12/09/2025
Very Long post, would love for you to read, if you have time.
My letter regarding the harmful book ban vote at tomorrow's school board meeting:
Three White Christian Nationalists Shouldn’t Control Our Diverse District
Tuesday, Michele Rendler, Candy Olson, and Jeannette Wilson will once again vote to ban books in our school district. Once again, they’ll ignore hundreds of community members who come to oppose them.
Disrespect & Disregard for Parents
For months, hardworking RUSD parents have sacrificed evenings, arranged childcare, and spent hours at board meetings begging this board to listen. Over 1000 post cards opposed their book ban policy. Numerous speakers at every meeting - students, teachers, parents have pleaded with them to stop. They’re not listening. They never have. Rendler, Olson, and Wilson don’t answer to us. They answer to The ARK Redlands church and Moms for Liberty. Their thoughts are not their own, they are merely parrots.
Who’s Really in Charge?
The ARK pastor said it from his pulpit: The ARK church “helped get two board members elected” Olson and Wilson. Wilson literally serves on The ARK’s staff. Before contentious meetings, O’Connor mobilized his congregation: “Bring them in force, pack the place, I want the Christians to be there…We want to take up all their parking spots. We want to take up all their seats.” These people are, of course, allowed to have their beliefs. Those beliefs do not belong in our classrooms.
Dr. Broome, the Hall brothers, and other ARK church members regularly pack meetings to support these bans, following their pastor’s orders as well as Moms for Liberty. This isn’t grassroots parent concern. This is an organized church takeover of our public schools. These aren’t concerned citizens, but church operatives. This is an opportunity for lonely people to try to find belonging with fellow bullies.
The Books They’re Targeting
*The Bluest Eye* by Toni Morrison and *Push* by Sapphire are award-winning novels about Black girls surviving trauma, racism, and sexual violence. They’re taught to build empathy and critical thinking about systemic injustice. They give students who’ve experienced similar trauma the validation that their stories matter.
Redlands High sophomore Izzy said it perfectly: “When you ban a book, you’re not banning words. You’re banning experiences. You’re telling students that certain people or stories don’t belong in the classroom.”
Three Conservative White Women Shouldn’t Decide for Our Diverse District
Here’s what’s particularly galling: Redlands Unified is beautifully diverse. Our students come from every background, every race, every family structure. Yet three extremely conservative white women—Rendler, Olson, and Wilson—have appointed themselves arbiters of what’s “appropriate” for everyone’s children.
Rendler enables Olson, who was caught liking Instagram posts containing antisemitic images (Hi**er shaking hands with Jesus), racist content, and homophobic memes calling Pride participants “degenerates.” Over 1,500 people demanded Olson’s resignation. Rendler’s response? Silence.
These three vote together, meeting after meeting, to:
- Ban books addressing racism and LGBTQ+ experiences
- Remove Pride flags while keeping Christian symbols
- Out transgender students to potentially hostile parents
- Ban transgender athletes from girls’ sports
All while the rest of us—the actual diverse community of Redlands—beg them to stop.
The Cruelty of Wasted Time
Perhaps most infuriating is how they waste our time. Parents rearrange work schedules to attend 4-hour meetings. Teachers prepare thoughtful testimony. Students bravely share personal stories. All so Rendler, Olson, and Wilson can vote 3-2 the way they always planned, ignoring everything they heard.
They don’t care that this will cost the district millions in lawsuits—Chino Valley, Temecula, and other districts have been sued over identical policies. They don’t care that nearly 100 speakers opposed their policies while only a dozen supported them. They have their orders from The ARK and their national handlers.
Community input is just an annoying formality they endure.
The Dangerous Irony
The books they’re banning teach exactly the critical thinking skills that would have prevented them from being manipulated. *The Bluest Eye* and *Push* teach students to:
- Question authority and examine who benefits from censorship
- Recognize propaganda and manipulation
- Think independently rather than follow predetermined talking points
- Empathize with experiences different from their own
These are the very skills Rendler, Olson, and Wilson lack—which is precisely why they’re such effective puppets for The ARK church and Moms for Liberty.
What Tuesday Really Means
When this board votes Tuesday to ban more books, remember what you’re witnessing:
You’re watching democracy fail. When representatives ignore hundreds of constituents to serve church and political interests, that’s not representative government.
You’re watching privilege in action. Three conservative white women deciding what’s appropriate for our entire diverse student body.
You’re watching manipulation succeed. People so lacking in critical thinking that they can’t recognize they’re following someone else’s script.
You’re watching our children lose. Every banned book is one less mirror for students who need to see their experiences reflected, one less window for students who need to understand experiences different from their own.
Michele Rendler: Up for Re-Election in 2026
Here’s the good news: Michele Rendler’s term ends December 11, 2026. We have the power to end this.
Rendler has presided over this disaster. She’s enabled Olson’s bigotry, voted lockstep with Wilson’s church agenda, and wasted countless hours of community time while ignoring everything we say.
In 2026, we can choose a board member who:
- Actually listens to the community they serve
- Serves students and families, not church political agendas
- Understands that a diverse district needs diverse perspectives—not three conservative white women deciding for everyone
What You Can Do
**Tuesday:** Show up. Speak. Make them look you in the eye while they ignore you. Document their contempt for our community.
**Between now and 2026:** Organize. Support teachers and librarians under attack. Attend every meeting. Make noise.
**2026:** Vote Michele Rendler out. End this nightmare.
Our beautifully diverse Redlands Unified deserves better than The ARK church’s puppet show. Our students deserve better than banned books and wasted potential. Our hardworking parents deserve better than being ignored for hours before a predetermined 3-2 vote.
Tuesday, they’ll vote to ban these books, But we don’t have to give them another term to continue this damage.
In solidarity with ALL Redlands Families,
Dr. Traci Lowenthal
