The San Bernardino County Board of Education opened a public hearing Sept. 8 on a material revision petition from Inland Empire Springs Charter to add specific Fontana and San Bernardino facility addresses and to revise the expansion timeline.

Under Education Code section 47605.6(b), the county board held the hearing to collect public comment on the petition; the board will take a formal grant-or‑deny action at its Oct. 13 meeting. Petitioner representatives described two candidate facilities: a former charter facility at 9460 Sierra Avenue in Fontana (with adjacent lot possibilities) and a church property at 3041 N. Sierra Way in San Bernardino that would be redesigned for classrooms. The petitioner said Fontana would open in 2026 and San Bernardino in 2027; the petition removes a planned Redlands expansion from the current charter term.

A parent, Stephanie Vargas, spoke in support of the revision, saying she enrolls her children at Springs’ Rancho Cucamonga location and wants a closer option. The board closed the hearing after public comment and asked staff clarifying questions about appendices, budget updates and how the revision affects the charter’s renewal timeline. County staff said the material revision does not change the charter’s renewal date (2028) and that appendix materials from the original petition remain in effect except for the updated budget appendix submitted with the revision.

The board did not act on the petition at the Sept. 8 meeting; trustees will consider a formal decision at the Oct. 13 meeting. The public hearing record and the petitioner’s materials will be available to the board before that vote.