A petition calling on the Redlands school board to be more transparent and accommodating to the public is making the rounds.
In recent months, Redlands Unified school board meetings have gone on for hours, frequently lasting past midnight, with hours of public comment on controversial policies, along with aggressive outbursts from speakers. Policy discussions have drawn more people to the meetings, who are often left watching from a televised screen outside the board room as they can’t all fit inside.
“The goal is to let the board know how much this is effecting the community,” said Trisha Keeling, executive director for Together for Redlands.
Community group Together for Redlands began circulating the petition earlier this month, calling on the board to “restore integrity and respect for the community.” There is a general feeling among the public that there has been a lack of transparency happening, Keeling said, and the petition calls on the board to compromise with the community to accommodate public comment through access to virtual options and restoring the two to three minutes of speech public speakers had previously.
“Just in general, there seems to be a lack of transparency ever since Michele Rendler took over as president and board members Candy Olson and Jeanette Wilson took office,” Keeling said.
The meetings have been emotionally taxing and are not indicative of a healthy community, she said. The number of speakers showing up who are not in favor of these policies should be a clue for the board.
Board President Michele Rendler confirmed in a July 25 email that the board was aware of the petition. She wrote in the email she wants to reaffirm to the public the board’s commitment to “transparency, public accountability, and open dialogue.”
“As Board President, I take seriously the responsibility of leading with integrity, fairness, and respect for our democratic processes,” Rendler wrote. “We will continue to work hard on behalf of our entire community openly, transparently, and with purpose.”
In the months following the November election, the board has passed, a resolution “To Save Girls Sports,” which supports the idea of banning transgender athletes from women’s sports and a policy to ban most flags from classrooms.
The board is also looking at rules to make it easier to remove explicit books from library shelves and a parent notification policy requiring parents to be informed if their child changes any part of their school record. The policies are similar to those passed in other districts, which have led several districts into court battles.
Over the past several months, to accommodate the hundreds of community members who turn in speaker cards, the board shortened public comment to 45 seconds.
David Loy, legal director for the First Amendment Coalition, a nonprofit organization focused on First Amendment rights, said there are rules required by law for government entities, but there is room to go beyond and in some cases it is not a bad idea.
“Anything that merits more public participation is a good idea,” Loy said.
Loy said many of the demands, while good ideas, are not required by the Brown Act.
The government gives agencies leeway to manage public comment and the flow of a meeting, he said, as long as the board is following the law by allowing everyone to speak and making the meetings available to the public.
For example, he said, special meetings only require 24 hours notice.
Cutting speakers time can be “a bit of a sliding scale,” he said, but the law does say governing board’s can adjust accordingly. The board just has to allow for public comment on non-agenda and agenda items in a regular meeting.
“Boards can adjust that on the fly if it looks like they are inundated with public comment,” Loy said.
The First Amendment protects speech, Loy said. There is no provision that would allow the board censure either hate speech or cursing, he said, and while he doesn’t condone it, as long as the speaker is within their timeframe and not actively threatening anyone they are allowed to say it.
“One person’s hate speech is another person’s free speech,” Loy said. “However repugnant it may be.”
The board follows the Brown Act and posts the agendas within the time limits, Rendler wrote. The board also ensures the meetings are open to the public and that decisions are being made within the realms of the law.
“As elected representatives, we welcome the community’s engagement and input,” Rendler wrote. “We value public comment, listen carefully to all perspectives, and encourage residents to reach out to Board members directly.”
Rendler said during the meetings, public speakers are given the same time limit, which is set by the board and can vary from meeting to meeting.
Together for Redlands, posted its petition on Action Network, a website for organizing movements. Keeling said during the petition signing process, the website collects address information to ensure those signing are within the school district.
The district serves Redlands, Loma Linda, and parts of Highland, Mentone, Crafton Hills, San Bernardino, and Forest Falls.
