By David Downey | Contributing author

Emails urging people to vote on a $500 million school bond have landed in the mailboxes of voters in the Redlands Unified School District.

This promotional material, funded by Yes on D for Redlands schools 2024 Committee, emphasize a desire to upgrade or replace aging classrooms, playgrounds and labs.

A sender clearly shows a letter from Juan J. Cabral, District Superintendent, on the school board’s decision in August to place Measure D on the November 5 ballot.

“All of our students deserve to learn in classrooms that are healthy and safe, but over 80% of local schools are over 60 years old and in need of basic health and safety repairs,” Cabral wrote in part.

What the campaign materials don’t mention are the recent cases Redlands teacher who sexually abused studentsand the more than $45 million the district has paid out related to lawsuits since 2016.

MORE ABOUT THE SELECTION: Redlands Daily Facts Voter Guide

“The dispatchers will only have information related to the bond,” Christine Stephens, Redland’s Unified Communications Manager, said in an Oct. 18 email.

It is the district’s position that the bond measure intended for school facility improvements and the sexual assault scandal involving school employees are two separate issues, Stephens wrote.

As voters begin filling out paper ballots and submitting them again, some experts agreed that those are essentially separate issues. But they said that won’t stop some from voting no.

While it is unclear how much of a role the scandal will play in the outcome, one expert said it is likely to have “minimal impact”.

In the spotlight

In recent years, the sexual assault scandal has turned the spotlight on one public school systems serving more than 20,000 students in Redlands, Loma Linda, Mentone, Forest Falls and parts of San Bernardino and Highland.

Several teachers were convicted and sent to jail or prison. Federal and state authorities faulted the district’s handling of the problem.

A Southern California News Group investigation found that, for more than a decade the district covered up the scandal and sometimes ordered teachers not to cooperate with investigators, allowing teachers to continue harassing students.

During 2018 the district adopted sweeping reforms for mandatory reporting and improved training.

District officials said in 2021 that the policy had largely put an end to sexual assaults on teachers.

But as late as April 2023, people were in society was still so upset they packed a board meeting and demanded better accountability and the resignation of some officials.

Still, will that anger carry over to the ballot?

It could, according to Renee Van Vechtenprofessor of political science at the University of Redlands.

Lack of organized resistance

“On a general level, voters are always looking for cues and excuses not to support bond measures because they tend to be so enormous in scope and so consequential in their economic breadth,” she said.

Van Vechten said the scandal and the bond are “really two separate issues.”

“But that won’t stop people from using one to justify voting no on the other,” she said. “It’s very possible that people will make that connection.”

However, Van Vechten said she expects most voters will not.

Marcia Godwina professor of public administration at the University of La Verne, noted that no opposition group filed one formal arguments at the right time against Measure D with the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters.

“When it comes to bond measures, the number one predictor is whether there is organized opposition,” Godwin said.

She said it would likely take a well-funded opposition campaign to get enough voter attention on the scandal to make a significant difference, she said.

“It appears that this (scandal) would have minimal effect on this bond measure.”

Meanwhile, the political committee supporting the bond has received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions, including $10,000 from a union representing construction workers.

Godwin said another factor in the connection’s favor is the type of community the schools serve.

“Redlands almost always has high voter turnout compared to the rest of San Bernardino County and is a pretty engaged electorate,” she said.

Listen to the children

For at least one voter, the scandal won’t factor into the election.

Judith Barre of Redlands, who years ago taught elementary school children in the community, said she intends to vote no for another reason. She said the district has not been clear in explaining why the money is needed.

“The issues of sexual abuse will not weigh in when I vote on the school bond,” she wrote in an email.

Barre added that she believes the key to preventing sexual abuse by teachers is taking children seriously when they raise concerns.

“The kids know what’s going on,” she wrote. “If people listen to the students, the teachers and … (administration) would know what’s going on. If (the administration) would step in and stop inappropriate behavior earlier, some problems could be avoided. I was a teacher. The kids will talk to teachers they respect and trust.”

But even if voters can’t find an argument against Measure D on San Bernardino County’s election website, they can look for one posted by Richard Michael, who lives in Diamond Bar and has posted arguments against dozens of bond measures through his California School Bonds Clearinghouse webpage.

Michael said he believes the sex-assault scandal should — and likely will — be taken into account when people vote.

“Voters who are aware of the scandals will remember that,” he said.

Michael’s argument against Measure D is based on what he characterized as the district’s lack of clarity about how the money would be used. Voters aren’t getting enough information or specific promises, he said.

One of the mailers is titled “Excerpt from Action D Project List.”

The mailing lists the district’s elementary, middle and high schools in alphabetical order.

It is followed by bullet points with planned general improvements, including roof, window and door repairs, air conditioning fixes, new security cameras and perimeter fencing, classroom renovations and expansions to sports facilities and playgrounds.

“Not about looking back”

James Verhoeven, who teaches US history at Redlands High School, is one of five community members who signed formal argument for action D.

“Obviously, we cannot ignore what has happened in the past,” Verhoeven said. “It would be foolish to suggest.”

He added that he is “devastated by the choices the teachers made and the actions they took.”

But Verhoeven said there are aging facilities that need attention.

“I hope the voters can see that these are two different issues,” he said.

Stephens, the Redlands schools communications director, wrote that district leaders view the scandal and the bond measure as separate issues.