RUSD Board of Education — May 12, 2026

Meeting Summary

Present: Michele Rendler, Patty Holohan, Melissa Ayala-Quintero, Candy Olson, Jeannette Wilson 1
Where: Board Room, 25 West Lugonia Avenue, Redlands — closed session 3:30 p.m., open session 6:00 p.m. 2

Three items carried the night: an after-school contract worth up to $11.25 million that moves several campuses from the YMCA to the Boys & Girls Clubs, the final classified layoff resolution that ends or reduces 39 jobs, 18 of them library posts and 14 of those at elementary schools, and a resolution on the nation's 250th anniversary that the board rewrote line by line at the dais before adopting it.

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🧒 After-school care changes hands at some schools

The board approved a three-year agreement with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Redlands-Riverside to run a unified after-school program at seven district sites from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2029, not to exceed $11,250,000, funded by After School Education & Safety and Expanded Learning Opportunity Program funds, and then approved a companion memorandum of understanding. The agenda had listed both inside a single motion covering Educational Services consent items 15.a. through 15.e. 3; the minutes show them taken as two separate motions instead, each carrying with Patty Holohan abstaining. 4

The packet's cost proposal breaks the first year into $2,212,876.75 for TK specialized services at the Hansberger site, comprehensive staffing at Beattie Middle School and summer, winter and spring intersession programming, plus $1,402,363.25 for Clement Middle School and five elementary partner sites — Bryn Mawr, Franklin, Lugonia, Mentone and Victoria. 5 Several parents asked what the provider would actually be required to do. Exhibit A to the memorandum of understanding commits the club to "comprehensive management and supervision services" each day, requires its youth leaders to meet the district's instructional-aide qualification standards as of their hire date, and requires the club to provide CPR and first-aid training, keep records and file an affidavit verifying certification. That exhibit is one of 48 packet pages that exist only as a scanned image, with no extractable text. 6

The change drew the evening's largest block of public comment:

• Michael Paisner relayed questions from parents about contract comparisons, program costs, capacity, locations, fees and staff qualifications, saying families were anxious about a service they depend on. 7
• A speaker the minutes identify only as Myrna said the current program had provided care, safety and support for their children since elementary school, and a speaker identified only as Hannah asked the board to reverse the decision to close the ASES after-school program, saying onsite care gives students a vital, structured environment while parents finish the workday. 7
• Gladys Alvarez preferred keeping the YMCA and asked why there is no after-school care at the high school level. 8
• Addison Lowman, who opened by saying "my name is Addison Lowman, and I'm a sixth grader at Cope Middle School", questioned the equity of the change: "if the YMCA isn't a good fit at some schools, then why is it a good fit at others?" 9 The minutes record the same question. 8
• Rebecca Lowman said the families in the room were there on accurate information about a proposed shift in providers at certain sites, and argued that YMCA staff offer middle school students consistency at a difficult stage that a change of provider would break. 8
• Graciela Beltran, who has attended both programs, preferred the YMCA's structure: "When I went to the Boys and Girls Club, I would mostly sit in a chair and read the whole day." 10 The minutes summarize the same comparison. 11

Superintendent Juan J. Cabral broke into public comment to say the ASES program is not being discontinued, that on-site programs stay free to parents, that some information circulated by YMCA staff had been misleading, and that the board was considering shifting some current YMCA sites to the Boys & Girls Clubs, which already runs well-attended programs at other district schools. 8 He returned to it in his closing comments, apologizing for the interruption and saying a YMCA flyer had created the confusion. 12

Community Forward Redlands, reporting the award a week later, put the district's most recent one-year agreement funding the YMCA-operated ASES program at approximately $1.93 million, against roughly $3.75 million annually under the new contract. 13

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✂️ The final classified layoff list

The board adopted Resolution No. 2025-2026-30, the final layoff resolution for classified staff. 14

The resolution in the packet traces the whole year: the board authorized eliminating 52 classified positions in January and February, administration brought that down to 44, and preliminary notices went to 43 employees before March 15, of whom thirty did not request a hearing and thirteen did. 15 An administrative law judge upheld the layoffs in a proposed decision on May 5. Four of the noticed employees resigned or moved into other positions and will not receive final notices. 16

The attached Final Layoff List is the part the public comment was about. Nineteen employees are terminated effective July 1, 2026, and twelve of those nineteen are library positions — eleven Library Paraprofessional I posts at Arroyo Verde, Bryn Mawr, Franklin, Judson & Brown, Kimberly, Kingsbury, McKinley, Mentone, Mission, Smiley and Victoria elementary schools, plus a Library Paraprofessional III at Citrus Valley High. The rest are special education and instructional aides, a licensed vocational nurse, a health care technician and an instructional technology paraprofessional. 17 A further twenty employees keep a job on changed terms — reduced hours, reclassification, or reassignment into special education aide roles — and that list includes library paraprofessionals from Highland Grove Elementary, Clement Middle School and Redlands High School 18 and from Crafton and Lugonia elementary schools and Redlands East Valley High School. 19

Community Forward Redlands reported the action the same week, describing 19 finalized layoffs in nonteaching positions including elementary library paraprofessionals, special education aides and student health staff. 20

Katherine Appleby, whom the minutes print as Kate Applebee, told the board during public comment that the final layoff resolution undermines the district's literacy goals by eliminating elementary library staff, that expensive reading resources would be neglected or lost without library personnel, and that the board and superintendent should hold meetings at each site to explain the cuts to families directly. 8 Melissa Ayala-Quintero apologized to the affected employees in board comments, saying budget decisions should not come at the expense of children's well-being and that the separations reflect systemic failures in prioritizing student support rather than any shortcoming of the staff. 12

The first step in this sequence is in the archive: the board took up the reduction-in-force resolution for permanent classified employees on January 27, 2026. 21

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🇺🇸 A resolution rewritten at the dais

The draft in the packet designated September 2026 as the recognition month, described the founders as "guided by faith and conviction", referred to "generations of patriots", and said the district "Expects schools to engage staff, students, and families" in recognition activities including patriotic assemblies and essay contests. 22

The item was taken up at 1:26:22 23 and the board then read the resolution aloud clause by clause, arguing over individual words. Whether faith or conviction described the founders' motives came first, one speaker saying the founders "were of different faiths" 24. Then whether the draft's patriots language carries too much present-day freight — "generations of patriots is a very loaded word right now" 25 — and whether the republic's democratic institutions, values or process belonged in the text 26. Late in the hour the board argued over whether the resolution should encourage schools to hold activities or expect or require them to 27, and whether an essay contest was too large a commitment to ask of staff 28. The recognition period was changed from a single month to "the first semester of 2026" 29, and the vote was taken at 2:20:24, nearly an hour after the motion was made. 30 The minutes record the outcome as approval of Resolution No. 2025-2026-31 Celebrating America's 250th Anniversary, "the edited version." 31

Public comment split:

• Michael Paisner objected that specific language in the draft attempts to introduce religion into public schools and that the resolution fails to encourage honest, critical reflection on national history. 7 In the second public comment period he said the shift from authoritative directives to words like encourage and invite better respects individual autonomy. 32
• Dale Broome urged adoption, arguing that a republic is sustained by transmitting patriotism and respect for constitutional foundations. 8 He said the resolution's faith language reflects the nation's history and its national motto, "In God We Trust", and does not promote a state religion. 11
• Eriko Grossman said celebrating the anniversary is difficult when war and immigration enforcement affect local students and staff, and urged the district to keep political or extremist involvement out of school events. 7
• Katherine Appleby asked about the timeline, essay topics and parent-notification procedures, and whether staff would be trained to keep activities non-partisan. 8 Later she questioned the removal of the words democracy and democratic from the resolution and asked when the final edited text would be public. 32

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🗂️ Consent and other action

The board approved the Business Services consent calendar, items 13.a. through 13.l., which opens with a $10,753 special-inspection agreement for the Beattie Middle School safety project. 11 It also carried up to $64,000 for 100 days of contraband-detection canine visits, $95,032 in architectural work for the Redlands High School press box, and $56,549.20 for the Red Rover absence-management system 33, and up to $335,337 for a school resource officer at Redlands East Valley High School plus up to $216,642 for Tyler Drive transportation tablets. 34 It also carried a $533,333.33 district contribution to settle Claim No. 482673, rejection of Claim No. 672006, and the award of Bid 12-26 for warehouse instructional supplies. 35 Payment transmittals for the meeting totaled $4,509,994.22. 36

Educational Services items 15.a. through 15.c. — a Mindfulness in Motion extension, $45,760 in AVID membership fees, and ProCare Therapy staffing — were approved together. 36 The board also approved a stipulated expulsion for one student and the Human Resources consent calendar. 31 In Human Resources action items it ratified a clinical-training memorandum with Alliant University and approved an agreement with the Redlands Education Support Professionals Association extending a suspension of the 10-month employee vacation provision for 2026-2027, citing continued substitute staffing shortages. 37 First readings of three new Military Leave administrative regulations — 4161.5, 4261.5 and 4361.5 — were approved. 14

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🗣️ Reports, board comments and what comes next

Stephen Caperton of the Redlands Teachers Association said this year's retirees represent more than 290 years of service. 38 He invited the board and cabinet to the June 10 retirement dinner and relayed member concerns about relocating full-time staff away from the Garner Holt Labs, arguing that specialized personnel are needed to keep the lab equipment running for students. 7 Liz Huerta-Brewster of the Redlands Education Support Professionals Association marked Education Support Professionals Week, May 18 to 22, and asked the board to show appreciation by visiting sites and learning what classified staff do. 7

Superintendent Cabral reported that the district's artificial intelligence guidelines are being finalized, with a presentation planned for the second meeting in June setting age-appropriate student access limits, and said the district holds Gemini contracts for staff and student use although student access is not yet active. 11

In board comments, Jeannette Wilson asked for a superintendent's report on the True North drug and alcohol program. Candy Olson asked that a parent notification policy be agendized for public discussion even if the board ultimately declines to adopt one, said a written "no deception policy" had been requested several times, and cited Board Bylaw 9322 for the proposition that items submitted in writing at least a week before a meeting belong on the next agenda. 32 The bylaw says a board member or member of the public "may request that a matter within the jurisdiction of the Board be placed on the agenda of a regular meeting", in writing at least one week ahead, and adds that the board president and superintendent decide whether the request is within the board's jurisdiction and whether an existing policy already covers it. 39 The district's Governance Handbook gives the president and superintendent the same gatekeeping role but sets the deadline at eight calendar days, and frames the right as a board member's rather than the public's. 40 A parent notification item did reach an agenda three months later, and the August 11 minutes record the board president's decision to remove it. 41

Patty Holohan reported on the Boy Scouts of America event honoring Tim Rochford as Citizen of the Year and thanked retirees and classified staff; Michele Rendler described the district film festival, Leadership Day at Bryn Mawr Elementary, and the fifth-grade essay winners, and noted graduations and senior walks filling the next four weeks. 12 Cabral announced cakes for every district site on May 20 for Teacher Appreciation Day and Classified Employee Week, and graduation ceremonies at the Redlands Bowl in the first week of June for nearly 2,000 students including adult learners. 12

Two discussion items closed the meeting. On the Inland Personnel Council, Candy Olson raised the district's auto-renewing contract dating to 2012, brought to light by the public, with concerns about automatic invoicing that bypassed board oversight and contract language about sharing legal advice on personnel matters among member districts; local administration confirmed no specific employee data was shared, and the discussion became moot when the council wrote to say the partnership ends when the contract expires June 30. 12 42 On layoffs, Superintendent Cabral explained that the certificated layoff resolution was off the agenda because the administrative law judge asked for an extension, with a final deadline of May 22 and a legal requirement to act within five business days; the board set a tentative special meeting for Wednesday, May 27 at 4:00 p.m., to be moved earlier if the ruling lands sooner. 42

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🎓 Recognitions

The meeting opened with recognitions. Superintendent Cabral opened them by saying the district was celebrating people who had committed their careers to serving students, and the minutes list 22 retirees with service ranging from 9 to 38 years. Director of Human Resources Dr. Kimberly Lium introduced Nellie Aboytes, a sixth-grade math, science and C-STEM teacher at Clement Middle School, as the district's nominee for California Teacher of the Year. Three classified nominees were recognized — Marcus Dash Hoff of Technology Services, John JP Gutierrez, a special education paraprofessional at Kingsbury Elementary, and Don Stutz, a maintenance carpenter of 35 years who was also selected to represent San Bernardino County statewide — along with Roland Hosch of Kimberly Elementary as UC Davis C-STEM Teacher of the Year. 43

Student trustees Bella Salazar (Redlands High School), Avi Shan (Redlands East Valley High School) and Ella Ford (Redlands E Academy) were commended, and athletics coordinator Doug McCasey reported four Citrus Belt League team championships, including a first REV boys swim title in 16 years, before honoring spring athletes Jacqueline Gonzales (Orangewood), Adam Sanchez (Citrus Valley), Felicia Na (Redlands High) and Jada Nordby (Redlands East Valley). 38 McCasey noted the honorees are chosen by each school's athletic department: "They're not handpicked by me." 44

The meeting was adjourned at 9:17 p.m. 42

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This summary is produced by a community accountability archive and is not affiliated with or produced by the Redlands Unified School District. The adopted minutes are the authoritative record.