June 9, 2026 — Board of Education Meeting Summary

An independent community summary of Redlands Unified School District board records. Not an official district document.

Four of the five trustees were on the dais — President Michele Rendler, Vice President Patty Holohan, Clerk Melissa Ayala-Quintero and member Jeannette Wilson, with Candy Olson excused 1. Open session was called to order at 6:05 p.m. 1 and adjourned at 8:22 p.m. 2. One item dominated it: the after-school contract with the YMCA of the East Valley. One caution about the record: the only minutes on file for this meeting are the unsigned draft, stamped "Draft" on every page of the narrative 1.

🤝 The YMCA contract: what the board actually did

Item 14F came to the board as a one-year agreement with the YMCA of the East Valley, running July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, not to exceed $905,590, to place a unified after-school program at four district sites under the district's facility-use rules for nonprofit youth organizations 34. The contract form in the agenda packet is explicit about the term the Y was asked for: the attached proposal is titled "YMCA Proposal RUSD - Exploration Experience 1YR" 5. The board pulled 14F out of the Educational Services consent calendar for a separate vote 6.

Seven speakers asked the board to make it three years instead. The minutes summarize each:

• Janet Grenda said the YMCA stepped in five years ago on a four-day notice to salvage the district's program across ten sites, and questioned why the YMCA was being treated differently than another provider 7. At the podium she introduced herself as a board member and past board chair of the YMCA of the East Valley 8.
• Sajid Ahmed argued a three-year agreement provides stability for programming and staff and allows better long-term financial investment 9.
• Carole Beswick said treating the YMCA differently from another vendor creates an appearance of unequal treatment that undermines public confidence 9.
• Tyler Miner noted the YMCA was directed to reduce its proposal to one year despite another provider receiving a three-year contract 9.
• Bill Hatefield pointed to 53 childcare and after-school sites the YMCA runs across San Bernardino County 9.
• Char Burgees challenged the process from a governance standpoint, arguing any differing treatment must be backed by clear, performance-based reasons 9.
• Shelli Stockton said inconsistent provider standards erode public trust 10.

The "other provider" the speakers kept referring to is not named in the minutes. The May 12, 2026 record describes a memorandum of understanding for "comprehensive expanded learning programs across seven (7) RUSD sites" that leverages "the expertise of the Boys & Girls Clubs" 11; Community Forward Redlands reported that agreement as a three-year, $11.25 million contract with Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Redlands-Riverside for Expanded Learning Opportunities Program services, with some YMCA-run sites moving over 12.

The minutes record no board discussion of 14F at all — only the motion. The recording shows a long, unscripted negotiation, and because the speakers on it are identified only by an automated voice match, this page does not attribute any of it to a named trustee. What the room heard included an objection to relying on a single provider, on the grounds that "when you only have one provider, it becomes a monopoly" 13, and eventually a motion "to amend the MOU to keep it at the one year, but add evaluation in March and the opportunity to extend it to the full three years" 14.

The motion the board passed, as the minutes write it, approved the one-year, $905,590 agreement and then added: "Motion to amend the contract to include an evaluation in March 2027, with a satisfactory rating the contract will be extended an additional two years through June 30, 2029" 15.

That is less final than it sounds, and the record says so twice. Before the vote, staff told the board the agreement was not in its final form: "We have to rework the agreement and bring it back because the MOU is not written correctly for the county" 16. And the agreement did come back. On June 23, 2026 the same contract returned carrying new language: "This Agreement establishes an initial one-year term. The parties agree to review program performance during the initial term and, upon mutual agreement that the milestones noted have been met, to pursue a two-year extension covering Years Two and Three. Any extension takes effect only after formal approval by the Redlands Unified School District Board of Trustees" 17. So the March 2027 evaluation opens a door; it does not by itself buy years two and three.

Community Forward Redlands read the June 9 outcome as a postponement, reporting that the board "delayed a vote Tuesday on a proposed contract with the YMCA of the East Valley, directing staff to revise the agreement and return June 23" 18. The minutes and the recording both show a motion made and carried on June 9; the return on June 23 is what the two accounts have in common.

🏛️ A new policy on naming schools

The board approved new Board Policy 7310 and new Administrative Regulation 7310 on naming schools, individual buildings and facilities 19. The policy hands the first step to a screening committee appointed by the superintendent and chaired by the superintendent or a representative, with a principal and at least three other community members and/or students, which reviews submitted names and recommends one to the board for final approval 2021.

One provision drew a question from the dais. Item 6.b of the draft says that "if a community member chooses to make a substantial contribution for a building or program at a school, the Board may consider recognizing the contribution by naming the school, building, or facility after the benefactor" 22. A board member — again, not identified in the minutes — asked whether that let a benefactor naming skip the screening committee, since the parallel provision for schools says the process still applies 23. The answer from the table was "You can make it more clear if that's…" 24 and, moments later, "It's not… The intent wasn't for it to not go through the process." 25

It was. Two weeks later both documents came back for a second and final read, with the minutes recording a "Paragraph One Edit: to add two community members and to include one student if possible" 26.

Katherine Applebee used the agendized-items comment period to ask about this and the military-leave items, noting that neighboring districts have long had such regulations and asking why it took Redlands so long to adopt them and what is planned next 27.

💵 Three budget hearings, and one speaker

The board held the three hearings state law requires before a budget is adopted — on the 2026-27 LCAP, the 2026-27 annual budget, and balances in excess of the minimum reserve requirement. Two drew no speakers at all. The LCAP hearing drew exactly one 28.

Katherine Applebee told the board the plan's goals and its budget do not match: the LCAP prioritizes comprehensive counseling programs and library staff for early literacy while the board had just approved cuts eliminating those positions. She asked the board either to remove unfunded actions from the LCAP or to direct fiscal services to protect the positions the plan names, and noted there is no funding to replace challenged library materials 28. In the hearing she put it plainly: "right now, your LCAP priorities and actions don't match the decisions that were made for the budget this year" 29.

The draft plan in the packet puts numbers on the scale of what was being heard: the district planned to spend $369,284,122 in 2026-27, of which $126,390,372 is tied to actions and services in the LCAP and $242,893,750 is not 30. Community Forward Redlands covered the plan as an effort to "build on gains in graduation rates and college readiness while addressing persistent challenges in math achievement and chronic absenteeism" 31, and had previewed the three hearings in its agenda write-up 32.

🏗️ Measure D: the oversight committee reports

The Measure D Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee delivered its annual report — the body state law requires whenever a 55-percent bond passes, charged with informing the public about how bond money is spent 33. The committee's chair recognized its ten volunteer members, recapped that voters authorized up to $500 million in November 2024, reported more than $26 million from Series A invested in completed projects since 2025 including roofing and infrastructure work, and read the committee's statement of compliance 3435.

A note for anyone cross-checking: the district's own two documents disagree on the chair's name. The agenda lists the presenter as "Dan Jimenez, Chairperson" 36, and the presenter introduced himself by that name on the recording 35; the minutes narrative records the presenter as "Danny Mendez, Chair" 34.

📋 Consent business, personnel and discipline

The Business Services consent calendar, items 12.a through 12.n, passed in one motion 37. It included the meeting's largest capital item: Bid No. 25-017, the Middle School Safety Project Phase 1 at Beattie Middle School, at $3,823,627 split across four contractors for general construction, electrical and low voltage, site concrete and paving, and fencing and gates, funded by Measure D 38. It also included payment transmittals totalling $9,271,088.59 39. (The printed agenda numbers that motion "13.a. through 13.n." 40; the minutes record it correctly as 12.a through 12.n.)

Under Human Resources action items the board adopted Resolution No. 2026-2027-1, the annual Declaration of Need for Fully Qualified Educators filed with the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, and approved three new military-leave administrative regulations — 4161.5, 4261.5 and 4361.5 — on second and final reading 4142.

The board also approved five student expulsions, items 15.a through 15.e, in a single motion 43. The underlying Education Code violations run from harassment, threats or intimidation 43 to possession of a knife, explosive or other dangerous object, assault or battery on a school employee, and controlled substances 44.

One discrepancy worth noting. The minutes write the Educational Services consent motion as covering items "14.a., b., c., d., e., g., h., and 14.j.", with a separate vote on 14f 6 — a list that skips 14.i, the new Flag Football Team Sport (PE) course, and the minutes carry no separate motion on it. On the recording the motion is stated more broadly, as "items under 14A through 14J, polling 14F" 45. The written record and the spoken one differ on whether 14.i was in the motion.

In closed session, before the open meeting, the board approved the superintendent's recommendations to appoint Christy Kemme as Personnel Technician in Human Resources 46 and NaChe Thompson and Kellee Baker as principals of Bryn Mawr and Crafton elementary schools 47.

🇺🇸 The second comment period

The general comment period turned on the district's 250th-anniversary resolution. The board had adopted it the month before, on a motion to approve "Resolution No. 2025-2026-31 Celebrating America's 250th Anniversary the edited version" 48 — the live editing that several of the evening's speakers were still arguing about. Its executed text is attached to this meeting's packet as Resolution No. 31, 2025-2026, "Celebrating America's 250th Anniversary, Designating the Fall Semester of 2026 as America's 250th Recognition" 49, and the execution block on its last page records May 12, 2026 50. The minutes summarize the speakers:

• Peter Hall criticized the board's handling of Pride Month and objected to suggestions he attributed to Board Clerk Ayala-Quintero to remove words like "faith" and "patriots" from the resolution, and to the board's decision to strike a phrase about the signers' sacrifice; he compared the group "Together for Redlands" to the regimes of Mao Zedong and Joseph Stalin 51.
• Joshual Hall tied the anniversary debate to increasing racial and cultural diversity, which he argued has displaced traditional American holidays and values 51.
• Dale Broome thanked the board for passing the resolution and, while acknowledging the nation's flawed history, urged a focus on national unity over diversity 51.
• JB argued schools should instill patriotism, that the American flag should be the only flag in classrooms, and that staff who oppose celebrating the country should leave the district 51.
• Michael Paisner pushed back, calling earlier comments misinformation, noting that legal challenges over "forced outing" notification policies and classroom flag restrictions in nearby Chino had failed, and arguing that real education requires examining where the country fell short 51.
• Greg Brittain urged the board to agendize a parental notification policy, arguing a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision leaves no legal obstacle, and criticized academic outcomes against rising state funding 51.
• Katherine Applebee returned to criticize a lack of transparency from the board and the administration — arguing the long YMCA discussion should not have needed public prompting to surface basic information — and the board's failure to meet families at elementary schools losing library staff for 2026-27 52.

On the mechanics of Brittain's request, the board's own governance handbook says that "any Board member may request that a matter within the jurisdiction of the Board be placed on the agenda of a regular meeting," in writing to the Board President and Superintendent at least eight calendar days ahead 53.

Wording is worth checking against the resolution itself: the executed text in the packet retains "the Founders, guided by faith and conviction" 49.

🎓 Reports, recognition and comments

Superintendent Juan J. Cabral reported on the 250th-anniversary resolution and on the year-two report from the California Office of the Attorney General, highlighting substantial compliance 54. In that report the board heard that the district had been rated substantially compliant — described as the highest rating possible — in every paragraph but one, against 61 of 63 paragraphs a year earlier, and that it is on track to be substantially compliant in all areas by year three of a five-year judgment, with a full presentation promised once school resumes 55.

The board recognized Mariposa Elementary students Kaleb Herman and Maddux Ramillet for a National Award of Excellence in the National PTA Reflections Arts Program; their short film All Access reflected the theme "I Belong!" The two could not attend and will be invited back 56. For the PTA, Iwona-Maria Luczkiewicz-Contreras reported Honorary Service Awards, three new $300 Outstanding Teacher Awards, 110 years of service for the Redlands Council PTA and Redlands High School PTSA, and national recognition for the district's Special Education PTA 57.

In board comments, Patty Holohan reported attending five graduations and the STEAM America event at Mariposa Elementary; Jeannette Wilson described the patriotic assembly at Arroyo Verde Elementary and the 250th celebration at Mariposa; and Michele Rendler listed the SELPA Inclusion Summit, the CRY-ROP Evening of Excellence, three Possibility Proms, the Mentone career fair and the DAPAC Block Party, and congratulated the two new principals 2. Superintendent Cabral closed by commending compliance staff Yadira Lopez and Crystal Perazzo, thanking staff and safety officers for graduation week, and noting the next school year begins August 13 2.

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Sources are deep links into the RUSD meeting archive. The official record for this meeting is the minutes, and the only copy on file is the unsigned draft 1. Transcript citations capture discussion the minutes compress or omit; where the minutes do not name a speaker, this page does not either — the recording's speaker labels are automated voice matches, not the record.