📋 August 11, 2026: The parent-notification readings came off the agenda before the meeting started

Board President Michele Rendler called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m., all board members present 1. The night's biggest decision was its first: the Board approved the agenda only after pulling Educational Services Action Items 14L and 14M, the first readings of new Board Policy 5010 and Administrative Regulation 5010, Notification — the parent-notification package 2 — on a motion by Michele Rendler seconded by Melissa Ayala-Quintero 1. Neither item got a first reading: the minutes record "No motion was taken. This item was pulled during approval of the agenda" against both 3. The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. 4.

🗳️ Pulling 14L and 14M

The minutes describe the exchange without assigning it to anyone. Board members "expressed differing views regarding whether consideration should be delayed pending further legal clarification, including matters related to AB 1955, the absence of higher-court guidance, and the District's obligations under its stipulated judgment and oversight by the Attorney General's Office," while others held that "the proposed language was consistent with existing law and referenced similar policies adopted by other school districts" 1.

The recording carries the words, though the transcript's speaker labels are automated voice matches and are not the record of who said them. The case for waiting: "no decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court or the Ninth Circuit have come out On AB 1955, they haven't invalidated it at all... the fact that we have a unique situation that we're subject to a stipulated judgment with this oversight by the Attorney General's office for three more years" 5. The answer from the other side of the dais was that the proposal had "nothing to do with AB 1955," resting instead on a September 2024 San Bernardino Superior Court ruling that upheld a neighboring district's record-change notification policy, and that "if a policy is legal in five other districts and is working well, there's no reason that it would be illegal in our district" 6. Counsel's advice was characterized as "a gray area" that "could be interpreted in a negative way" 7; another voice asked, of a district already "with the Office of Attorney Generals following the guidelines," why it would "add one more thing" 8. Debate ended at the ten-minute limit 9.

Community Forward Redlands, which has followed the proposal, reported on August 4 that the district operates under Attorney General oversight following a settlement over past sexual-abuse complaints, and that Superintendent Juan Cabral told trustees at the July 21 meeting that AB 1955 "is still very much in effect" despite recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings narrowing some of its protections 10.

📚 "Balance" on the library shelf: Board Policy 6144

The one discussion item was proposed additional language for Board Policy 6144, Controversial Issues 11, taken up as Discussion Item 20a 4. The policy was originally adopted on June 27, 1995 and last revised on January 20, 2015 12. It already requires that instruction on a controversial issue be "presented in a balanced manner, addressing all sides of the issue without bias or prejudice," and that where a guest speaker offers a single point of view, "the teacher shall be responsible for ensuring that students also receive information on opposing viewpoints" 13.

The packet would carry that duty across to library shelves. Where "library material can reasonably be considered to be political in nature (focused on previous or current presidents, presidential family members, controversial political/social issues, political movements or activists), material with the opposing viewpoint shall also be added to the library," with each "librarian or designee and site principal will be responsible for overseeing this balance" and unresolved calls going "to the superintendent or designee" 14.

Per the minutes, the Board weighed "the potential benefits of providing students with access to materials representing differing viewpoints" against "how to determine whether a book addresses a political issue, what would constitute an opposing viewpoint, and who would be responsible for making such determinations," working through "examples involving presidents, religion, historical movements, the Holocaust, slavery" and other subjects where identifying an opposing work could be difficult or misleading 4. The Superintendent and staff drew a line between classroom instruction and voluntary library circulation: library materials "are independently selected and voluntarily accessed by students" 4.

On the recording, the case for the language was an audit of incoming batches — at one elementary school roughly half a dozen books about the Obamas and "not a single Reagan book, Bush book, Trump book, any type of opposing political party president book" 15. The counterweight was administrability: it is not as easy, the board heard, where a book concerns "a figure or a topic that one person may consider to be left while the other may consider to be moderate and who's going to be the determining" 16, and a student checking out a book "for a book report" is "not necessarily tied specifically to a lesson" the way classroom instruction is 17.

Following discussion the Board directed staff to develop revised language for future consideration 4; on the recording that came down to a request to draft something narrower and bring it back 18. Community Forward Redlands reported two days later that "the board directed staff to return with narrower language addressing balance in books about current and former U.S. presidents" 19.

A request was also made to move discussion items earlier on future agendas, ahead of Board Comments and the Superintendent's Comments 4 20. The district's governance handbook routes a board member's agenda request through the Board President and Superintendent, in writing, at least eight calendar days before the meeting 21.

🧭 Professional standards: a first reading that did pass

The Board approved the first reading of updated Board Policy 4319.21, Professional Standards, on a motion by Michele Rendler seconded by Candy Olson 22, listed on the agenda as Human Resources Action Item 16.e 23. The item's own description says the revisions "clarify expectations for professional and ethical conduct, expand prohibited conduct, strengthen requirements for reporting suspected employee misconduct, prohibit retaliation against individuals who report misconduct" 22.

Two numbered lines in the draft carried the weight: it becomes inappropriate conduct to refuse parents "truthful, accurate, and complete information when disclosure is required by law, Board policy, or administrative regulation," and separately to intentionally withhold information "that creates a false or misleading understanding when disclosure is otherwise required, except where disclosure is prohibited by law" 24. In discussion the two were called redundant — "I felt like they were both essentially saying the same thing" 25 — against the reading that one covers "refusing to provide" and the other "intentionally withholding" information a parent was never told to ask for 26. The Board was told the draft "started with the language that we had already discussed" at the previous meeting and was open to alteration at first read 27.

💵 Consent, contracts and Measure D

• Business Services 11.a–11.g approved on a motion by Patty Holohan seconded by Melissa Ayala-Quintero 28: $7,504 to Certerra Subsurface Imaging for utility potholing at Clement Middle School and $153,420 plus reimbursables to SGH Architects for hardcourt and ADA work at Kimberly Elementary 28; $22,400 to Verdantas for a McKinley geotechnical hazard report, up to $375,864.11 of GameTime playground equipment through CMAS, and a $94,716.30 change order on the Redlands East Valley High School pool renovation 29; and the fourth-quarter Williams report plus payment transmittals of $12,612,139.04 30. All of it Measure D or general funds.
• Educational Services 13.a–13.p approved on a motion by Patty Holohan seconded by Melissa Ayala-Quintero, carried with Board Clerk Melissa Ayala-Quintero abstaining from item 13.b 30. In discussion a trustee asked whether the district had outcome data for the CORE reading-intervention contracts after a year at seven elementary schools 31; staff offered to bring pre- and post-data, largely state assessment and reading scores, to a future meeting 32. A second question, on the county interdistrict attendance agreement, drew the explanation that transfers cannot be revoked in the 11th and 12th grades because "shifting it usually results in a dropout" 33.
• Human Resources 15.a–15.c approved on a motion by Patty Holohan seconded by Melissa Ayala-Quintero 3.
• Superintendent's contract. The Board approved an amendment to the employment agreement for Juan J. Cabral on a motion by Patty Holohan seconded by Melissa Ayala-Quintero 34. Community Forward Redlands' agenda preview reported the amendment extends the contract through June 30, 2029 and postpones a 3% raise scheduled for July 1, 2026 until teachers and support professionals receive increases in 2026-27 35.
• Also from Human Resources: Resolution No. 4, 2026-2027 on teaching outside credential authorization was ratified and adopted on a motion by Michele Rendler seconded by Patty Holohan; a Memorandum of Understanding with the Riverside County Superintendent of Schools running to June 30, 2029 was ratified on a motion by Candy Olson seconded by Patty Holohan; and Resolution No. 7, 2026-2027, approving the employment of Karissa Powell under a waiver of Education Code 44265.3, was adopted on a motion by Michele Rendler seconded by Patty Holohan 34.
• Ten readmissions. The Board approved ten separate requests for readmission of students following expulsion, one motion at a time, items 14.a through 14.j 36 37. The Board was told that readmissions "should be individual" rather than grouped, contrary to past practice 38.
• The 2026-2027 English Learner Reclassification Process and Criteria was approved on a motion by Patty Holohan seconded by Melissa Ayala-Quintero 37.

📱 Phones, and what the unions brought

Juan Cabral reported on implementation of the new student cellphone law and stressed that it depends on families: "I am urging all of us to embrace this law and asking for the support from families at home" 39 40. Melissa Ayala-Quintero asked whether the requirements also reached Meta smart glasses and other connected devices, and Juan Cabral said any device associated with a phone is covered 28. Patricia Buchmiller set out the mechanics: TK–8 phones silent and out of sight for the whole school day including passing periods, recess, lunch and after-school programs; high school phones usable during non-instructional time only; exceptions for emergencies, staff-authorized instructional use, verified medical need and IEP/504 plans; and the rules already run through summer school and extended school year 28 41.

In association reports, Stephen Caperton addressed staff and student safety and workplace violence, referencing data on student-on-staff assaults 1. The figures given were 301 formal workplace-violence complaints filed with the district last year, 74% of them students assaulting staff, more than 400 visits to the company nurse for work injuries, and 145 cases of student assaults injuring staff plus 22 of mental stress and PTSD 42. Liz Huerta-Brewster reported on summer professional development and pressed for the same training for campus monitors and paraprofessionals 1. Jean Joye reported on the administrative advance, scholarship fundraising and the upcoming Believe Walk 39.

🗣️ Public comment

Six speakers were called on agendized items 39 and eight more in the open period 22 43.

• Katharine Applebee asked what "balanced" would mean in practice — how the standard would apply to libraries and how responsibility would be determined when questions about balance arise 39. Later she proposed that speakers state their name and trustee area before their timed remarks begin, and suggested student town halls at district high schools during open house 22.
• Michael Paisner supported the Superintendent's compensation increase for its link to teacher and support-staff raises, and questioned whether Board conduct reflected the standards being proposed 39. He later welcomed the removal of the parent-notification item and raised its potential impact on transgender students 22.
• Aaron Fernando warned that requiring opposing viewpoints could put misinformation on a level with expert consensus 39, and afterwards urged the Board to prioritize student well-being 22.
• Greg Brittain supported giving students differing viewpoints through classroom and library materials 39, and later backed parental notification, citing other districts and court cases 22.
• Peter Hall supported presenting opposing viewpoints and objected to what he called one-sided instruction 39; in the second round he addressed Board members' ability to express views publicly 22.
• Joshua David Hall opposed permanent protected classes and the presentation of gender-related topics, urging a focus on core academics 39, and later criticized the handling of the parent-notification item 22.
• Jeff Poggi raised questions about public-comment procedure and whether speakers may name individuals, and opposed the removed policy 43.
• Chris Clautice invoked the district's mission to serve a diverse, multicultural society and said comments he heard marginalized LGBTQ students 43.

🧾 Board and Superintendent comments

Michele Rendler welcomed families back, recognized the district's child nutrition staff, clarified that Patty Holohan had told her in advance about leaving the prior meeting, and asked for civility 43. Patty Holohan thanked Educational Services for the administrative advance and addressed her absence from the previous meeting 43. Candy Olson looked ahead to professional learning communities and measurable academic improvement, and raised online safety, noting the Trevor Project hotline on student identification cards 43. Jeannette Wilson praised the administrative advance keynote on PLCs and said she was disappointed by the postponement of the parent-notification policy, expecting it back after further legal clarification 43. Melissa Ayala-Quintero stressed attendance while allowing for mental-health days 43. Juan Cabral closed with Measure D safety work — the nearly finished safety lobby at Beatty and upcoming fencing and safety-lobby projects at the middle schools, some of it running into the school year — and a pitch for all 180 days of attendance 4.