📋 January 13, 2026: Educators filled the room over a 0% offer, and the board's own mental health policy failed its first reading

Board President Michele Rendler called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m., with Patty Holohan, Melissa Ayala-Quintero, Candy Olson and Jeannette Wilson recorded present, and the board approved the agenda with flexibility 1. Student Trustee Bella Salazar led the pledge of allegiance 1 and gave the student trustee report, highlighting Mock Trial, Academic Decathlon and athletics at Redlands East Valley and Redlands high schools 2. Two things defined the night: outside the boardroom, hundreds of educators rallied over the district's proposal of a 0% salary increase 3; inside it, a new Board Policy on student mental health that the district had brought forward itself was voted down on first reading 4.

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💰 A 0% offer, and three association reports

Stephen Caperton, reporting for the Redlands Teachers Association and identified in later coverage as its president 5, told the board the district was proposing a 0% salary increase despite receiving a state cost-of-living adjustment, questioned the district's justifications on enrollment decline and staffing levels, and urged the board to reassess its priorities 2. On the recording he put it as a choice rather than a constraint: "This is not a funding problem. It is a priorities problem." 3. The minutes summarize his history as periods of limited salary increases since 2007 and cost-of-living increases outpacing salary growth 2; on the recording he put that at a 56% rise in Inland Empire cost of living since 2007 against 40% salary growth 3.

For the Redlands Education Support Professionals Association, Liz Huerta-Brewster addressed the board on behalf of classified staff, said employees across multiple roles feel undervalued and that staff did not cause the district's budget problems, and tied staffing instability and vacancies to student outcomes 6. She told the board 7: "A 0% wage increase is not just a number. It is a message." For the Redlands Administrative Personnel Association, Jennie Dyerly reported on scholarships and a March partnership with Angel's Closet 6.

Superintendent Juan J. Cabral acknowledged the budget pressure directly in his closing comments, saying the district needs to reduce approximately $15 million for the next fiscal year and that staff recommendations addressing those reductions would be presented at the January 27 board meeting 8. He also thanked the staff who came 8, telling the room he wanted to acknowledge the hundreds of staff members who took the time to be there 9.

That January 27 meeting is where the reductions landed: Community Forward Redlands reported two days afterwards that the board authorized reductions of up to 138 positions for 2026-27 against a $17 million projected deficit 10. In February, KVCR reported the teachers association disputing the district's account of the 2022-23 raises, arguing they were supported by ongoing Local Control Funding Formula increases rather than one-time money 5.

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🧠 Board Policy 5141.5 failed its first reading

The draft in the packet was a full mental health policy: staff training to recognize the early signs of an emerging mental health condition, a protocol for identifying and assessing students, and a requirement that employees act only within the scope of their credential or license 11. It included the Family Code 6924 rule that a student's parent or guardian shall consent to treatment "unless the mental health professional determines, after consulting with the student, that the involvement of the parent/guardian would be inappropriate" 12.

The motion to approve the first reading was made by Patty Holohan and seconded by Michele Rendler; the minutes record the ayes as Patty Holohan and Melissa Ayala-Quintero, the nays as Michele Rendler, Jeannette Wilson and Candy Olson, and mark the item denied 4. The minutes then record the outcome in a single sentence: "After discussion the decision was made to make edits/changes to this policy in collaboration with the Board and bring that edited version to the Board for approval at next Board meeting." 4.

The discussion itself is not in the minutes, and the transcript labels its speakers only by automated voice match, which cannot establish who spoke. So the concerns raised are recorded here without names. One board member asked that "inappropriate" be defined, so that a parent could be excluded only where involvement would be expected to cause imminent grave psychological or physical danger 13 - the clause at issue being the Family Code 6924 sentence above 12. The draft's evaluation section, which requires annual reporting on median time to first contact, percentage of follow-ups completed within ten school days and referral closure rates 14, was called cumbersome, with a suggestion to keep only feedback from staff, families and students who had been through the referral process 15. The same speaker objected to the final sentence directing that the superintendent "shall expand or enroll in Federal, State and or County level billable services programs to recoup expenses" 14, asking that "shall" become "may" 15. A separate line of objection was that the draft was not specific enough about referral protocol to satisfy Education Code 49428.2 and its January 31 deadline, and that the material might belong in two policies rather than one 16.

A proposal from the dais was to collect written edits rather than redraft the policy in the room, with the goal of returning it to the January 27 agenda 17.

In board comments later that evening Candy Olson returned to the item, clarifying that referrals to Child Protective Services should be rare and made only where there is a serious risk of harm to a student, and that the intent of the policy is to preserve parental involvement and protect families, with exceptions only where involving a parent could pose physical or psychological harm 18. On the recording: "I do not think that CPS referrals should be done easily or on a whim." 19.

The district's policy manual now carries Board Policy and Administrative Regulation 5141.5 with an original adopted date of April 28, 2026 20.

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🏗️ Facilities, a modernization sub-fund, and the payment run

Business Services consent items 12.a through 12.g were approved on a motion by Patty Holohan seconded by Jeannette Wilson 21. They included Bid No. 3-26 for network switches at $410,251.10 from Information Technology funds, with an estimated 80 percent reimbursement of eligible costs expected through the E-Rate program 21, and Bid 5-26 for painting at Citrus Valley High School at $180,750.00 from Measure D funds 22. Four roofing change-order items on Bid 21-25, covering five change orders, also went through, and one of them returns money: a $20,000.00 credit at Bryn Mawr Elementary for an unforeseen-conditions allowance the contractor never used, alongside $3,478.75 at the Service Center 22, $17,869.21 at Kimberly Elementary and $10,414.72 at Crafton Elementary 23. The block also carried payment transmittals 26001435 through 26001684 totaling $9,886,901.13 24.

The single Business Services action item established a new resource, Sub-Fund 35, within the County School Facilities Fund for site-specific modernization at Cope Junior High School and at Mentone, Crafton and Lugonia elementary schools; it was moved by Candy Olson, seconded by Melissa Ayala-Quintero and carried 24. The minutes note the action supports fiscal tracking and audit compliance and "does not authorize additional expenditures" 24.

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👥 Personnel: a new principal, three classified matters, and vacant positions

The closed-session actions were reported into the open meeting. The board approved the superintendent's recommendation to appoint Blake Hardeman as Principal of Mentone Elementary School effective January 14, 2026, at step 3 of the Management Team Salary Schedule, on a motion by Melissa Ayala-Quintero seconded by Patty Holohan 25. The board also accepted the resignation of classified employee 2025-26-09 effective January 1, 2026, with a resignation agreement 25.

Two classified matters split the board. On a motion to approve reconsideration of a dismissal hearing request by classified employee 2025-26-08 and to suspend pay pending the hearing, the minutes record ayes from Michele Rendler, Patty Holohan and Candy Olson and nays from Jeannette Wilson and Melissa Ayala-Quintero. On the termination agreement for classified employee 2025-26-10, effective January 14, 2026, the minutes record ayes from Patty Holohan, Jeannette Wilson, Melissa Ayala-Quintero and Candy Olson, with Michele Rendler recorded as the nay 26.

Human Resources consent items 16.a through 16.e were approved on a motion by Candy Olson seconded by Patty Holohan 4, and included retitling Maintenance Worker III, Range 29, as Senior Maintenance Worker, Range 35, and a revision to Appendix A-2 of the Maintenance Series in the collective bargaining agreement 27. The board then adopted Resolution No. 2025-2026-12 on layoffs of vacant classified positions, moved by Jeannette Wilson and seconded by Candy Olson 27. The resolution in the packet lists 22 vacant positions to be reduced or eliminated no later than the start of 2026-27 under Education Code sections 45117 and 45308, among them custodians, library paraprofessionals, licensed vocational nurses, family and community engagement liaisons and a range of instructional paraprofessionals 28, with the table continuing onto a second page that adds a safety officer at Redlands High and two typist clerks 29.

Three more actions carried: a fieldwork agreement with Point Loma Nazarene University for November 14, 2025 to November 14, 2028, and a revision to Board Policy 4221.16 raising the substitute and short-term hourly rate to $16.90 from $16.50 effective January 1, 2026 30; and a revised 2026-2027 attendance calendar adding an elementary minimum day on Friday, June 4, 2027, with a first reading of the 2027-2028 calendar 31.

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📚 Educational services

Educational Services consent items 14.a through 14.h were approved on a motion by Patty Holohan seconded by Melissa Ayala-Quintero 32. They covered travel for 16 members of the Citrus Valley High School Virtual Enterprise class to Bakersfield and 17 of its cheer team to Orlando, and an agreement with Epic Special Education Staffing for a licensed clinical social worker 32; RiSE Interpreting for 1:1 American Sign Language support a $25,000.00 memorandum of understanding with the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools under the Opioid Overdose Prevention Program, to procure and distribute emergency opioid antagonists, and the revised 2026 Work Experience Education plan 33; and an agreement with Solution Tree not to exceed $11,500.00 for professional development at Moore Middle School 34.

The other educational services action item, a revision of Board Policy 6179 on supplemental instruction, passed its first reading on a motion by Patty Holohan seconded by Melissa Ayala-Quintero; the minutes record it simply as carried, without listing individual votes 34. The district's policy manual now shows BP 6179 with a last revised date of January 27, 2026 35.

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🗣️ Public comment

Four speakers addressed agendized items. Dale Broome supported fair compensation for district employees within budget constraints and argued that a portion of per-pupil funding never reaches districts, urging scrutiny of state-level agencies 6. Jessica Callender urged the board to ensure that mental health professionals working with students are appropriately qualified and trained, citing a personal experience in which a student's needs were misinterpreted and a significant intervention followed 6. Quinn Shea shared concerns about mental health services, citing a personal experience involving a misinterpretation by a school counselor and the need for qualified, inclusive support for all students, and opposed the 0% salary increase 36. A speaker the minutes record only as Bea supported the district's Mental Health First initiative and the consideration of evidence-based mental health services 36.

Eleven speakers took the later community input period. Dale Broome returned to describe the suspension of the statewide PRISM training program and federal court rulings on AB 1955, and urged the board to adopt a parental notification policy 37. Tim Mahan - who told the board "My name is Tim Mahan. I'm running for the governorship of California for 2026" 38 - shared state, county and district per-pupil figures and asked whether the district is underfunded 37. Peter Hall objected to statements at a previous meeting linking sexual abuse to race, saying victimization should not be framed as race specific 37. Joshua Hall asked the board to remove the book It's Perfectly Normal from the district catalog, describing its images as inappropriate for middle school students 37. Quinn Shea returned to oppose restricting or removing instructional materials historically approved for high school use, and to press again on compensation 37. Douglas Hauser spoke in support of a parental notification policy and asked that the proposal be brought forward for public review and a vote 37.

Jessica Callender returned to warn that involving Child Protective Services during a mental health crisis could further destabilize students and families 39. Bea criticized decisions affecting instructional programs, library materials, staff expression and support for transgender students, and urged the board to approve salary increases in support of retention 39. John Berry raised concerns about board members' involvement with a local advocacy organization, said the organization had formed a political action committee and that a complaint had been filed with the Fair Political Practices Commission regarding election-related compliance 39. A speaker the minutes record only as Dustin raised school safety, saying students are exposed to substances and vaping on campus and questioning the adequacy of safety staffing, facilities and training 39. Michael Paisner argued that public comment rules had not been enforced consistently during prior comments, disputed the accuracy of statements made about an advocacy organization, and asked for consistent enforcement of meeting rules 18.

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🏛️ Reports

Michele Rendler gave the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission report and Jeannette Wilson reported on Compact steering committee activity 36. Superintendent Juan J. Cabral reported that the Dual Language Immersion program, a board goal, will launch in fall 2026 - a year earlier than planned - serving TK and kindergarten students at McKinley Elementary School, with parent information meetings on January 28 36.

In board comments, Melissa Ayala-Quintero congratulated the superintendent on being selected a "Superintendent to Watch" and Patty Holohan thanked the representatives who spoke 18. Jeannette Wilson commended district leadership, especially Dr. Rudy Wilson, for the successful Office of the Attorney General visit and emphasized consistency in enforcing board meeting procedures; Candy Olson commended a middle school principal and staff for reported increases of approximately 7% in both ELA and math scores, expressed appreciation for employees amid ongoing negotiations, and described a new district webpage consolidating financial information 18. Michele Rendler reported on Inspire Choir performances at REV and Redlands High and on site visits to Lugonia and Arroyo Verde 18, and the superintendent closed with a Golden Bell recognition celebration set for February 2 at the SELPA Dorothy Inghram Center 8. The minutes record no adjournment time; on the recording the meeting is adjourned at 7:52 40.

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❓ What the record does not show

The minutes compress the entire Board Policy 5141.5 debate into one sentence and attribute no position in it to any individual 4. The transcript identifies its speakers by automated voice match - software judging that audio resembles a person - so it cannot establish who said what. The concerns above are therefore reported without names, except where the minutes independently record the same position under a member's own board comment 18.

Two speakers are recorded in the minutes by first name only, as Bea 36 and as Dustin 39; surnames spoken on the recording are not in the minutes and are not used here. The minutes also leave unnamed both the advocacy organization behind the John Berry and Michael Paisner exchanges and the board members John Berry addressed 39, and this page follows them.