Final summary ← All meetings

Board of Education — December 9, 2025

Redlands Unified removed Push from its high school libraries and restricted The Bluest Eye to 18-year-olds with parental permission, going past its own review panel's scorecards, none of which reached the rubric's removal band.

This is an AI-generated summary of the meeting · September 10, 2026. Linked sources to original documents are provided to assist with verification of summary content. Agenda Transcript Minutes

RUSD Board of Education, December 9, 2025

Meeting type: Regular meeting, incorporating the board's annual organizational meeting | Location: Board Room, 25 West Lugonia Avenue, Redlands | Open/closed session: 3:30 p.m. | Open session: 6:00 p.m. | Adjourned: 11:00 p.m.

The board convened in open session at 3:30 p.m. with all five members present, took no community input, and adjourned to closed session at 3:31 p.m. 1. It returned to open session at 5:48 p.m., and President Michele Rendler called the regular meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. with all five members present 2. The meeting adjourned at 11:00 p.m. 3.

Student highlight: Clement Middle School Jazz Band

The board recognized the Clement Middle School Jazz Band. Principal Natalie Johnson highlighted the group's close-knit culture, dedication and award-winning record. Students Evelyn Correa and Benjamin Riley, who had led the Pledge of Allegiance, described how the program supported their musical growth, teamwork, confidence and personal development, and both credited director Ms. Zambrano for the band's success, including a first-place finish at the Riverside Jazz Festival 2 4. Staff announced the band's Winter Concert for the following Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. at the RHS Clock Auditorium 4.

Annual organization of the board

December is when RUSD's board reorganizes: board bylaw BB 9100.1 requires an organizational meeting at which the board elects a president, vice president and clerk, reaffirms the superintendent as secretary, sets the year's meeting schedule and designates its representatives 5. The agenda listed each seat as filling an expired term 6.

The three officer elections all split the same way, and the split matters because the same five members later divided over the book challenges.

President: Michele Rendler. Moved by Patty Holohan, seconded by Michele Rendler. The minutes record Michele Rendler, Patty Holohan and Melissa Ayala-Quintero voting aye and Jeannette Wilson and Candy Olson voting nay 4.
Vice President: Patty Holohan. Moved by Melissa Ayala-Quintero 4, seconded by Michele Rendler, with the same aye and nay lists 7.
Clerk: Melissa Ayala-Quintero, filling the expired term of Jeannette Wilson. Moved by Patty Holohan, seconded by Michele Rendler, again with Michele Rendler, Patty Holohan and Melissa Ayala-Quintero aye and Jeannette Wilson and Candy Olson nay 7 6. Melissa Ayala-Quintero signed the minutes of this meeting as clerk 3.
Secretary. Superintendent Juan J. Cabral was reaffirmed as Secretary of the Board 7.
CRY-ROP. Michele Rendler was elected voting alternate to the Colton, Redlands, Yucaipa-Calimesa Regional Occupational Program governing board 7.
County Committee on School District Organization. Jeannette Wilson was elected representative and Candy Olson alternate 8.
Committee and commission seats. Redlands COMPACT to Jeannette Wilson; Redlands Educational Partnership Foundation to Michele Rendler, with Jeannette Wilson as alternate; City of Redlands Cultural Arts Committee to Melissa Ayala-Quintero; City of Redlands Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee to Candy Olson. The CSBA Region XVI Delegate Assembly seat was left to be determined at the January 13, 2026 meeting 9.
Meeting dates. The board designated the second and/or fourth Tuesday of each month at 6:00 p.m. in the Board Room at 25 West Lugonia as its regular meeting dates and location 9.

The board also approved the minutes of the November 4, 2025 meeting, with Jeannette Wilson asking that her absence be recorded as illness, and adopted the Board of Education Governance Handbook 10. The handbook the board adopted that evening commits each member, among other things, to treat colleagues, staff, students and the public "with courtesy and respect, even when (and especially when) we disagree" and to "model the civility and professionalism I expect from all RUSD staff and students in person and online" 11. One speaker returned to that document twice later in the evening.

The two book challenges

This was the item the meeting turned on, and it consumed the evening.

What was in front of the board

Both titles reached the board as appeals under the district's complaints procedure for instructional materials. Administrative Regulation 1312.2 sets out the procedure for handling challenged or questioned materials and opens by affirming a parent's right "to monitor and challenge non-curricular reading materials in the school library" 12. The public hearing notice, posted December 5 at the district office, the board room, the A.K. Smiley Library and the Redlands Chamber of Commerce, described two formally submitted complaints about Push by Sapphire and The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison 13.

The agenda set out what a hearing would decide: the board would consider the appeal and determine whether the material is appropriate at the elementary, middle and/or high school levels, then vote to designate grade-level access. If the material were deemed unsuitable for any level it "will be permanently removed from the corresponding schools and District facilities within five (5) business days of the Board's decision" 14.

What the district's own review produced

The completed reviewer scorecards were published in the agenda packet 15. Each uses a five-part rubric (presence of explicit sexual content, depictions of sexual violence, contextual purpose, age and developmental suitability, and potential negative impact on students) scored 0 to 5 per criterion, with an action table that sends a total of 1 to 10 to "Retain book/materials", a total of 11 to 19 to "Move book/materials to a higher level or restrict access if at HS level", and a total of 20 to 25 to "Remove book/materials".

The three scorecards for The Bluest Eye total 9, 14 and 14 16 17 18. The three for Push total 14, 16 and 19 19 20 21. Not one of the six reached the removal band. Community Forward Redlands reported the same reading of the packet: "All three reviewers recommended keeping the book Push with restricted access. None of the reviewers recommended full removal for either title." 22

These six pages are worth flagging for anyone working from the digital record: they are scanned images inside a 456-page packet, so they carry no machine-readable text and do not appear in any text extraction or search of this archive. They were read here from the rendered pages.

The hearings

The hearing on The Bluest Eye opened at 6:36 p.m. and closed at 7:13 p.m. 23 24. Thirty-five people had signed up, and with thirty minutes allotted the podium clock was set at 50 seconds each 25. The hearing on Push opened at 7:14 p.m. and closed at 7:46 p.m. 26. A third, one-minute hearing on the annual school facility fees report opened at 7:47 p.m. and closed at 7:48 p.m. 27.

The minutes summarize each speaker. Among those urging the board to keep the books:

Trisha Keeling highlighted Toni Morrison's importance in American literature and the continued relevance of The Bluest Eye for students, and said the removal of works by Black authors reflects a broader pattern and violates California law, citing AB 1078's prohibition on discriminatory removal of instructional materials 24.
Mark Laird said The Bluest Eye has been reviewed and approved by the district panel, is College Board-recommended and is appropriate for grades 10 and up 28.
Valerie Taber said the book had been through multiple professional reviews, at site and district level, all of which recommended it remain, and that removing it would show disrespect for the committees' work 29.

Among those urging removal or tighter limits:

Jonathan Marcus said explicit depictions of assault are inappropriate for minors and urged the board to consider age-appropriateness 30.
Peter Hall said concerns about removal were overstated because the books remain available elsewhere, and proposed restricting access by age with a minimum of 16 30.
Lawrence Hebron said the books contain explicit depictions of pedophilia, incest, sexual assault and sex trafficking, and urged removal 30.

Community input on the agendized items

A second, longer comment period followed on the agendized items themselves.

Katherine Appleby raised board accountability and adherence to the Governance Handbook the board had adopted earlier that evening, saying personal judgment should not override professional staff recommendations; she also asked whether staff would retain access to information uploaded to the district's facility-inspection software if that contract were not renewed 27.
Jeff Poggi opposed removing books from school libraries, calling the issue book banning 27; he read excerpts from both novels to argue for reading them in context rather than by isolated passage, and noted that access already requires a library checkout and parental permission 31.
Greg Brittain cited board policy language on reliance on staff expertise and argued the opposite conclusion: that representative democracy requires elected officials to weigh public input and professional advice and then decide for themselves, and that surrendering that judgment undermines the board's role 31.
Michael Paisner said information about who challenged the books should have been disclosed before the hearing, referenced AB 1078, and noted that enforcement of that law rests with the State Superintendent and the Attorney General 32.
Valerie Zavis affirmed the value of literature, diverse perspectives and exposure to challenging ideas while objecting to student access to these two titles on grounds of developmental readiness and emotional safety 32, and asked the board to consider alternative materials that address similar themes without graphic content 33.
Dale R. Broome, MD argued that removing sexually explicit books does not violate AB 1078 because the action rests on content rather than on discrimination against protected groups, cited research on adolescent exposure to explicit material, and pointed to the rubric scores for explicit content and sexual violence 34.
Valerie Taber returned to press on transparency, asking for timely fulfilment of public records requests and for disclosure of committee membership and of the identity and affiliation of the people who filed the complaints 35.
Chris Clautice said removing the books would be discriminatory toward Black students and would diminish representation and visibility 35.
Bea Hamilton spoke to the school resource officer item rather than the books, citing violent and discriminatory rhetoric attributed to a meeting attendee and urging collaboration with law enforcement on safety at public meetings and school sites 36.

The board's action

The adopted minutes record the motions and the votes on both titles and no discussion at all. The transcript shows a long deliberation, but this archive does not name transcript speakers: the December 2025 recording is machine-labelled, and every name on it carries a question mark, meaning software matched a voice rather than a clerk recording who spoke.

Reading a prepared statement during that deliberation, one board member described the two novels as "powerful social commentaries, not blueprints for harmful behavior" and proposed keeping both in high school libraries behind a parental notification step at checkout, with the library initiating an email or phone call and the student allowed to borrow the book only on affirmative parental consent 37. The minutes do not record who said it, so this page does not either.

Push by Sapphire, removed. Moved by Candy Olson, seconded by Jeannette Wilson 38. Discussion was closed and the vote called at 3:07:08 into the recording 39. The minutes record Jeannette Wilson, Michele Rendler and Candy Olson voting aye and Patty Holohan and Melissa Ayala-Quintero voting nay, and the motion as carried 38.

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, restricted. The board took the book up next and a first motion did not carry 40. A new motion was then put on the floor, framed on the recording as one "to support the committees, the review committee, that this book be in a separate section of the library" with written approval required for a high school student 18 or older to check it out 41. That is the motion the minutes record: moved by Michele Rendler, seconded by Melissa Ayala-Quintero, to restrict the book so that only 18-year-old students with parental permission can check it out, carried 38 42. The minutes do not record the earlier motion.

First Interim Financial Report

Deputy Superintendent Jason Hill presented the First Interim Financial Report, which by law updates the adopted budget to reflect changes since it was adopted 43 44.

The presentation reported enrollment on CBEDS day at 18,999 students, against 19,181 a year earlier, a decline of about 182, and a budget built on a projection of 19,081; average daily attendance was projected at 17,841. Total projected funding for the year was about $257 million, with roughly $2.4 million in base and add-on increases driven by the transitional-kindergarten add-on and offsetting decreases in supplemental and concentration funding. The projected operating deficit had improved from about $20 million to about $17 million. The ending fund balance stood at roughly $73 million, of which about $18.6 million is unrestricted, a figure that includes the $11.8 million three-percent reserve for economic uncertainty, and about $55 million is restricted 45.

The multi-year projection is where the news was. General fund expenditures of about $371 million this year are projected at about $354 million next year, a planned reduction of about $17 million between the two, without which the district could not certify the budget as positive 45 43. The presentation attributed much of the gap to programs expanded with one-time federal pandemic money that have not been scaled back. The packet's own narrative adds that projected revenues had risen by $1,735,837 since budget adoption on higher TK funding, and that salaries and benefits account for about 83.10% of total expenses 46.

The Education Code requires the board to certify the district's financial condition twice a year, and this report had to be approved on or before December 15, 2025. The board approved and certified it as Resolution No. 11, 2025-2026, on a motion by Patty Holohan seconded by Michele Rendler 47. It separately adopted Resolution No. 10, 2025-2026, approving the annual and five-year school facility fees report for 2024-2025 48.

Board member compensation under AB 1390

Assembly Bill 1390, passed October 11, 2025, raised the compensation a governing board may authorize itself, on a scale keyed to average daily attendance. Redlands Unified sits in the tier above 10,000 and at or below 25,000 students, which permits up to $2,000 per month 49 50 44. The district's own bylaw already provides that "Each member of the Governing Board may receive the maximum monthly compensation as provided for by the law", and that members are not required to accept payment for meetings attended 51.

The board approved an increase of $1,489.46 per member, bringing monthly compensation to $2,000.00 effective January 1, 2026, on a motion by Melissa Ayala-Quintero seconded by Patty Holohan 49.

Superintendent's report

Superintendent Juan J. Cabral reported that a Spanish Dual Language Immersion program will launch at McKinley Elementary School in Fall 2026, with a new principal appointed and three classrooms planned on a 50/50 language model open to districtwide enrollment; outreach and applications begin in January, with possible expansion in Fall 2027. He also reported that three student board members will return in January and take part in meetings on a rotating basis 36.

On public records, he described the request process: staffing constraints, required redactions, legal review, and the use of extensions to ensure compliance and protect the integrity of active processes 43. Several speakers had raised delayed disclosures about the book challenges 31 35.

Consent calendar and other action

The business services consent calendar, items 13.a. through 13.r., was approved on a motion by Patty Holohan seconded by Melissa Ayala-Quintero 43. It included:

School resource officers. Amendment No. 9 to the agreement with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, a $25,616.00 increase reflecting the county's updated deputy salary and benefit structure, applying from October 4, 2025 through June 30, 2026 52.
Williams settlement. The San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools' 2024-2025 annual report was accepted; the district met all Williams settlement requirements for the monitoring year 53.
Claim settlements. Three, funded from risk management: a district contribution of $1,000,000 on Claim No. 601718, $43,000.00 on Claim No. 631746, and $60,000.00 on Claim No. 642609 54.
Payments. Transmittal numbers 26001171 through 26001434 for December 09, 2025, totalling $12,125,016.17 54.

Also acted on:

Two stipulated expulsions, for students 2025-2026-010 and 2025-2026-011, the first for causing serious physical injury and the second for a controlled-substance violation 55 38.
A second-reading revision of Board Policy BP 3440, Inventories, and the educational services consent calendar, items 15.a. through 15.f. 47.
An MOU with the Redlands Teachers Association creating a one-time Early Notification of Separation Incentive Program, effective December 10, 2025 through April 2, 2026 56.
An amendment to the Classified Employee Grant program MOU with the county superintendent, extending its expiration date through and including June 30, 2028 57 58, and a new Accounting & Payroll Manager position effective December 10, 2025 58.

Public participation after the votes

A general public comment period followed the votes and ran to the end of the evening 49.

Dustin Bowe raised campus safety and substance use, citing vaping and marijuana use as contributing to skipped classes and unsafe conditions, described personal experiences involving threats of violence and firearm-related incidents, and asked for more security funding, more personnel, better training and greater transparency in safety protocols 49.
Eriko Grossman questioned the credibility of a pediatric organization cited during the discussion and argued that the focus on book challenges detracts from vaping, substance use, vandalism, fighting, limited restroom access and student mental health 59.
Katherine Appleby welcomed the district's new board platform for making agenda materials more accessible, raised conduct at a CSBA Annual Education Conference panel discussion and asked whether planned budget reductions include funding to replace library materials 59.
Dale Broome raised a sexual-education book he said had been placed in a middle school library, describing illustrated nudity and depictions of sexual activity, and asked the district to investigate how it was acquired and to review library selection procedures 59. He identified the title at the podium as It's Perfectly Normal 60.
Michael Paisner compared professional expertise in engineering to the qualifications of school librarians and said the board had substituted its judgment for that of credentialed library professionals, its role being to ensure effective processes rather than to make collection decisions 61.
Ellen Gruenbaum praised elementary vocal music, highlighting a recent multi-school choir performance by fourth- and fifth-grade students 61.
Aaron Fernando questioned the claim that the books suit college students but not high school students, noting that Advanced Placement courses deliver college-level instruction with parental consent, and argued that the titles do not meet the legal standard for pornography 61.
Valerie Taber opposed the board's decision as disregarding expert and committee recommendations, raised potential legal consequences, and said inconsistent enforcement of decorum contributes to audience disruption 62.
Greg Brittain cited national and local data comparing rising education spending and staffing with flat or falling proficiency in math and reading, and called for significant reform in instructional practice 62.
Bea Hamilton returned with a list of actions a community group had developed on student safety: more paraprofessionals at higher pay, de-escalation training, more hours so staff qualify for health insurance, additional social workers and counselors, restored ELOP-funded counseling positions, more special education support, a local funding measure, and state advocacy for enrollment-based rather than attendance-based funding 62 63.
Scott Reading reflected on prior discussions about changes to the book review process 62 and thanked the board, saying the actions taken reflect the perspectives of parents seeking greater protections for children 64.

Board and superintendent comments

Jeannette Wilson described a visit to Studio 24 and its role in building job skills, noting the program's Golden Bell Award at the CSBA conference, and said she would bring more from the conference to a future meeting 64.
Candy Olson stated support for actions intended to protect children, clarified that she had not attended a referenced conference session, and welcomed the Spanish dual language immersion program 64.
Melissa Ayala-Quintero said no board members took part in the reported heckling, attributing the disruptions to attendees from other districts, and expressed disappointment at conduct she observed at several sessions. She also raised concern about the board's decision, saying it limits informed parental choice and student access to educational resources and reflects control rather than parental consent 64. She asked the board to explore having legal counsel present at meetings, and to reopen discussion of expanded student mental health supports 65.
Patty Holohan reported on a Superintendent's Awards event and a pre-Thanksgiving site visit, and thanked the teachers' association for including her in a community event 64.
Michele Rendler reflected on a year she called both rewarding and challenging, addressed the evening's actions by affirming a commitment to student safety and to inclusive and welcoming schools, and expressed optimism for 2026 64 65.
Juan J. Cabral answered that legal counsel at board meetings would be an added cost, said the earlier mental health discussion had not proceeded because of funding constraints but could be revisited, and reported that attorneys from the Office of the Attorney General had recently visited, meeting principals and touring sites, and had confirmed that protocols are being followed 65.

This summary is produced by a community accountability archive and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Redlands Unified School District. Who moved, seconded and voted on each item is taken only from the adopted minutes, which are the sole authority for that. This meeting's transcript is machine-labelled by voice matching, so it is used here for what was said and never for who said it.

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