RUSD Board of Education — April 28, 2026

Meeting type: Regular Meeting · Open Session: 6:06 p.m. · Adjourned: 7:25 p.m.
Location: Board Room, 25 West Lugonia Avenue, Redlands, CA

President Michele Rendler opened the afternoon session at 3:32 p.m. 1 and called the evening session to order at 6:06 p.m., with Michele Rendler, Patty Holohan, Melissa Ayala-Quintero, Candy Olson and Jeannette Wilson present 2. The board adjourned at 7:25 p.m. 3, and one speaker commended it from the podium for a concise meeting 4. The agenda was published for the board room at 25 West Lugonia Avenue 5.

Two policy packages that had been in motion since the winter reached final adoption, and the sharpest exchange of the night was not about either of them but about who decides what gets onto an agenda.

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📱 The student device policy finished its long route

The board approved New Board Policy 5131.8, Mobile Communication Devices, on second and final reading, on a motion by Jeannette Wilson seconded by Patty Holohan 6.

The adopted policy is tiered by grade. Students in grades TK through 8 may use devices only before school begins and after the school day ends, with devices on silent and not visible during the school day, passing periods, recesses and lunch included. Students in grades 9 through 12 may use devices during noninstructional time 7. A smartwatch may be worn if the phone it pairs with is in airplane or school mode, and four exceptions hold regardless of grade: an emergency or perceived threat of danger, teacher or administrator permission, a physician's written determination of medical necessity, and an IEP or Section 504 requirement 7. A device used in an unauthorized way may be temporarily confiscated and stored securely, the district disclaims responsibility for a device lost, stolen or damaged on campus, and the board committed to reviewing the policy at least every five years with stakeholder participation 7. The copy in the April 28 board packet was still headed "Status: DRAFT" and "Original Adopted Date: Pending" 8; the district's live policy manual now records an original adopted date of April 28, 2026 7, the date the minutes record the board approving it on second and final reading 6.

Getting here took most of the school year. The same policy came back for a first reading with suggested edits only two weeks earlier, on April 14 9, and board discussion in January had been stuck on the threshold question of what counts as a mobile communication device at all: whether the draft's possession language should come out 10 and whether a tablet belonged in the same category as a phone at all 11. Community Forward Redlands News reported in February that the board "approved a new districtwide policy regulating student use of cellphones and other personal electronic devices during its Feb. 10 meeting" 12. The district's adopted minutes for that meeting record the motion to approve New Board Policy 5131.8 on second reading as denied 13, which is why the policy came back for a new first reading on April 14 9 and for second and final reading here 6.

One practical gap surfaced in the public comment period before the vote. Michael Paisner asked how the restriction would accommodate necessary functions such as the Minga pass system used at the high school 14. The answer given in board discussion was that a Minga pass is issued by a teacher and received by the student: so a student is not on the phone to request one 15; asked how a student does ask, the answer on the record was by raising a hand 16. Eriko Grossman pressed a different objection, that the language leaves enforcement to the discretion of individual staff members, which produces different rules in different classrooms 14, an equity gap for students who do not have a device for school functions such as digital passes, and she urged board members to limit their own phone use during meetings to maintain a professional appearance 17.

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🧠 Mental health policy and regulation adopted together

Two companion documents finished the same night. New Administrative Regulation 5141.5, Mental Health, was moved by Patty Holohan and seconded by Michele Rendler 6, and New Board Policy 5141.5, Mental Health, was moved by Candy Olson and seconded by Jeannette Wilson 18.

The argument all spring was about when a school may act without a parent. Both documents leave Family Code 6924 intact, so a student 12 or older may consent to mental health treatment if the attending professional judges the student mature enough to participate intelligently, and both require parent or guardian consent unless the professional determines, after consulting the student, that parental involvement would be inappropriate 19.

The two documents then define "inappropriate" slightly differently, and the difference is worth noticing. The regulation defines it as an assessment that notification may cause "significant psychological, emotional, and/or physical danger to the student" 19. The policy drops the word emotional: "significant psychological and/or physical danger to the student" 20. The regulation also carries a collaborative-approach clause requiring the professional to make all reasonable attempts to involve the parent unless doing so would be inappropriate or detrimental to the student's well-being, including where there is reasonable suspicion that the parent is the source of physical or sexual abuse, neglect or severe emotional trauma 21.

The route here was contested. Community Forward Redlands News reported that at the April 14 meeting, after what it described as "a procedural back-and-forth," "the board approved several amendments, including cleaning up redundancies, modifying a paragraph for clarity and removing an example related to parental notification concerns," following an earlier round in which the proposal had been pulled for revision 22. The substance was being argued in public a month before that, when a speaker at the March 10 meeting praised the draft for affirming that parents should be notified and give approval while leaving the professional discretion to decide when that would be inappropriate 23.

At this meeting, Michael Paisner objected to how the revision had been handled rather than to its content, describing a breach of protocol in which a colleague proposed unexpected edits after a subcommittee agreement had been reached, and pressing the need for proper etiquette and teamwork among board members 14.

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🧏 A Deaf and Hard of Hearing Specialist position

The board established the position and approved the job description for a Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) Specialist at a 1.15 job ratio, effective April 29, 2026, on a motion by Michele Rendler seconded by Patty Holohan 24. Discussion established that the post is expected to be full time depending on enrollment, and that the district has taken the DHH program back from the county to run in house 25.

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🎤 Public comment

Thirteen turns at the podium across two comment periods, from eleven people. The minutes record each one.

• Michael Paisner discussed cognitive dissonance, highlighting the contradiction of advocating against bullying while allegedly engaging in it. He told the board that a recent Public Employment Relations Board ruling had found forced outing and related flag policies illegal and applicable statewide, and provided hard copies to the board. He urged leadership to act and to censure members who repeatedly violate rules rather than allow disruptive behavior to continue, closing on the need for strong leadership to address the district's financial and board challenges 24.
• Eriko Grossman expressed appreciation for the enforcement of meeting guidelines, said board members should remain attentive since they are funded by taxpayers, and asked what the district's flag policy has cost in legal fees. She said recent court decisions had ruled against forced outing policies and urged the board to recognize the financial and emotional harm of such policies. She was glad the forced outing policy had not been recently agendized 24, but criticized the flag policy for creating an unwelcoming environment for LGBTQ+ students and staff, comparing it to historical discrimination 4.
• Peter Hall expressed strong disagreement with two books previously recommended at a board meeting, arguing that the authors express shame regarding their race, and said stories addressing transgender identities are harmful and such concepts should not be encouraged 4.
• Dale Broome discussed the presence of the Bible in school libraries and expressed gratitude for the efforts to keep copies available, describing the text's historical role in public education and its value for moral character development 4. Community Forward Redlands News reported that the board had kept the Bible in Redlands Unified libraries after a heated hearing at its April 14 meeting 26.
• Lia argued that removing religious texts from school libraries limits access to knowledge and repeats harmful patterns of censorship 4.
• Olivia Mortensen suggested implementing a parent notification policy to ensure student safety 4.
• Larry Gonzalez requested transparency regarding previous requests to discuss parent notification, no-deception and bullying policies 4.
• Margaret Paul said controversial rhetoric is negatively affecting student enrollment and the district's reputation 4.
• Mark Laird commended the board for a concise meeting, encouraged a focus on student success, and invited members to collaborate 4.
• Therisa Farias urged the board to retain the current YMCA staff, pointing to the strong bonds and high-quality care provided to students 4.
• Larissa Munoz, representing the YMCA after-school program, said replacing the vendor would negatively affect families and reduce consistency 4.

The after-school worry was well timed. The district's expanded learning offering goes back years, as an Expanded Learning Opportunity and Exploration Experience program built around STEAM activities and 30 additional days per school year, aimed at foster, homeless and low-income students but open to others where space allows 27. RUSD's July 21, 2026 minutes carry an agreement with the YMCA of the East Valley for a one-year partnership to implement a unified after-school program at multiple RUSD sites, effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, not to exceed $905,590 and funded by After School Education & Safety and Expanded Learning Opportunity Program funds 28.

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🏛️ Board comments: who decides what gets agendized

Two threads ran through board comments, and the minutes keep both deliberately spare.

Jeannette Wilson shared updates on school site visits, raised concerns about an outside educational membership program, and discussed the need for improved communication regarding agenda requests 4. Candy Olson discussed concerns regarding the transparency and funding of the same educational program, and expressed frustration about a lack of response regarding submitted agenda requests 4. Michele Rendler responded to the agenda request concerns and shared updates on school site visits, teacher awards and the multicultural fair 4.

The minutes do not name the membership program. On the recording it is identified as IPC, described as a body the district belongs to within San Bernardino County that a watchdog article had faulted for not treating itself as subject to the Brown Act and for holding meetings that are not public 29. The account given on the record added that the membership charge, described as at least $5,000 every year since 2012, has been debited through the San Bernardino County Office of Education rather than routed through the district's own business department, and that other school boards have left the membership over the same concerns while asking to keep its discounted rates for legal fees. The same account allowed that the membership saves the district a significant amount of money 30. Those figures are what was said in the room. The adopted minutes do not carry them, and no item on the program was before the board for action.

The agenda-request dispute has a written rule behind it, and it sits in the board's own governance handbook. Any board member may request that a matter within the board's jurisdiction be placed on the agenda of a regular meeting, in writing to the Board President and Superintendent at least 8 calendar days before the meeting, and "The Board President and Superintendent shall determine whether the request is merely for information or whether the issue is covered by an existing Board Policy or Administrative Regulation before placing the item on the agenda" 31. The handbook puts that determination in the hands of the president and superintendent. What it does not spell out is any duty to reply to the member who made the request, which is the gap the comments describe.

Patty Holohan shared updates on community donations, networking events and the youth bicycle classic 4, and in her committee report welcomed Dr. Jason Angle and announced that the Evening of Excellence would be held Wednesday, May 13 at San Bernardino Valley College to showcase student work 17. Melissa Ayala-Quintero shared the success of the high school choir program at a recent festival and invited the public to an upcoming concert 4. In her committee report, Jeannette Wilson reported that Compact Club awards had taken place the previous week, with twenty students receiving year-long goal-based certifications, one student receiving a monetary award for a community project, and seven students sharing eleven thousand five hundred dollars in scholarships provided by the club 17. Superintendent Juan J. Cabral thanked Dr. Angle and the attendees 4.

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💵 Resolutions, contracts and routine business

• Resolution No. 26, 2025-2026, authorizing temporary borrowing between district funds for the 2026-27 fiscal year under Education Code 42603 32, was moved by Melissa Ayala-Quintero and seconded by Candy Olson 33.
• Resolution No. 27, 2025-2026, Day of the Teacher, May 13, 2026, on the theme "California Educators: At the Heart of Communities, Powering Our Future," was moved by Patty Holohan and seconded by Michele Rendler 18.
• Resolution No. 28, 2025-2026, Education Support Professionals Day, May 19, 2026, was moved by Melissa Ayala-Quintero and seconded by Patty Holohan 18.
• Business Services consent, items 11.a through 11.i, moved by Melissa Ayala-Quintero and seconded by Patty Holohan 17. The package held a sixth one-year lease option with Mountain View Child Care, Inc., doing business as Totally Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, at $5,542.57 monthly from Special Education funds, and a $7,304 pavement investigation at Moore Middle School by John R. Byerly, Inc. 17; $17,860 in Division of the State Architect inspection services for the Beattie Middle School safety project, Amendment No. 1 with PCH Architects for Kingsbury Elementary HVAC, electrical, roof and secure-entry work at $78,528, which splits the job into two projects with separate state applications so the HVAC portion can move faster, and Amendment No. 2 with PCH Architects on the Redlands East Valley High School stadium project at $277,667 from developer fees 34; and $11,600 in land surveying for stadium Phase 3, accepted donations, three rejected claims plus one denied late-claim application, and payment transmittals 26002505 through 26002654 totalling $4,342,676.60 32 35.
• Educational Services consent, items 13.a through 13.g, moved by Melissa Ayala-Quintero and seconded by Jeannette Wilson 33. The package held CIF state travel for the Redlands High swim and track teams and the Redlands East Valley track teams, and a Citrus Valley marching band camp at the University of Redlands 33; a $9,000 CORE literacy agreement for Mission Elementary from Title I funds, out-of-state professional travel, and item 13.f, adding Educator Effectiveness Block Grant, Learning Recovery Emergency Block Grant, Local Control and Accountability and Title I funds to the Solution Tree, Inc. agreement the board approved on April 14 6 36.
• Human Resources consent, items 15.a through 15.c, moved by Patty Holohan and seconded by Melissa Ayala-Quintero 24.
• The board approved the minutes of the March 10 and April 14, 2026 meetings, with a correction to Mrs. Olson's pronouns in the Board Member Comments section of the April 14 minutes, on a motion by Patty Holohan seconded by Jeannette Wilson 14.

Each policy item was agendized under Bylaw 9310 36, the board's own bylaw requiring it to adopt written policies conveying its expectations and leaving administrative regulations to the superintendent 37.

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🚲 Student highlight: the Redlands Bicycle Classic

Representatives of the Redlands Bicycle Classic presented results from the thirty-ninth annual event, describing the race as a foundational community gathering that brings professional and amateur cycling together, and reporting that thirty-seven professional cycling teams visited local schools to promote safety, fitness and health, engaging over eight thousand students across the district 2. Presenters put the reach at all 17 RUSD elementary schools, all four middle schools and Citrus Valley High School, more than 8,600 RUSD students and over 12,000 counting neighbouring districts, with a record 18 women's teams taking part 38.

The school duel on April 11 drew six hundred fifty-nine youth cyclists aged one through seventeen. New categories for toddlers and for students with special needs were credited with increasing inclusivity, trophies went to the elementary and secondary schools with the highest student participation, and gratitude was expressed to the district volunteers who kept riders safe 2. On the recording the special-needs category is named the RAD Riders, the trophies go to Judson and Brown Elementary and Moore Middle School, and the volunteer count is put at nearly 60 39. Students from the Redlands Bicycle Classic led the Pledge of Allegiance 2.

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🔒 Closed session

Before the evening session the board took two classified personnel actions, both reported out in open session: approval of the Superintendent's recommendation to suspend without pay effective May 21, 2026 and to dismiss pending the outcome of a hearing for Classified Employee 2025-26-19, and approval of the recommendation to terminate the employment of Classified Employee 2025-26-20 effective April 29, 2026. Both were taken pursuant to Education Code sections 45113 and 45116, with the Superintendent or designee directed to send the appropriate legal notices 1 14. The first motion was moved by Patty Holohan and seconded by Melissa Ayala-Quintero 1; the second by Patty Holohan and seconded by Jeannette Wilson 2. No student trustee report was given 14.

The minutes are signed by Melissa Ayala-Quintero, Clerk 3.

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This summary is produced by a community accountability archive and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Redlands Unified School District. It summarises the district's own records: the adopted minutes 1, the published agenda 5, the agenda packet 8 and the meeting video.