Calls for a Redlands school board member to resign are mounting after a series of Instagram likes that included racist and antisemitic images were made public last month.
Board member Candy Olson, a Christian conservative and part of the board’s conservative majority, says she did not intend to like the problematic images and instead liked a carousel of memes because she found one of the images about egg prices funny. The Instagram posts were made public by a community watchdog group called Together for Redlands, which has fought against a series of controversial school board policies championed by Olson.
The memes shared by Together for Redlands include images of Adolf Hitler and Jesus disparaging Jewish people, depictions of racial stereotypes, and an image of a car with a rainbow smudge that implies the driver ran over LGBTQ people at a pride event. Olson says she did not intend to like those images and instead liked a meme sandwiched between the offensive images that shows a chicken in high heels celebrating the high cost of eggs.
“Some of the political memes and satire posted by one particular account I used to follow are funny, but other material is just something I do not need to be associated with,” Olson said at the Aug. 5 school board meeting.
Olson said her Instagram likes are not reflective of her personal views and called the criticism a “massive hate campaign launched in attempts to ruin my reputation with slander.”
Together for Redlands said in an Instagram post last month that Olson’s behavior was “antithetical” to the values expected from leaders in education and undermines the trust families, students and staff place in the board.
“Schools should be sanctuaries where diversity is celebrated and every student, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation, is protected and respected,” reads the statement.
The group and other Redlands community members are demanding that Olson resign. Dozens of people who attended the August board meeting asked for Olson to quit during public comment.
“I’m here to tell Candy Olson to resign. Her behavior is incompatible with leadership in this district,” said Valerie Taber, a parent of a Redlands Unified School District student, during the Aug. 5 meeting.
Others asked the board to censure Olson over her social media likes, which the board did not do. About a dozen people defended Olson and said she was being attacked by those who disagree with policies she’s championed like one that makes it easier to remove challenged library books and one to ban obscenity in classroom curriculum.
“I’m just telling you that just because I like one slide out of a deck of 18 does not mean I like all slides. I unfollowed them, and I’m moving on,” Olson said at the meeting.
But critics of Olson aren’t satisfied with her response and have not moved on. Since last week’s meeting, several others have joined in asking Olson to resign over her social media presence.
Together for Redlands also shared a series of posts Olson made on her private Instagram account.
In a press release, the Redlands Area Democratic Club said it “strongly condemns the hateful and discriminatory social media activity of Redlands Unified School District (RUSD) Board Member Candy Olson. Her decision to engage with content promoting ableism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, and violence is reprehensible and unbecoming of any public official, particularly one entrusted with serving and safeguarding all the members of a diverse student body.”
Nichelle Henderson, a Los Angeles Community College District trustee and candidate for California superintendent of public instruction, and Our Schools Inland Valley, a nonprofit supporting public education, both called for Olson to step down this week.
Olson told KVCR on Wednesday that she has no plans to resign from her seat. She said, "I'm in this to serve our kids and community. I will continue to support our families and work towards improving our educational system."
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Redlands Unified School District said in an email: “Board members of the Redlands Unified School District are elected officials who serve independently and are not subject to employee policies and procedures. They do not operate under the same internal codes of conduct that apply to staff or administrators.”
The email went on to say: “The board may address concerns internally and determine if further discussion is warranted; however, those are deliberations conducted at the discretion of the board and are not typically shared publicly unless action is taken during an open session.”
It’s not clear if the board has taken action in closed session.