Board of Education — April 22, 2025

The Board of Education met on April 22, 2025. President Michele Rendler opened the meeting at 4:05 p.m., no one spoke in the opening community input period, and the board adjourned to closed session at 4:06 p.m. 1. It returned to open session at 5:54 p.m. and the regular meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m., with Student Trustee Ella Ford leading the Pledge of Allegiance 2. The meeting adjourned at 11:50 p.m. 3. At the start of the first comment period the room was told the district had taken 102 cards for agenda items and 55 more for general public comment, an estimated three hours of speaking time 4.

Four items drove the evening, and they ended in three different ways. One resolution was adopted, one failed, and two policy drafts were carried over without a vote. A request to censure a board member was set up for action at the next meeting.

The Title IX resolution on girls' sports

The board adopted Resolution No. 43, 2024-2025, Supporting Title IX and Fairness in Girls' Interscholastic Sports, and the minutes record that the motion carried 5. The agenda summary of the resolution said the district "affirms its support for Title IX and urges athletic governing bodies to ensure fairness, safety, and equal opportunities in girls' sports by protecting the integrity of female athletic competition" 6.

KVCR reported the next day that the board "passed a resolution asking the CIF to keep transgender girls from participating on girls' sports teams" 7. CalMatters placed Redlands in a run of Inland Empire boards taking up the question, writing that the district "approved a resolution to enforce 'fairness in girls' interscholastic sports,' placing the Inland Empire district in the middle of escalating conflicts over transgender students' rights" 8.

A resolution is a statement of position, not a rule change, and the board did not amend its athletics regulation that night. The district's standing regulation on athletic competition, AR 6145.2, which the policy manual shows as last revised in 2014, says that no student "shall be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, be denied equivalent opportunity in, or otherwise be discriminated against in interscholastic, intramural, or club athletics on the basis of actual or perceived sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression" 9.

The air-quality resolution, which failed

A motion to adopt Resolution No. 42, 2024-2025, opposing the adoption of SCAQMD Proposed Amended Rules 1111 and 1121 did not pass, and the minutes say so in those words 10. It is the one item of the night the minutes record as failing.

The agenda text behind the resolution said the district "opposes the proposed amendments to SCAQMD Rules 1111 and 1121, due to significant financial strain, lack of consultation, and risks to student safety" from transitions to all-electric systems 11. The rules themselves were regional rather than educational: local coverage of the Redlands City Council's own look at them a month later reported that "the amended rules would require all new and replacement residential gas appliances to meet a zero-NOx emission standard starting in 2027 for new construction and 2029 for existing homes" 12. South Coast AQMD's own rule page records that its governing board did not approve the amendments on June 6, 2025 13.

The item drew comment on both sides. One speaker questioned why it was on a school board agenda at all, saying of the rules that "they don't even impact schools" 14. Another urged the board to weigh in, arguing the change would force homeowners, businesses and "government agencies like you" to replace furnaces and water heaters at heavy cost 15.

Books and flags: carried to May 13

The two policy drafts that drew the heaviest comment among the policy items were not action items at all. Administrative Regulation 1312.2, Complaints Concerning Instructional Materials, and Board Policy 6115, Ceremonies, Observances, and Flag Displays, were both listed under Discussion Items 16, and neither was voted on. The minutes record that "It was decided to continue the discussion on items XXII.a. and XXII.b. at the May 13 board meeting" 3.

On the recording, the options were laid out near the end of the night as either reconvening on another day or letting the two items roll forward: "Otherwise, it automatically will go to the May 13th meeting" 17.

The policy manual shows where each of those two drafts stood. The board policy on complaints about instructional materials, BP 1312.2, carries a last-revision date of February 14, 1995, and it opens by saying the board "takes great care in the adoption of instructional materials and is aware that all adopted materials may not be acceptable to all students" 18. That was the rule in force on April 22. The administrative regulation the board was arguing over, AR 1312.2, carries a last-revision date of August 19, 2025, four months after this meeting, so the library-complaint procedure now in the manual is not the version that applied here 19. BP 6115 likewise carries a date of July 8, 2025 in the policy manual, later than this meeting, so the flag language now in the manual is the text adopted in July rather than the draft discussed in April: "No flag other than the United States of America and State of California may be displayed on school grounds or in classrooms, unless it is a country, state, or United States military flag used solely for educational purposes within the adopted curriculum." 20

The censure request

The third discussion item was listed on the agenda as "Discussion regarding Board Member request for Censure Motion against another Board Member" 16. The minutes report that the evening's discussion focused on this item and "included: Board dynamics, personal accountability, a call for transparency, request for governance handbook, and norm adherence". They record that "A decision was made to move Board Member Censure for a vote at the next board meeting" 3.

That is the whole of what the record of this meeting establishes. Neither the agenda nor the adopted minutes names the board member who asked for the censure or the member who would be its subject, and this summary does not supply either name.

Public comment

The minutes list 56 speaker entries in the comment period for agendized items 21 and 29 more in the general public participation period later in the night 22. Community Forward Redlands described the meeting as a "five-and-a-half-hour session" that "included nearly four hours of public comment from approximately 100 speakers" 23.

Named stances below come from the minutes. Susan Padilla spoke in opposition to the proposed AR 1312.2 21. Germaine Miles spoke in opposition to the girls' sports resolution, and Sonja Shaw spoke in favor of it and in support of the flag policy 21. Michael Paisner spoke in opposition to the air-quality resolution, the girls' sports resolution, AR 1312.2, the proposed flag policy and the censure 21. Greg Abdauch spoke in favor of accountability of board members, the flag policy, AR 1312.2 and the girls' sports resolution 24. Susan McCarley provided various definitions related to censorship 25. Katherine Applebee spoke against the resolutions recognizing teachers and staff, citing what the minutes record as "the lack of respect for teachers and staff" 25, and raised concerns about funding transportation for the Redlands High School speech and debate team to the state championships through donations rather than district funds 26. Bethany Rehling opposed the flag policy, saying teachers should not be discouraged from putting things up on their classroom walls 26.

In the later period, Jenann Elias thanked school librarians during National Library Month and Dr. Christopher Cain recommended the board send a survey to the community for its input 22. Gina Porter clarified library book selection and removal procedures and warned against censorship and book bans 27. Paige Mann said the proposed revision to AR 1312.2 "allows books to be removed from libraries too easily, bypassing professional guidelines and enabling repeated complaints to indefinitely block student access" 27. Kelsie McGee spoke against policies requiring disclosure of students' gender identities and banning identity-based symbols and literature 27. Addison Lohman 22 spoke in support of maintaining inclusive reminders in classrooms, emphasizing that such symbols help all students feel valued and welcomed 27. Sara Cooper condemned board members Candy Olson and Jeannette Wilson for promoting a "Save Girls Sports" agenda 28. Lawrence Hebron criticized the disruptive behavior at the previous meeting and urged President Michele Rendler to take decisive action 28. Rain Mendoza called on the board to listen to students' voices 28.

The recording carries the texture the minutes compress. Its speaker labels are automated, so the comments below are quoted without names. A supporter of the girls' sports resolution told the board that Title IX "is defined by sex, not identified gender" 29. An opponent asked how an eligibility rule would be enforced and said the dispute was "wasting precious time and money that should be focused elsewhere" 30. A student who described themselves as a trans feminine student at Redlands High School spoke against the flag proposal while holding two flags 31. A Redlands High School sophomore, speaking close to ten o'clock on a school night, said that "banning pride flags doesn't make anyone safer" 32.

Reports and presentations

The Equity in Action update was given by NaChé Thompson, Coordinator, Diversity & Equity 33. It covered professional development, family and student support, and disparities in achievement and discipline, and the data presented included 65 racial slur incidents tracked across grade levels, site equity teams with 136 participants across three cohorts, and a hate speech response plan launched district-wide 34.

Four students, Beatrix Williams, Love Afolbai, Brileigh Guillen and Nahiara Modrow, proposed a digital mental health screener for high school English classes, starting once a year and expanding to twice annually 34. Their presentation put the cost of a purpose-built screener at roughly $50,000, possibly funded through LCAP, against free options such as Google Forms, and noted the project had been underway since November 2023 34.

Stephen Caperton of the Redlands Teachers Association declined to address the policies on the agenda because of ongoing negotiations 35, and said school boards are not the place to resolve broader societal conflicts, which diverts resources from student-focused needs 36. He pressed for class size reduction in grades 1 through 3, noting averages of nearly 30:1 against a target of 24:1, and for more mental health support, with only one licensed clinical social worker serving the district 36.

Liz Huerta-Brewster of the Redlands Education Support Professionals Association raised an unresolved paraprofessional compensation issue from the 2022-23 school year, explaining that an MOU moving paraprofessionals from range 15 to range 17 was signed but never board-approved and later expired, and urged the board to take corrective action 36.

Superintendent Juan J. Cabral announced that the final Department of Justice report on 96 required areas would be received and shared publicly at the end of May 33. Patty Holohan's committee report 36 covered CRY-ROP's WASC pre-visit on March 14 and an aviation teacher at Redlands East Valley who secured 18 desktops and a full cockpit flight simulator for the program 33. Candy Olson reported on the Evening of Appreciation for elementary schools, Jeannette Wilson on the final steering committee meeting of the year, and Michele Rendler on a tree dedication approved for Herbert Israel Beale at Israel Beale Park 33.

Consent and other action

The Business Services consent calendar was approved as a block 26. It included an agreement with Colbi Technologies, Inc. for Account-Ability software 26, carried at an annual cost of $50,000 funded by developer fees, together with a master agreement and joint powers amendment with CRY-ROP, an amendment extending school safety services at a revised cost not to exceed $85,000, acceptance of the Measure D Citizens' Oversight Committee list, and the award of Bid 18-25 for asphalt removal and replacement at Beattie Middle School to Universal Asphalt Co., Inc. for $398,000 from Measure D funds 37. It also included a construction management pool established under RFQ 19-25 with AECOM, Erickson Hall, Tilden-Coil, Cumming Group and CCM, and payment transmittals 25002201 through 25002335 totaling $6,084,982.19 10.

The board approved travel for 22 members of the Redlands High School speech and debate team to the state championships in Culver City from May 2 to May 4, and adopted Resolution No. 40 recognizing Day of the Teacher on May 14 10. It adopted Resolution No. 41 recognizing Education Support Professionals Day on May 20 and approved two stipulated expulsions 5. It also approved the revised Student Attendance Calendar for 2025-2026 22.

In closed session the board acted on the superintendent's recommendations to appoint Ebonee Ervin-Gardner as an assistant principal at Redlands East Valley High School and Jennifer Moon as an assistant principal at Redlands High School 1, and to accept the resignation of a certificated employee together with a settlement and release agreement 2. President Rendler reported those actions out in open session, and both appointees addressed the board 2.