action items under educational services.

Mrs. Buckmiller, do you have any changes or additions here? Then here either. Thank you. Thank you. Is there a motion to approve the stipulated expulsion regarding student 2025-2026-10 through the remainder of the first semester and all of second semester for the 2025-2026 school year with both semesters suspended?

I'll move. Second. Melissa, thank you, Patty. Any discussion? All right, we'll call for the vote.

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

Is there a motion to approve the stipulated expulsion regarding student 2025-2026-11 through the remainder of the first semester and all of second semester for the 2025-2026 school year? So moved. Second. Go ahead.

Thank you, Jeanette. Any discussion?

All right, we'll call for the vote. Clerk Ayala Quintero? Aye. Board Member Olson?

Aye.

President Redler? Aye. Vice President Hollihan?

Aye.

Board Member Wilson? Aye. Motion carried, 5-0.

Now, is there a motion to take action to determine the appeal of instructional material push by Sapphire?

So moved.

Second.

Just to clarify, the way that it's written here, there needs to be a motion made because the board has to decide what to do exactly. And that includes a couple of options. One is to consider the committee's work and then approve that. or because if you just if you just vote to deny the committee for example that doesn't say what to do with the book so you actually have to make a motion uh to of what you want to do with the book for example like i said i really don't want to throw an example out there but you have the options of removing the book completely restricting the book keeping the book Generally speaking, yeah, there has to be a motion and a second on an action that is related to that. Then there's discussion. Then there has to be a vote.

I'll make a motion to remove the book. I'll second.

Thank you, Cindy. Thank you, Jeanette. All right, any discussion?

Yeah. Okay. So I would like to know what the committee's decided. I know what they decided, but I would like just for the public, what did the committee decide?

The committee, and it is in the agenda, scored it so that the book would remain in our high school libraries on a restricted basis.

What does on a restricted basis mean?

Restricted would be described as only available to students with parent permission.

How would we get that parent permission?

student were to go to the library and ask do you have the book push the librarian would have to ensure that there's a documented parent permission which could include looking at areas to see if it's there specifically if it's not there could be a phone call home there has to be parent permission the book would not be sitting on the shelf in the library for a student to just walk in and grab it during lunch to read it for lunchtime and then put it back and never check it out. It would actually be in a restricted area where they would have to actually ask for it and the parent would have to give permission for the student to read it.

Did you read it? Sorry.

Yes.

And what is your recommendation?

Well, I know we heard a lot of comments.

I'm allowed to ask for his professional opinion on what his recommendation is for the book. Am I not?

No, I said he already gave it. He was on the committee.

We don't know who was on the committee, correct?

Well, we kind of do. We do.

We put it in here.

If you look at the policy, it says specifically in a level two, which this qualifies as level two, the committee shall include the assistant superintendent of ed services and the director. Those are the three rubrics that you see. I'm one of them. As part of the committee, I scored it as unrestricted.

Unrestricted.

Restricted.

As restricted. Yes. Sorry, I heard un. Okay. Well, I read them. I read both. I'm going to do this all at once because I'm not going to separate because I feel like removing one is just as bad as removing both. So I'm just going to read... what I wrote. My remarks today concern the proposed censorship of two resource library books, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison and Push by Sapphire. These works, while difficult, are powerful social commentaries, not blueprints for harmful behavior. Censorship attempts fundamentally misinterpret their literary purpose. Both novels offer searing first-person accounts of systemic abuse and neglect. Pecola Breedlove internalizes a white standard of beauty, tying her self-worth entirely to her physical appearance, and her ultimate psychological damage is a consequence of a society that actively rejects and devalues her. Clarice Precious Jones, and I understand this is, but they tend to go together because they have similar themes, is an unvalued, illiterate victim of extreme familial abuse. Her coarse language, which is very difficult to listen to, to read, and social deficiencies are direct indicators of a profound and neglected childhood. I just have to comment that it takes a minute to realize while reading it that the language that someone would call coarse or difficult or brash or vulgar is not because it doesn't have literary merit. It's because she was never taught that. the proper terms for body parts. She was never taught the proper way to describe things. This is just her everyday normal life, and that should say something. That should say a lot to everyone in this room. These books are painful precisely because they function as a mirror to society. They force the reader to confront how we treat victims, demonstrating that intervention and support are the sole determinants of a victim's potential for healing or further isolation. The narrative that these books cause abuse is a false scare tactic that entirely misses the core message. The abuse itself is the tragedy, and the book is a call for recognition and empathy. Our library materials are not part of the required curriculum. They are a resource library. As such, they should not be subjected to censorship. Restricting access to complex, challenging literature diminishes the educational depth and intellectual freedom available to our students. No board member is qualified to decide what is appropriate for another parent's child. Our role is to facilitate informed conversation, not to impose intellectual limitations. I support an action that empowers parents while respecting the student's pursuit of knowledge. I recommend that we maintain our current collection for high school students and adapt our procedure when checking out books of this nature. Upon a high school student's request for a book like The Bluest Eye or Push, the library must initiate an email or a phone call, as our superintendent has already suggested would be the procedure, to the parent or guardian. The parent will be provided a detailed, objective summary of the book's difficult themes clearly indicating the abuse, sexual violence, and neglect. The student will only be allowed to check out the material upon receiving affirmative parental consent. If the parent declines, the student will be blocked from borrowing the book. I don't see what the issue is. This procedure ensures that we remain a resource for robust learning while safeguarding the right of parents to guide their children's reading choices. The board may not decide to remove the book, should not decide to remove the book, but whether or not the title warrants parental consent. I will leave you with this. But by denying any avenue for appeal, just letting you know, or recourse, the board signals that it views its authority. Sometimes windows offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange. These windows are also sliding glass doors and readers have only to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever the world has been created or recreated by the author. When lighting conditions are just right, however, a window can be a mirror. Literature transforms a human experience and reflects it back to us. And in that reflection, we can see our own lives and experiences as part of the larger human experience. Reading then becomes a means of self-affirmation and readers often seek their mirrors in books.

Thank you, Melissa. Anybody else have anything they want to say?

Yes, I would like to point out a couple of things that really haven't been mentioned and I am not. Basically, my bottom line assessment is the book push. I will speak for each one. is beyond what we should be offering to high school students. I do feel the book has some valuable information in it, but I feel it's appropriate for adults, for people in college, for young adults, old adult, whatever. I do... see that it could be useful, for example, people to learn, even social workers, my field, to learn about what can really happen in society. But I do not feel this book should be available to high school students. And Please remember that we're talking about teens whose brain is not fully developed. And, you know, there's concerns I also have about the book's potential to worsen, increase the psychological harm, particularly to vulnerable groups, which we have in our district. The foster youth come to the top of my list. Exposing foster youth who have a very high, very high percentage of sexual abuse in their background, exposing them to incest and rape scenes could basically compound their PTSD. and they're reading this book without necessarily having the support. If they were reading it with a therapist, for example, then they would have that support, or reading it with a foster parent. But they don't necessarily have that support, and we can't guarantee that support. So I feel that the youth, we need to be looking at our marginalized youth, and they don't necessarily have the therapeutic support they may need that this book brings up. And many people have even indicated that this book has very violent scenes of abuse and sexual incest that can be traumatic to a child, a high schooler even, in my opinion.

Can I ask Jeanette a question, if she'll allow it? I just have a question. You mentioned that you thought it might be good for a social worker to read. Would you, I guess, I'm not going to ask if you would agree, but would you be of the opinion that while our students are in high school and they're trying to determine what they're doing for their future, would reading something like Push inspire somebody to be a social worker in order to help?

No, I don't. I mean, again, if they're reading it in some type of structured setting where they have... With a parent, maybe? Yeah, that they can converse with. I mean, a lot of kids that age, it would probably scare them away from wanting to be a social worker, but... if they're reading it in a structured setting where they have someone to bounce it off of and discuss it and process their feelings, I just can see where it would just bring up way too many traumatic, potentially bring up way too many traumatic feelings.

Okay, I'll say something. The whole reason for this is to protect children because sexually explicit content is harmful. Regarding the AB 1078, removing any of these books has nothing to do with AB 1078. The removal or recommendation or my opinion to remove it has nothing to do with any specific protected class, which is what AB 1078 is about. It prevents school districts from removing books based on this protected class. It does not have anything to do with the color of the author, but trying to come to connections where somehow there were against these books because of the color of skin of the author is just totally ridiculous. I looked up the everyday common definition of pornography. It is, quote, material, parentheses, images, videos, writing, et cetera, created to sexually arouse the reader or viewer, usually featuring explicit depictions of sexual acts or nudity, end quote. So. By definition, push is exactly what the definition of pornography is. And the fact that we have so many people trying to keep it in our libraries just blows me away. And it's like saying, well, if we know something is harmful to children or potentially harmful to children, as long as... we provide it as long as a parent signs that it's okay. We're not under, I mean, that makes no sense. We know it's bad for kids, but let's keep carrying it here in our library. But as long as the parents know they're doing something that's bad for their kid, that's cool. We're under no obligation whatsoever by law or Ed Code to provide every single book people want in the libraries. So let's just keep it to the cleaner versions. Let's pick some books that show empathy and that show survivorship for these types of situations without the explicit graphic, extremely graphic nature. A community member had sent in some excerpts from a peer-reviewed journal article that came out last summer in the American College of Pediatricians. And some of it was already mentioned tonight. But the depiction of erotic behavior, sexual display in pictures or writing among youth is associated with many negative emotional, psychological, sociological, and physical health outcomes. Specifically, there are increased rates of depression, anxiety, acting out, and violent behavior, younger age of sexual debut, sexual promiscuity, increased risk of teen pregnancy, child sex abuse, sexual trafficking, and a distorted view of relationships between men and women. A lot of these things we are currently trying to get a handle of in our district. We are working overtime. We've got a gentleman over there whose whole department is dedicated to it. And study after study, including common sense, will tell you that if you fill a child's mind with this type of content, you will have some poor behaviors. We will see it in aggression. We will see it in violence or sexual aggression too. PUSH should be nowhere near children. It normalizes pedophilia and incest, and it sets them up to be more vulnerable to sexual assault. So my recommendation is to pull it, and that's what I think about that. Patty?

I just had a question for Candy, if she'll allow. Okay. You don't have to, I'm just asking. You just said something that I would like clarification on.

Well, let's see what your question is.

Okay. It's when you were describing the description of pornography, you said it was something that was created, written with the sole purpose and intention to arouse. Yes. If you want to. Yeah, that's what it says. Okay. So by that definition, are you suggesting that push was created, written to arouse? Yes.

There are parts of Push definitely that are written in the way that it is written. And we've heard portions before. I shouldn't have to tell you again. It is extremely graphic and written in the attention to arouse the reader.

Okay, that's all I wanted clarification on. Would you be able to give me something that indicates that? Like what gives you the indication that it was written to arouse the reader?

The way the author describes, in and out he push, in my pussy, in and out, in and out, in awe he come. Does that sound like the way my pussy is popping like a frying pan? Does that sound like you're just describing, oh, the father had sex with his daughter? No, it describes it repeatedly, building up towards something. It is written in a manner to arouse the reader.

I disagree. I respectfully disagree that that's not what the intention was. I believe it's written that way because, as I mentioned before, that she doesn't know any better. She was never taught, you know, I mean, I don't know what the term you use for, you know, describing, you know, genitals to your family, but that's usually... what we're grown up. I'm not talking about the name she's using.

I'm talking about the description of the process.

No, no, that's what I'm saying. when we're young and we're taught this is the name for things, this is what our family calls these things, that's what we use. And if you were never taught a sensitive, given a sensitive name for that, or if you are never handled with care, I guess I can say, then you would have no filter for those things. And so that's my interpretation of it, that you don't have, she doesn't have the social skills in order to. But I just, that's all my question was. I just wanted clarification. Thank you for answering it.

And remember, we set a 10-minute rule with us. Remember we did that?

Well, then we should have put a timer. We should have because now it's going to be 10 minutes.

I'm sorry, but so am I not allowed to ask questions?

I was clarifying that we had decided as a team that discussions were going to go on a 10-minute limit and that I was keeping time and that I was going to let the president know when we got there and it's up to everybody to continue the discussion.

I thought it was a 10-minute limit like on our portion of it.

No, it was 10 minutes total for the topic.

Okay, but we didn't bring that up about this. And if I'm being honest, I don't think 10 minutes is enough time to discuss a topic of this magnitude. Okay, that's fine.

I was just reminding the President.

Well, I want my two minutes. You want to tie me?

Okay.

You can have your minutes. Have your minutes. So I am thoroughly disgusted that we are having to do this. Here we are a year later. We have the most amazing librarians, and I keep saying this, who work very, very hard, certificated librarians, and they look at everything that we do. And to come here and tell them with the work that they've done that we don't appreciate it is terrible, in my opinion. When you can opt out, parents can opt out. They can say, we don't want to do that. Not to mention the time, and I know how much money you make I know what our assistant superintendent makes, and I know what our director makes. So you value that time that they have. We take that away. How long did you spend together as a committee on that? Hour? Okay, so do that. This is going to keep happening and keep happening. We're going to multiply that, and we're going to be putting up our dollars when we're trying to hopefully not get a negative that Mr. Jason Hill just presented on our finances. This is disgusting. It's terrible. Thank you, librarians, for all the work you do, and this is absolutely horrible.

Okay, I'm only going to speak on the book push because we're not to the bluest yet.

Can I ask Patty a question? Sure. Okay.

No, my time's up.

So I'm just curious, you speak to the librarians, but how do you speak to what a lot of parents in this community want? They do not want these books in the public school library and part of... One, Jason's job now is to do this. So how do you speak to the parents?

I understand that. Talk to the parents. I also have parents on the other end saying this isn't right. So compared to the parents that you have, compared to the other parents that are coming, we've got it on both ends. Yeah, but that wasn't my question.

You asked me how do I talk about the parents. Well, no. How do you speak to them and their needs and their desires? Their desires? As far as what? Thank you. It's not having explicit books that are harmful to children. It's called opt-out. In our public libraries. It's called opt-out.

It's OPT out and you check out. That's how you speak to them. If you don't want your child to read that, get schooled.

Well, there are also parents who are paying taxes into the public schools that do not want those books in the library.

And I understand that. It's half and half. I get it. And as far as Mr. Cabral, I don't think I didn't say anything that was offensive. Are you offended, Mr. Cabral, or assistant superintendent or director? I didn't say you said anything. Okay, you said what I said to Mr. Cabral, so maybe I misunderstood you.

Oh, okay. I just think it's always better to err on the side of safety because you're right, there are some parents that will agree and disagree, right? But if we're going to err one way or the other, we're going to make a decision either way that's going to upset parents on either side. So the best way to do it is to just err on the side of safety. That's the best way to do it. Because no one can complain, well, I didn't get to read a book when you can read it for free at the public library or online. But that's your personal opinion.

Yeah, that's your opinion. And what you think is safety. That's what you think.

Okay. So back to what I was saying. I'm only going to speak to the book Push because we're not on the next one yet. I have read this book, the entire book. Actually, I read it twice because I just wanted to make sure my original feelings were the same. And there clearly, clearly are many parts in this book that have sexually explicit material and content. And that was what we did in this policy, saying we didn't want sexually explicit content. content in our library books. And I believe this book is not appropriate for any student in any of our schools. I have talked to many people and they all say, oh, I read that book in college. Oh, I read that book when I was in my 20s. Okay, so that's okay. It doesn't belong in our K-12 public schools.

I'm sorry, can you please clarify it's not in our K-12 public schools? It is in our high schools. It is in our high schools.

It doesn't belong in any of our TK through 12 schools, any of them.

I'm including the high schools. It doesn't belong here, this book. So that is my opinion, and I will stand on that.

Okay, so I just want to clarify that each of you is going against the recommendation of the committee.

I am. So, any more discussion?

It's just a question. I have a right to ask a question. They answered it. You don't have to. I'm just asking for clarification.

It's obvious I'm going against the recommendation of the committee. That's all you needed to say. It's in the agenda, so is the rubric, all of the things we've already talked about. And on social media, correct? Right. I don't want it in our schools. Porn should not be in our schools, Melissa. I'm sorry. Your definition of porn. I read the definition of porn. By the common definition of pornography, we should not keep it in our libraries.

I appreciate that that is your perspective and your opinion. I am allowed just as much to have my own.

And you gave your opinion. You did.

I did, and I was just having a conversation. Is that allowed? Okay.

Jeanette, do you have anything else that you need to add?

No.

Okay. No more discussion? I will call for the vote.

Senator Cayala-Quintero? Can we get a clarification? We are voting to remove the book. Yes. Because that was the directive that was given. That was a motion that I made.

The motion was to remove the book. Yes.

I just asked our superintendent for clarification.

Yes.

No. No.

Board Member Olsen? Yes. President Rendler? Yes. Vice President Hollihan?

No.

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

Okay, moving on. Is there a motion to take action to determine the appeal of instructional materials The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison?

And so just to be clear, we're appealing.

I'll make a motion to remove the book from the library.

Is there a second?

Second.

Okay, thank you, Candy. Thank you, Jeanette. Okay, open discussion up.

I'll say something. The blue SI contains explicit descriptions of rape, including child rape. incest, domestic violence, animal cruelty, racism, and mental illness. And of all of those, it's explicit description of. It is emotionally heavy and often taught in college settings due to its mature themes. Again, same thing I said for the other book, it has no business around children. It's harmful.

Again, I'll say the same thing. Amazing librarians. They do all the work. We do everything. It's going to be a waste of money for us. We have opt out.

I just had a question because we kind of touched on it. But when you said that the committee spent about an hour, that does not include the time it took you to read, right?

Yes, that was, I don't know, 10 hours maybe.

That was 10 hours of time that you spent on reading a book times. Yes. So it wasn't just that hour's worth of time. This was roughly 10 hours that you spent.

Correct. The question was, though, how long did we spend in the committee? That's obviously an hour.

Yes, but that is not. That is 10 hours of our valuable superintendent's time. Yes. Okay. Thank you. That's all I wanted clarification on.

Well, if you all recall, I was against having a district review committee specifically to avoid wasting their time. We have brains on our shoulders, and we can make the decision on our own because we represent the people who voted us in to make sound decisions to protect our children. So I did not want a district review committee and to waste your valuable time. However, it was the only way we could get the policy passed because Michelle Rendler wanted the district review committee, and that's how it went down if anyone was paying attention. Now we're here. They have to waste their time. They're going to read the books, and hopefully I would encourage the committee to tighten up that rubric because we will be here month after month, and it's a long meeting when we... Everyone has a lot to say about the same things. That rubric needs to be tightened up. There should be no consideration of the literary value on any of these books. There are thousands and thousands of books with excellent literary value that we can replace them with. That is not something that should be on an evaluation of whether something is sexually explicit or dangerous for children.

Okay, can I ask a question? So, if you'll allow me, you said there are thousands and thousands of books that we can replace them with. Who gets to decide which books it gets replaced with?

We have these wonderful librarians that you're always talking about. Don't they? That was rather rude. No, it's not. We have librarians for that very person. Excuse me, I was talking. We have librarians for that purpose.

Excuse me, President Rendler, when I interrupt somebody, I get scolded.

Our board is having a discussion.

When I interrupt somebody, I get scolded. I asked you to please acknowledge that this was my time, and I asked a question.

Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were having a conversation back and forth.

Okay, so I actually have mentioned nothing tonight about librarians. I didn't. Patty did. I didn't. So what I'm asking is... Okay, can I finish my question?

Sorry, we have them, though.

Okay, so we trust our librarians to replace the books that we're removing, but not in order to judge putting the book there in the first place.

I don't know who put the book in the library. It may have been done 20 years ago. And you know that brings us to another problem is that there is no accountability. We have no name signing off who put each book into the library, which is something that her and I have been upset with since a long time before we got on this board. We need accountability for just as there is in every profession. Every single profession you go to, there is accountability for who someone makes a decision. Their name is on the line with the date they made it. Now, I think we should know which person puts which book in the library, but we don't because there's no accountability. So we're in a situation where we don't know. Maybe our librarians today have nothing to do with these books. We don't know who put them in there, but they're there, so now we have to deal with it. Now, I would trust that our librarian... At present day, if we remove a pornographic book, they would replace it with something that's non-pornographic. That's what I would hope and feel in my heart would be the best decision. So that's how it would get replaced with something good.

Okay, that's all I asked. Jeanette, do you have anything you'd like to add?

Yes. With the book, The Bluest Eye, I feel that, again, it's not age-appropriate, and the literary and societal value is totally outweighed by the potential harm and the... The potential harm for the students. It's too advanced, it's too raw of trauma for high school, college, yes. Adults, yes. I also wanted to emphasize, I know you mentioned this, but I feel we should err on the side of caution by removing books that could inadvertently harm those who are already traumatized. We then re-traumatize these kids inadvertently. Makes no sense. And we must look at our promise to provide safe learning spaces through our district. We strive to maintain... We have mental health initiatives that we've put forward. We have Ed Code, which mandates since last year that we protect sexual abuse survivors. And to provide this information to them is very irresponsible, in my opinion. Is this mandate satisfied by giving 14-year-old plus access to five pages of father-daughter rape scenes and more? Not on my watch, no. I have been placed here for a reason. That is not our place to put children in that position. And I know we're on a time limit, but I would, you know, there's a lot of information in these books that is not even necessarily sexually graphic. but is very psychologically traumatic. Like when the man in the bluest eye talks about the little girls that, I can't even say it because I know there's a little girl in here, and it's not even graphic, but he talks about kissing them on their mouths or sleeping in the bed with them, taking a little bite out of their... And he talks about how great it is when two of the girls come back and want the candy and toys that he's giving them, and he's playing with their crotch while they're eating this candy and toys. No, it's ridiculous.

Okay, so regarding The Bluest Eye. I have read this book in its entirety, and I read this book twice. I had to reread it again this last weekend because the first time I read it, I missed some things. Like, I was just reading it for the story, and I was reading it. And I said, oh, well, I didn't see anything. And then I was like, but wait a minute. I've got to read this again. So I read it again, and I'm really conflicted because there are several spots in that book that have questionable content, sexually explicit content. Horrible stuff. And I certainly would not approve for any of my children to read it ever. There may be parents who perceive the value for their kids to read this based on what the story was. So I'm really conflicted because on the one hand, I want to support the committee, the review committees.

restriction of this book for I want to say 18 and older like not anyone in high school but you've got to be 18 in high school because I feel like it really belongs in college so I would just like to make an amendment to the motion you would have to make your own motion if it belongs in college then it does not belong in our high school

But as she mentioned, we have 18-year-old students.

Yeah, but they're still students. We have to treat them as students.

Fair legal adults.

You'll have to do a new motion.

We'll do your motion first. Call for the vote.

Oh, yeah. You have to call for the vote. Call for the vote.

Clerk Ayala Quintero? No. Board Member Olson? Yes. President Rendler?

No.

Vice President Hollihan?

No.

Board Member Wilson? Yes. Motion not carried with the no's being Clerk Ayala Quintero, President Rendler, and Vice President Hollihan, and the ayes being Board Member Olson and Board Member Wilson.

Okay, so I'd like to make a new motion.

to support the committees, the review committee, that this book be in a separate section of the library requiring appearance written approval for a high school student who is 18 or older to check out this from the school library.

I just have a question for our superintendent. Is that even something we can do? Because if they are 18, why do they need parental permission? Can we make it, sorry, I'll let you finish, but can it be 17 with parent permission, 18 without, is what my question is, just because I feel like, no, I just feel like there's a legal issue there. I would have to check.

I think that it's appropriate to say that parents must be aware at all times what's happening on campus with their student, whether they're 18 or not. And I think that there would be justification to saying that the parent must be aware of As an 18-year-old.

It's already restricted, so how much more restricted? 18 and older.

What I hear, the motion is keeping the book in our libraries for high schools and 18-year-olds.

But Michelle, you're requesting, you're making a motion to something that doesn't exist.

You all talked. It's in a restricted area, so I just made an addition to the motion.

Well, that's not what the committee decided.

So I'm changing it. The committee didn't decide to remove the last book either.

The rubric, the choices, they didn't have that choice on the rubric.

Clarity, the board must decide the status of the book. I threw out three potential options. The board can decide any modification that they agree on, that you agree on. What I hear President Rendler saying is keep the books in the library for 18-year-olds.

In the restricted area.

Restricted to 18-year-olds. That's what I hear. That's a motion that does require a second, then has a discussion, and then will eventually go to a vote.

You're saying 18-year-olds, it's not restricted to just 18-year-olds, you're saying it's restricted to 18-year-olds with parental consent, correct?

That's what the motion is.

That's what I asked. That's what I asked. Because you still need it.

You're 18 years old. Why do you need parental consent?

You still need it in school.

There is an awareness that parents must have. A kid, for example, cannot just check themselves out of school even if they're 18. That's not a process that we follow.

People used to do that.

I don't think they were supposed to. They still do. They should not be doing that. Well, they do. They can't just go to the safety officer and say, I'm leaving, I'm 18 years old. That should not be happening. And if it is happening, I'll ask my safety officers after this. They write their own notes. I will check on that. I understand what we're saying. We're talking about adults. I get it. I'm going back to my high school principal days. I did not allow 18-year-olds to just leave campus. I will verify that. I do understand what the motion is, which is to restrict it to 18-year-olds with parent consent.

A lot of people don't turn 18, though, until they graduate. That was me.

I was 17 when I graduated. That's the nature of it. Okay. Was there a second?

Well, I don't agree. I don't agree with removing the book, but I will support that second. I will second that motion.

So that was me and Melissa. All right. Any more discussion on this? All right.

Let's call for the vote.

I am voting yes to President Rendler's amendment.

Board Member Olson?

Because it's better than nothing, yes.

President Redler? Yes. Vice President Hollihan? Yes. Board Member Wilson?

Yes.

Motion carried, 5-0.

Okay, moving on to human resources. Consent items. This is Bruick. Do you have any changes or additions? No changes or additions. Thank you. Under certificated personnel, is there a motion to approve all items as listed under certificate?

We're trying to conduct a business. Can you tell? I'll move approval.

Second. Any discussion?

Call for the vote. I'm sorry, I really, because of all the noise, I did not hear what section we're even on. Certificated personnel, A.

Okay. Under human resources consent.

We're not doing the whole chunk?

No, we're just doing A.

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

Aye.

Board Member Wilson? Aye. Motion carried, 5-0. Under classified personnel.

Yeah, why aren't we doing it as, if it's a consent item, why can't they be looped?

It's all separated. It's all separated. It's all separated.

On consent items, if it's consent items, why can't we wrap them all together?

Because we have certificated classified management. Yeah, but it's not an action item.

Is that the way the program works? It's not an action item.

You can group them if you want to call the group together. Yeah.

Yes.

So 17A through D. We already did A, so can we just do B through D?

I'll make a motion to approve B through D, please. I'll second that.

All right, any discussion? Call for the vote.

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

Human Resources Action Items.

A, is there a motion to approve memorandum of understanding the MOU between Redlands Unified School District and Redlands Teachers Association regarding the early notification of separation incentive program?

So moved.

Second. Effective December 10, 2025 through April 2, 2026. So moved. Second.

Thank you, Jeanette. Thank you, Patty. All right. Any discussion? Call for the vote.

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

Aye.

Motion carried. 5-0.

Is there a motion to ratify or approve student teaching agreement between Redlands Unified School District and Western Governors University, effective November 6, 2025, through November 6, 2028? So moved.

Second.

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

Chair Cayala-Quintero? Aye. Board Member Olson? Aye. President Rendler? Aye. Vice President Hollihan?

Aye.

Board Member Wilson?

Aye.

Motion carried, 5-0.

Established position, is there a motion to approve job description for Instructional Paraprofessional II Special Education Upbuilding at range 16 of the classified salary schedule and 10-month D of the classified work year calendar, effective December 10, 2025? I'll move. Second. Second.

Any discussion?

I'm going to call for the vote.

Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye.

To the Memorandum of Understanding, MOU between the Redlands Unified School District and San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools regarding the Classified Employee Grant Program, effective February 1st, 2024, authorized Mary Anderson, Director of Human Resources, classified to sign on behalf of the board.

So moved.

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

Chair Cayala-Quintero?

Aye.

Board Member Olsen? Aye. President Rendler? Aye. Vice President Hollihan? Aye. Board Member Wilson?

Aye.

Motion carried, 5-0.

It's a great program, too.

Is there a motion to establish position and improve job description for accounting and payroll manager effective December 10, 2025? So moved.

Second. Thank you, Patty. Thank you, Candy. Any discussion? We'll call for the vote.

Chair Cayala-Quintero? Aye. Board Member Olsen?

Aye.

President Rendler? Aye. Vice President Holohan? Aye. Board Member Wilson?

Aye.

Motion carried, 5-0.

Board member compensation. Assembly Bill AB 1390 was passed on October 11, 2025. AB 1390 revised provisions related to the compensation of members of a city or county boards of education and the governing boards of school districts by increasing the authorized compensation to not exceed a specific amount based on the average daily attendance. And the ADA-based thresholds for Redlands Unified is students greater than 10,000 and less than 25,000 would receive up to $2,000 a month. Is there a motion to approve an increase to the monthly compensation of the Redlands Unified School District's Board of Education members as authorized under AB 1390? The increase of $1,489.46 per member brings the total monthly compensation to $2,000 a month in alignment with the ADA base thresholds, this increase becomes effective on January 1, 2026.

I'll move. Second.

Thank you, Melissa. Thank you, Patty. Anybody have a discussion?

I do, but I don't know if anybody else wants to go first.

A lot of the other districts, surrounding districts, have already done this. It's already been passed.

I have something.

Once again, I find myself expressing concern about increasing pay for school board members, this time from just under $600 a month to $2,000 a month, an increase of over 200%. I've consistently and repeatedly voted against raises for the board for the past four years, and I'm surprised that there is not more concern about this significant increase. I have voted against increases for two reasons. Two reasons. I joined this board to serve our community, not for pay, which was a sacrifice for our family, especially as the guardian of grandchildren and with my ex-husband retiring. Also, number two, I firmly believe every available dollar should go towards supporting our staff and our students, not to board members, especially during these challenging economic times. Should this pass again, I will continue to donate the increase in my stipend to support programs that directly benefit students and our community. As an example, for the last four years, I've used my stipend to be a PTA member at every school site that has a PTA. My husband and I have also supported special education, which includes the Inspire Choir, mock trial, Music, Theater Arts, The Day Pack, Black Student Union, Compact, Spirit Leaders, Heart Academy, AVID, ASB, RHS Adult Transitions Program, Redlands Educational Partnership, Redlands Community Scholarship Foundation, all PTAs including SEPTA, RESPA and RAPA events across the district, as well as donating to individual teachers for their classrooms. It has been an honor and a blessing to support all these worthy causes. Thank you.

Am I allowed to ask a question about that? Is that organizations that you donate to every year, or is that organizations you have donated to in the past?

A lot of them I do every year, but some I've just done in the past four years at some point with my stipend.

Okay, I'm just not understanding the math on that, but it's okay. My comment is... Because the stipend, you're saying that you donate... We receive...

The increase. Almost $600. I do the increase to one thing, and then all throughout the year...

Okay, well, then that's not what you said. You said you donate the increase to those organizations. I just wanted clarification if you just meant just the increase or if it was your entire stipend.

I said I do my stipend. I donated the increase to my stipend to support programs.

I just asked for clarification. Thank you.

Here's your clarification.

Excuse me. If you didn't want to answer the question, you didn't have to, but that was very rude. I just asked the question.

I'm retelling you what I said.

I'll say something. According to our bylaw, 9250, technically every member of our governing board and every governing board is allowed the maximum monthly compensation as provided for by the law. We didn't vote this law in and the California legislature, whether you like them or not, they voted this law in and our board bylaw, which was updated in 2001, says that every member of the governing board may receive the maximum monthly compensation as provided for by the law. It does not say by the vote. So regardless of whether you don't want to receive it and you want to donate it, that's great. Every member is entitled to it, and they can choose what they want to do with it or not. It's not our decision whether to say whether Melissa gets it or whether Michelle gets it or Patty gets it. Our bylaw says that every member is entitled to receive it. So actually voting against that is voting against the bylaw. And you should bring this up if you want to change it. Michelle, I'm talking to you. Yeah, I'm listening. I'm listening to you. Eye contact is good sometimes because then I know you're listening. So if you want to change it and say as provided by board vote, then that would be different. And then we would have to vote on something like that. But the way our bylaw is, is that, well, I read it to you.

Okay, I just wanted to comment. So if anyone hasn't read AB 1390, it's because the board member salary was established in 1984, and it was $400 a month. And in 1984, that was a reasonable stipend for a board member. And it did allow for boards to increase their compensation 5% per year. No one knew. Many boards across the state, across the country, don't even realize that they're allowed to do that. And it wasn't until five years ago that we started doing it. So if you take that math, 5% per year, and you multiply that over the last 41 years, That equates to $2,956.60. This raise is actually less than we would technically have been entitled to had we been doing the raises, had the prior boards been doing the raises. I just want to say that... One of the things that I've observed in this role is when I joined this board, I was a stay-at-home mom. I had the free time. I had the ability to volunteer my time for my community. The economy has changed. People's situations have changed. And I have had to since go back to work. And it does hurt not only my family but any potential future candidates in this role when you have to decide whether or not you can give up the time commitment and the money commitment to attend board meetings, superintendents awards, school site visits. I've had to deny going to those visits sometimes because I cannot financially afford to take from my family if I have to miss work. I mean, there are a number of things where, you know, I've let our superintendent know I would love to attend, but unfortunately I have to work. I just, we all just actually took time off of work to go to CSBA, and that was, that is going to be a large hit to my family, but I do it for the greater good. Most of us, you know, do this because we feel we are making a difference in this community, and Whoever comes after us, we have a responsibility to ensure that we provide a decent compensation for anyone that fills the position after this. I mean, Michelle, you don't have to take the raise, and I appreciate and applaud you for donating your portion. I am glad that my vote will afford you that ability to donate more. But this is really a role of privilege. I mean, we all sacrifice to be here, but it's still a privilege that we should acknowledge that we have. Because I'm sure there are people in the community that would love to serve on this board that just cannot financially afford this. So yeah, I just want to thank you for allowing me to speak. And then we can move on.

Anybody else?

I was going to say a lot of similar things to what Melissa said. I agree that for the even future people that want to run for school boards throughout the state, that it's going to make it more possible for people to run. And also, I know that the general public, I didn't know how much the board members do and how much time commitment it entails. And I'm sure a lot of the community doesn't as well. And there's definitely more to it than us sitting here one or two times a month. And it is very time-consuming and costly in various ways. So... That's pretty much all I wanted to say.

Did he call for the vote? Clerk Cayala-Quintero? Aye. Board Member Olsen?

Aye.

President Rendler?

No.

Vice President Hollihan? Aye. Board Member Wilson?

Aye.

Motion carried with the ayes being Clerk Cayala-Quintero, Board Member Olsen, Vice President Hollihan, and Board Member Wilson, and the nays being President Rendler.

On to public participation. Public comments are permitted upon the 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. How many speakers do we have? We have 23.

Okay. Okay.

Three minutes. But it's under 25. Right? Right?

Point of order. Is it possible to just bump up the students? It's a late night and he has school in the morning. Is that possible to cut the line for the students?

I'm fine with that.

Are we doing two minutes or three minutes because it's under 25?

Under 25, three minutes.

Okay. Just wanted to set the clock.

Okay. So who are our first speakers? And we can let the student go first. I don't know if the students register. What's the name of the student?

Dustin.

Dustin. Yes, Dustin. Dustin.

Welcome, Dustin.

Thank you. Hello, everyone. My name is Dustin, and I am a sophomore at Redlands High School. Today, I came to the board to talk about one specific issue. Anyone who has been in any school in the last five years has known that the vaping and weed pen epidemic has destroyed schools. Many would-be achievers who are incredibly smart are instead skipping in our school bathrooms and doing illegal substances. Those who wouldn't have been able to smoke at home now find solace in the fact that they can go to school, skip class, and smoke. And it doesn't stop at smoking. When I myself was a seventh grader at Cote Middle School, I was threatened with a butcher knife inside an RUSD classroom. Yet despite this, security failed to investigate or punish this person, and they were only suspended for one day. When I was in eighth grade, there was a gun threat in my school. And despite school security being aware of it, we did minimal lockdown procedures and it took security over an hour to locate the weapon. Once security did find the weapon, the minimal lockdown procedures did not change and parents weren't notified until later that same night. And no urgency was observed by the school. And I was not alone in this struggle. This has proved that RUSD has systematically failed to ensure the security of their students. Redlands High School, a school of over 2,000 kids, has only nine security guards, and on any given school day, only four or five might show up. With this being said, we need a serious plan before someone gets seriously hurt. Therefore, I myself, on behalf of all Redlands students, request that the board may increase security funding, hire more security, and launch better training programs, and implement it with transparency. Thank you for your time. I yield.

Thank you, Justin.

Erica Grossman, followed by Tricia Keeling and Catherine Appleby.

Okay, first I'd like to point out something that American College of Pediatrics that Candy quoted, it's a right wing organization with only 700 members. It's different from American Pediatric Association, okay? They promote conversion therapy for LGBTQ people. Really dangerous group. Okay, so this school board is completely out of touch. Many teens are still struggling with emotional distress since the COVID outbreak. Many students can barely complete their schoolwork or even attend regularly. You ignore the reality that students are vaping in the bathroom, just like I said, eating brownies laced with THC, vandalizing facilities, or fighting. At the same time, bathrooms are constantly closed, forcing students to window campus in search for a walk-in toilet. Yet your focus remains on books, flags, and trans girls as if those are the real threats to our schools. I thought Michelle understood the reality, but time and again you demonstrate incompetence by siding with harmful board members instead of addressing the issues that truly affect students. You have done nothing but damage to our district this year. Thank you, Erica.

Welcome, Katherine.

Good evening. So first, I just want to say thank you for transitioning to the new platform, Diligent. Personally, I have appreciated how much easier it was to know what items I had to actually open instead of just clicking download on every single thing. I watched the November board meeting and was appalled by some of the community members' inability to read the agenda, so I was planning to actually advocate for a new platform because I foolishly thought the problem was the platform. Second, as Melissa mentioned, the CSBA Annual Education Conference and Trade Show was this last week. Thank you for confirming that you all attended. On Thursday, there was a panel about supporting effective library policies in school, and it featured two superintendents, a board member, and a teacher librarian. I know that that panel had to be paused because the audience heckled the panelists. An audience full of superintendents and board members heckled their peers who were on a panel. And I am actually asking that if any of you were in that audience and if any of you participated in the heckling, that you actually admit that to all of us. Because that violates your board governance document where you talk about professionalism on page 10. Quote, I will model the civility and professionalism I expect from all RUSD staff and students in person and online. Shame on you if you were in that audience and you heckled those panelists. I actually love listening to your comments before you vote. I said tonight that it was only a matter of when, not if. Board members don't follow the handbook. And I honestly was thinking we could get through the meeting. You'd all follow the handbook. It's brand new. You'd be like kids on the first day of school. You all behave in the classroom. Oh, my God. You did not. Board member Ayala Quintero, thank you for following the handbook and asking clarifying questions to understand. But board member Olson, you failed to do that. President Rendler, you also failed to control the flow of conversation. You guys have already demonstrated that your board governance handbook doesn't have any backbone. Dr. Hill said that we need to cut $17 million. So I have to ask a question. There was a statement made that we will replace the library books. Dr. Hill, does that cut include increasing library budgets so that they can buy replacement books for the books that this board decides to remove? I don't think it does. And Board Member Olson, you said if something belongs in college, it does not belong in our high schools. Does that apply to the early college classes our high school students are enrolled in?

Thank you, Catherine. Dale Broom, Samantha Trad, and Michael Paisner.

Yeah, Dale Broom, Area 1. I wanted to bring – unfortunately, I hate to bring this up, but it's very important. In this whole debate that we've had over the school library books, the whole issue was what is pornography? Well, I've come to recognize now that there is a book that has been placed in one of our Redlands Unified School libraries that is more than just written pornographic material. It actually has images. and that is in this book called It's Perfectly Normal. This book was placed in a middle school library here in our district. It is filled with 66 nude, cartoonish images of children, men, and women, many of which are in full frontal nudity. It contains six sexually graphic images of couples having heterosexual and homosexual intercourse, four of which are completely uncovered. The author discusses sexual intercourse in detail, but there's no discussion about the importance of monogamy or marital commitment in the context of sexual relations. There is no discussion of fornication, adultery, or prostitution, and the spiritual and psychological and physical harms that can result. It is written by a former board member of Planned Parenthood, and it represents a very biased viewpoint of sexuality, gender, and abortion, and has a lot of false and misleading material within that subject. This book is clearly written to be a comprehensive sexual education curriculum. By placing this book in a school library, this really circumvents our board-approved sex ed curriculum, and it undermines the limits on that sexually graphic material that's presented to students. So fortunately, fortunately, Only one copy of this book that was placed in the library and it has now been lost. We're not sure if it's hidden under some kid's mattress or if it's a parent wisely disposed of it. How in the world did a school librarian allow this pornographic material in the school library? Who's responsible? Again, this was brought up in the discussion by the board members is that there's no record. There's no record of who put this in the library. In any event, another important thing I want to point out about this book, it has the American Librarian Association endorsement. It actually has as a highly recommended book for kids. The age that this is put in is for age 10 and above. And to be honest with you, this has, like I said, over 66 nude images of children. Kids and adults in almost full frontal nudity, and then as I said earlier, it has images of couples having sex fully uncovered. This was placed in one of our middle school libraries. Totally inappropriate. This needs to be investigated. We need to find out how this came about, who allowed these books in the school library, and our librarians need to be very vigilant and don't pay attention to the American Librarian Association's recommendations on this type of books.

Thank you, Dale.

Good evening. Michael Paisner.

Welcome back, Michael.

This may seem like a side trail, but let me explain. I have two degrees in engineering. I've spent more than a decade in aerospace and had the privilege of contributing to designs that have taken people to space and returned them safely. You would feel really foolish trying to substitute your judgment for my use of the rocket equation. You wouldn't dare substitute your judgment for the work I've done based on me having a master's degree and more than a decade of experience. This evening you did just that to our librarians. Our librarians who have a master's degree and decade or more of experience, you substituted your judgment for theirs. You wouldn't dare have done that to me in aerospace, but you did it to the librarians. And you should be ashamed of yourself. And if you participated in that, if you voted for that, it just demonstrates your arrogance. And it demonstrates that you don't understand what your job is. Your job is not to teach in a classroom. Your job is not to curate what's in the library. Your job is oversight. Your job is management, to make sure that those processes exist and are working well. But you overstepped your bounds tonight. And it's clear you plan to continue overstepping your bounds. And it is offensive. And you should be ashamed. And with the time I have left, let me speak directly to you, Ms. Rendler. I asked you previously if you would meet with me. I'm a member of Together for Redlands. We have thousands of followers. I meet with people on a weekly basis, and I asked you if you would meet with us and let us share our perspective and discuss it in greater detail. And you shook your head yes, and you said you would meet with me, but then you never did. I've emailed you. You do not reply. To call it disrespectful, I'll just use the word disrespectful. How would you think of a child that did that to you, who's told you yes to your face and nodded, but then didn't follow through with the action that they promised? That is how you've been treating me, and that is how you're treating thousands of people because you don't take the time to listen to their perspective. It's wrong.

Thank you, Michael. Thank you. Ellen Gruenbaum, Aaron Fernando, and Valerie Tabor.

Hello, I'm Ellen Gruenbaum, and as I said before, I'm a grandmother. And on December 5th, I had the wonderful opportunity, which I gather a lot of you don't have enough time to go to all the events you'd like to. So I just wanted to share one that I had the privilege of Our schools have been doing a lot with music. I knew about instrumental music, but I also really enjoyed knowing about elementary singing. This is something I remember. When I moved to California in the fourth grade, it was new to me. We sang in different languages. We sang in the classroom. Our teachers led us in singing. And I can still perform for you, which I won't, some of the songs that I learned in fourth grade and sixth grade. They were things that carried ideas and were wonderful. So I just love to see the encouragement of more music in our schools, and especially when we don't always have instrumental teachers or instruments, the use of the voice. and the use of ideas that come with singing is really exciting. My grandson was singing songs he was practicing for this concert in the car the other day, and I said, what's that? And he was singing about an axolotl, and then he was singing about Edgar Allan Poe, It was a dark and stormy night, and Edgar Allan Poe started to write. And so he's learning a little bit about literature. He's learning about emotion. And they were singing in harmony. This was four different schools. Fourth and fifth graders got together for the concert that I was at, wearing matching T-shirts about, I'm part of the choir. I feel like this does so much for the children to have a sense of participation and encouragement, even if they're not on a sports team, even if they're not an instrumental musician, to be part of something bigger than themselves and to encourage that kind of community spirit. So I just wanted to express my delight that these things are going on in our schools and to encourage you as a board. I know it's a tough role, but to keep working on the good things for our children that we can provide our wonderful teachers and staff and the administrators who guide them. Thank you.

Thank you, Ellen. Welcome back, Aaron.

Hello, I'm Aaron Fernando. This will be more off the cuff. I just have bullet points. So the first point I wanted to make was about the idea that these books were appropriate for college students, but not high school students, right? I mean, that makes sense. They're different levels. But are you aware of AP classes? Those are literally equivalent to college classes. for the high schoolers. They've decided they get parent signatures and stuff to get into the class. And it's just really weird to me that you would say, okay, this is fine for college students, but not our kids who are supposed to be, you know, as learning at a college level already. And so I just thought that was odd. Okay, the next point is about pornography. I'd really rather not stand here and talk about porn, but that's what we've got to do, I guess. So first off, not a single person in this room will disagree that pornography is harmful to children. In fact, it is illegal to provide pornography to children. I think we all could probably guess that even if you don't know the laws. So with that in mind, sorry, like I said, this is off the cuff. What makes you think that these books are pornography? If they were, wouldn't they be illegal, especially the one our friend just showed us up here? It's been published. It's gone through multiple layers of approval. If it were child pornography, it would be illegal. The author, the publisher would all be sent to jail. And you wouldn't even need to hold a meeting to remove it from the library. because it would be found illegal and you would have to take it out. You wouldn't need to discuss anything. So I think it's important to keep in mind that the difference between pornography and explicit material. And also another point which is brought up a lot, yes, obviously literature, the written word, can be considered pornographic. I just don't believe that either of these books rose to that level, and not to be crass, but have any of you actually read porn? Because it's nothing like the stuff in those books. It's much more explicit. You should go look for it if you want. Maybe that way you could, you know, know what you're talking about. Speaking of which, I would like to mention the scene that Candy brought up to quote the pussy popping like popcorn scene. I think Jeanette at least probably understood the point of that scene, considering you're a social worker. The point was that these victims of abuse often feel shame because of the way their body reacted to their abuse that was out of their control. That wasn't meant to show, oh, she likes it, so it's good. No, it was a deep shame for her, which you'd see she talked to the counselor in the story about. And once again, like, I'm sure you know this already, Jeanette. So I would appreciate if you'd call out your colleague, Candy, when she tries to spread illiterate nonsense like that. Thank you.

Thank you, Aaron. Welcome back, Valerie.

Unfortunately, I'm not surprised by the results, and I think the three of you should be ashamed of yourselves. The idea that you think you know better than librarians, that you think you know better than how many committees has it been of educated experts and community members who have all said that they think that these books belong. And you have the arrogance to believe that, you know, better than them. And in fact, Ms. Olson in your statements today, you made it very clear that this is not about parental rights and that you actually don't give flying, you know, what about parental rights? Because if you did, you would say, Hey, the restrictions that force parents to opt into these books actually creates the perfect, the perfect situation. for parental rights. But no, you've made it very clear that this is about your morality, your personal subjective morality. All three of you have actually. And so I hope that you will see lawsuits from this because making a decision about a book because of your moral feelings about it without taking into consideration anything else, because clearly you didn't, because you disagreed with all of the other findings. And you have, again, the arrogance to believe that your uneducated, uneducated opinions matter more than experts. It's disgusting. I'm so tired of saying the word disgusting. I'm going to have to find another better word. I wanted to use my last minute to talk about the conduct of the board during these meetings. I think that, no, I understand that as the board there are things that you cannot interrupt. There are things that you have to let slide because it's freedom of speech. However, I want to point out that when you decide not to interrupt or not to stop or not to hold people accountable, you force the audience to do that because So much of the freedom of speech and fighting words, doctrine, and all of that is based on the public reaction and how much it interrupts the meeting. And so by making the choices you make, you make it impossible for the audience to not become riled up, to interrupt, to yell, and to fight one another, because that is the only way that you have justification to do those things. And I don't know what the solution is for that, but that is to say that this is all because of you, for better or for worse. So take that into consideration.

Thank you, Valerie.

Next is Greg Britton, B. Hamilton, and Susan McCartney.

Welcome back, Greg.

7 plus 2 equals blank plus 6. 7 plus 2 equals blank plus 6. 20%. of the students at UCSD in their remedial math program couldn't get that math problem right. There's remedial education at Harvard University now. And this is after 12 years in K-12 schools. In California, you're spending $24,000 per year. Nationwide, since 1969-70, real per-student spending has increased by more than 240%. Yet, on the National Assessment of Educational Progress for eighth graders, reading, 30% proficient. Math, 28%. Science, 33%. Even here in Redlands, on the state standards, you got 37% proficient in math, 50% proficient in English. Like, what the heck is going on here? Since 2020 to 2022 nationwide, 5% increase in students, 10% increase in teachers, 39% increase in principals and assistant principals, and 95% increase in administrative staff. Yet we see the results I just described. Compare and contrast that. It still sticks with me. At our Rotary Club back in the 1990s, we had a speaker who had been a Peace Corps volunteer in Africa. She taught at a one-room school on the south edge of the Sahara Desert. No running water, no electricity, poverty at a level that I think most Americans could not fathom where poor people have obesity problems and have cell phones here in America. Yet, by 12th grade, every one of those students was doing calculus. So, what should we draw from all this? Is that going along at business as usual, let's have a new budget, we'll have a new program, blah, blah, blah, blah, ain't going to cut it. You really need, the students need it and the country needs it, dramatically different reform and approach to education. And I know the three of you have shown courage in dealing with these books and facing the leftist onslaught. I hope you will show similar courage in changing how you do things. Thank you, Greg.

Welcome back, Pete.

In a previous meeting, Steve Caperton, the president of the Redlands Teacher Association, brought to your attention that we have seen an increase in student violence across campuses in the Redland Unified School District. In the last meeting, I mentioned that my son was a repeated victim of said violence in his classroom. We just heard comments from a young gentleman who basically said that he has experienced similar things. I mentioned that Together for Redlands would be speaking with people in the district to determine a course of action and that we have done. I'm providing the board a list of the actions that we feel it is important that the school district take to ensure student safety. I wish to read them to you now. What we want is more paraprofessionals. And in order to get them, we want an increase in salaries from $20 to $30 an hour to attract 100 additional paraprofessionals to the district. We want better in-district training for paraprofessionals on de-escalation techniques. We want an increase in hours from 30 to 35 hours per week to qualify for health insurance so that we can retain them in the district. We want mental health professionals. We want four additional social workers within the district to work with students struggling with mental health issues. We want a restoration of counselor positions that were funded under ELOP. Special education programs. We want additional programs to provide support to students regardless of their social, behavioral, environmental, and intellectual needs. We want additional support for teachers and their continuing education needs. On the administrative side, we want additional training on state IEP and 504 requirements to ensure compliance with state law. We want to encourage teachers and staff to inform parents of Redlands coordinated support services and other resources within the district. We want administrators to provide incentives to families to encourage attendance. What we want from the school board right now is a local funding measure to provide funding for these proposals. We want you to advocate to the state to reauthorize the IDEA Act to provide funding for special education programs. We want you to advocate for enrollment-based rather than attendance-based district funding. And what we are going to talk to the community about, and I am informing you of this so that you are prepared for it, is we want them to attend school board meetings to let you know that it's time to make changes. We want them to contact the superintendent's office if their children have special needs that the district isn't meeting. And we want them to contact their state representatives to reauthorize the IDEA Act and change district funding to enrollments-based funding. And this is what protecting students looks like. Thank you.

Thank you, B.

That was our last speaker.

Okay, moving on to board comments. Anybody? I'm sorry. I signed it this week. Oh. I don't know if I got it. Then come on up. Come on up. Yes, you are.

Sorry about that. I just wanted to share some quick thoughts. A couple of months ago when the proposal was made to change the process for books that were deemed questionable in our libraries, it was quite the event here with a very full school board and a lot of very opinionated people. And I remember one speaker got up and continued to ask. At the time, her comments were directed at Candy Olson and Jeanette Wilson, and she kept asking if you heard, because so many of the voices that were here, very shrill, very harsh, and very much against the changes that were proposed. And so I just wanted to... asked kind of a similar question is, do you remember? And do you remember all of the people who voted for you to make just those kinds of changes all of the parents who are looking for greater protections for their children and uh... and i'm so proud of this board and the decisions that they've made here tonight uh... i think it's going to be tremendous benefit to our children and a protection and uh... i'm proud of them and i thank you for the work that you do uh... and i'm i'm glad to see that you have, in fact, remembered all of the voices that were not present here in these meetings, but definitely voted for the kinds of decisions that were made here tonight. And so I just wanted to thank you, and that's all I have.

Thank you. All right, now we'll move on to board comments. Anybody would like to go first?

I will, since I already started mine. I'll quickly finish them. I was going to talk about, just briefly, I didn't get to go to Studio 24 last year, so I was able to go this year. And it's such a great program, and we got to... experience the award of the Golden Bell at CSBA because of the great program that it is and it's just amazing what is being done through that whole program it's not just a coffee shop or the cafe they do so many other things for kids to learn or young adults to learn job skills so I really appreciated that And I do plan on talking more about what I learned at CSVA at our next meeting.

Just a couple, address a couple things from the audience. Keep it brief. It's late. I'm not ashamed. I am very proud. And I will be very proud to stand for the innocence of children as long as I'm here. That's one thing. The next thing, I was not in that room. Ms. Appleby or Applegate? Catherine? Catherine? I was not in the room. I wished I had been in the room to see what the conversation was about because I heard about all of the back and forth. But no, I was not there. And that is it. I am super excited about Spanish dual immersion. I'm very excited that we're bringing that to this district. That's something I heard on the campaign trail. is that people are sending their children to other schools, Redlands Christian, for that, along with other reasons that I've mentioned many times before. But dual immersion was one of the big things that people really want in public schools. So I'm super excited about that. And have a Merry Christmas, everybody. It's been quite a year. So thank you for coming tonight, too.

Just a few things. I'll try to keep it brief. But Catherine, I just want to address that I was in that session. And I can attest that no one in this room was a part. It was other districts that were, in my opinion, I believe that there were several sessions that I attended where there were people there that were just meant to troll. I don't want to mar my report on CSBA, but at our next meeting I can do that. And I would rather get this out now before I report on the things that I did appreciate about it. But there were several sessions where there was heckling and trolling. There was even one put on by a student where she was attesting to her own experiences and she was questioned and heckled, I'll say. And it was very disappointing. So I will say this is probably one of the moments that... That's one of the moments that brought me to decide that I probably will not be attending very many CSBAs in the future, or at least none that are up in Northern California, but that is a separate issue. I will say that I'm very upset about today. I'm not surprised by anything, but I just find it ironic that we are denying an informed parent's right to decide for their own children. We are proving that none of this was or is about informed parental consent, but control over children that are not your own. It is non-consensual overreach. By censoring my child's resource library, you are limiting her growth and education to the parameters that you yourself did not have. You are uninvested and unwelcome in my child's life, and you are not of the caliber of individuals I wish to have an impact on her. Common sense is of little value when devoid of critical thinking and conscience. I apologize for the actions that have happened today, and I understand that some may view it as a win, and I respect their perspective. However, just as you guys were voted in by yours, I was elected by mine, and only... 60% of our constituents, very loosely, the ones that voted, were able to have an impact on this decision because 40% were not up for election. I will say since those elections, people's political views and opinions ideas and wishes for the district have changed. So I just hope we are really being mindful of the greater impact that we are having here, not just our personal agendas. But that's it.

Just briefly, we had another great superintendent awards, so that was nice, and it's great to see all the younger kids and everyone coming out to get those. I, too, attended the Moore visit, along with Michelle and with Jeanette, right before Thanksgiving break. So I want to thank Moore for opening up, and thank you for letting us come visit. I want to thank our RTA for inviting me to participate in the Christmas parade. That was a lot of fun. And then just want to wish everyone a wonderful winter break. I hope our teachers and our staff and everyone who's here gets some time off with their family and loved ones and wish you a wonderful Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukkah and whatever you believe in. And may you all be healthy in 2026. Thank you.

Good evening. As we near the completion of 2025, I wanted to take a moment to comment on what has been both a rewarding and very challenging year. It's been very rewarding to attend our different award nights this past month. I went to the PBIS showcase for various school sites. There were different levels that they got. And RHS Adult Transitions Program received a Golden Bell Award. And then our monthly superintendent awards are always really fun. I love seeing our students and our staff shine. Also, first I want to do a little shout-out to Tanalia Tavania from Orangewood. She graduated a couple weeks ago, and it was so cool. I walked in the office, and they were calling her down from her class, her last class, to the office. All her friends were there. They let them come in the office. They brought her flowers. Her mom was there. Her brother was there. It was so nice, and she was so excited. They called her name out on the speaker, so all the kids that... eAcademy could hear too. That was really fun.

The greatest part too is they gave her her transcripts because she's already been accepted to a college and she's going to start in January. So that was pretty exciting.

Did school visits to Judson and Brown where I got to be in the hot seat.

That's where the student, the kids in the after school program, they do like a question and answer session.

And they ask you some pretty funny questions. And then going on to more with my colleagues. And that was great. I love seeing the positive changes in behavior and academics at that school. It's really coming along great. I attended the SELPA Inclusion Summit as well as the CSBA Conference. They're always great experiences networking with other people, bringing back new ideas to our district. And I'll have more on the CSBA next month. The Redlands Christmas Parade was such a delight this year. Thank you to RESPA and RTA for including us again. Today, I attended the Cryerop Roadshow at REV. And saw the CT pathways at that school. Wow, was I impressed with these students. There's a lot of them. I'm just going to read them all. Allie in the auto shop. Lynn and Allie in the gaming design. Vanna doing athletic training. Nina, Cammie, and Brady in the culinary. Aiden in culinary. He got his food handler's license recently. Michael in engineering. He has competed in the Science Olympiad. Amelia in engineering and the CNA program. She's going to be taking her state. test to become a CNA and Sarah in the CNA programs as well did her test David video production Alexia Landon in video production Thomas in the video production he wants to own a production company and he wants to be a radiation therapist he has lofty goals he wants to go to UCLA film school I was really impressed Mason and Brendan in aviation and Kenny in aviation he took me flying in that flight simulator it was so much fun Each of the students has a bright and clear path to their future, and I thank all the teachers in ROP that help and the administrators at the school. Girls' middle school softball finals were today, and I don't know the score because I couldn't get a hold of Doug, but I am anxious to see. The boys' teams play tomorrow. I'm excited to watch the Inspire Choir tomorrow at Rev and Friday night at RHS. And if you have some time, I highly encourage you to attend. It is absolutely one of my favorite performances. I'm looking forward to more site visits in the next few weeks. And talking about another thing, adding the Empowering Positive Moment highlighting student accomplishments has been a wonderful addition to our meetings each month. Being able to recognize our amazing students helps us keep our focus on students and learning. I'm grateful to all of those who have led, supported, and contributed to any of these experiences that I've had. On the challenging side, I also want to take a moment to reflect on a few votes we've taken as a board this year and set the record straight on my position and commitment to all our students, parents, and teachers. Let me first begin by thanking the countless employees, parents, and students in our school district, as well as members of our broader community who have reached out to me through personal calls, letters, emails, especially those who have bravely attended our board meetings expressing concerns. I'm grateful for the support and encouragement I've experienced through what has arguably been one of the most discordant years this board has faced. Although some are quick to blame leadership and new board members, the fact is these are difficult and emotional issues, and I have worked hard to listen to both sides, search for common ground while remaining respectful and professional to collaboratively shape policies that are fair and balanced. While some have chosen to slander, bully, and intimidate board members and even community members who don't agree with their position here at the board meetings and on social media and out in our community, many have taken the high road and professionally and thoughtfully read, evaluated, and respectfully and passionately debated the policies. Regarding our recent votes, some have said that I don't care about kids because I voted to establish a process to remove sexually explicit books from our libraries and classrooms. and because I voted to support neutral classrooms. Those who truly know me know that I care deeply about all our students. Regardless of what some have said, the truth is I made those votes because I believe all our schools should be safe, welcoming, and focused on education, not politics or inappropriate content. For anyone who says I don't care about students at RUSD, I want to say clearly you are wrong. For 35 years, I have championed students and families through my volunteer work in PTA on Measure R and Measure J committees, the LCAP committee, Redlands Educational Partnership, Redlands Community Scholarship Foundation, the Assistance League of Redlands, which is now called the Redlands League, and mostly, I mean most recently, the Healthy East Valley. To everyone who I've worked alongside with on these committees, thank you so much. Together we make our USD and our community stronger. I'm proud of my record of service and will continue to stand for what's best for students, families, and our community. I wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season, however you celebrate, with your family and friends, and I look forward to an exciting 2026. where we can focus on the education and well-being of our students as we implement Empower at all grade levels in our schools. Thank you very much.

I was going to ask, being that we've kind of had some back and forth about certain things today, I'm going to ask if we can explore the option of, while at CSBA I was talking to other districts, about having legal counsel here. I did inquire about the costs, and multiple districts told me that they actually don't pay anything additional for legal counsel here. to be at their meetings. I feel it would save a lot of time. It would save a lot of phone calls to legal that then they would charge us for. So if we can look into that, explore that.

I know the answer. The answer is districts that have a district lawyer on a fee, for example, you have the option to hire a lawyer. Let's just call it $100,000. It would be a lot more. But they're available to you for this amount Then they don't charge you anymore, so that means they can come to your meetings. We don't have that kind of agreement, which means a lawyer coming to our meetings would charge us an hourly rate. Now, they might say we'll consider some kind of deal, you know, so many hours per... But it is going to be an additional cost. We don't have the...

But it'd be more cost-effective to have them here rather than us, I mean... calling at every opportunity that we need to?

It is further discussion that we might have. I just know the answer to the initial question would be it would be an additional cost. The only thing that I did want to comment on is we did have a visit from three attorneys of the Office of the Attorney Generals to come look at our progress. They came last Monday, met with several of our principals. Well, they did meetings with each principal last week via Zoom, but they visited Clement specifically on Monday and RHS, and the visits went really well. They were able to affirm and confirm some of the things that we're doing and we're pleased to see that we're doing them. Yeah, it was really good news, and I just wanted to give a shout-out to both Clement, Ms. Johnson, and Mr. Colon for the work that they did for those visits. They came in without any prep. They just wanted to talk to folks to make sure that we are following guidelines the protocols, and it went really well.

I'm so sorry. I have one more question. Sure. Last year, at the end of last year, we had several students advocating on behalf of mental health support. Is that something that we are working on? Is that something that we can open the conversation about? I feel like, especially during the holidays, there tends to be a greater draw.

We didn't go anywhere with it just because of cost. We weren't able to figure out or determine where there would be funds to be able to implement it. So we still have all the information. We can bring that discussion back up.

Thank you.

And then as a correction, 18-year-olds. I want to make sure I got text messages from principals. There are instances where 18-year-olds do leave campus. And so I just want to make that very clear. Yes. I will talk to my principals about that. We meet on Thursday just to get more clarity on, you know, instances that happens. But I just wanted to make sure because I publicly said that. And I did say I would check. And I did check. And there are instances that that does happen. I can keep talking, actually, but what I need the board to realize is that we have another meeting right after this. Okay. All right.

So I will adjourn at 11 o'clock.