A trustee responds to Assemblyman Jackson’s anti-parent legislative agenda

Jen Wiersma

Trustee, Area 3

TVUSD

Standing up for parental rights over our children’s education is more than a campaign slogan; it is essential. I speak personally here and not on behalf of the entire TVUSD board.

As parents are taking action to regain control of their children’s education, we are seeing disinformation campaigns launched to upend their efforts. As a newly seated Temecula Unified School District (TVUSD) board member, I’m compelled to address the inaccuracies perpetuated by Assemblyman Corey Jackson, author of Assembly Bill 1078 and the co-sponsor of the bill, Tony Thurmond, California Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Since the November 2022 general election, where two colleagues and I won seats on the TVUSD board, we have been in the crosshairs of those who are losing control over the state’s educational system. There are several bills working their way through the legislature meant to curtail school boards’ power; AB 1078 is chief among them. Thurmond recently implied that the TVUSD school board has engaged in:

• Threatening, bullying and mistreating students throughout the district;

• Banning books specifically designed to target LGBTQ+ and persons of color;

• Wielding local control to avoid inclusive education.

Yet, none of this is true. I have nothing but love, compassion, and concern for the families of our district who deserve the very best educational resources. As such, local school boards are uniquely positioned to engage with and obtain important insights about the educational experience of our communities. The law requires all students to have equal access to education, free of pervasive vulgarity, obscenity, pornography, and sexual harassment, which is not protected speech under the First Amendment. Recently, the play “Angels in America,” was assigned to a group of students in a TVUSD drama class. It included over 100 “F—words”, sexual violence and descriptions of explicit sex and drug use.

During Superintendent Thurmond’s June visit, he met with school activists, but neglected to speak with a family whose daughter was traumatized by this sordid material aimed at sexualizing our students. After alerting her parents, who testified at a TVUSD board meeting, this student suffered mistreatment and subsequent, retaliatory abuse on campus. She should have been Thurmond’s primary concern. State leaders, schools, teachers, and local board members should be making unbiased, ethical decisions in the classroom and designing policy to support and protect all stakeholders as per California Education Code, section 233.5:

“Each teacher shall endeavor to impress upon the minds of the pupils the principles of morality, truth, justice, patriotism, and a true comprehension of the rights, duties, and dignity of American citizenship, and the meaning of equality and human dignity, including the promotion of harmonious relations, ...to teach them to avoid idleness, profanity, and falsehood... and foster an environment... free from discriminatory attitudes, practices, events, or activities.”

While evaluating our recent K-5 social studies pilot, my colleague and I noted the lack of parental and citizen involvement required by the Education Code section 51100, “Specifically, involving parents and guardians of pupils in the education process is fundamental to a healthy system of public education.” We initially paused the decision to adopt the curriculum because the district bypassed the requirement to “promote the involvement of parents and the other members of the community in the selection of instructional materials.” Sec. 60002. The curriculum committee was comprised of 47 teachers and zero parents.

Our primary focus was to seek a robust, collaboratively chosen history curriculum, rich in civics and geography. During this process we were given cause for concern upon discovery of Harvey Milk’s biography in the proposed supplemental material for 4th grade. We learned this controversial historical figure was an adult who engaged in an intimate, long-term sexual relationship with a minor. This was reported by Randy Shilts, an award-winning gay reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, who covered Harvey’s activism and political career.

After five months, we have finally received full access to the teacher’s edition to finish a comprehensive review of the curriculum. The board has both the right and responsibility to exercise authority and discretion when adopting materials that will be in circulation in the district for 7-10 years. This is how every district in the state curates books. It is not ”book banning” as Jackson’s bill lazily asserts. We are working diligently to provide the best educationally suitable materials for our community in our elementary school classrooms while adhering to Fair Act guidelines in the K-12 setting.

This school board was elected to protect and oversee the education of every student regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity. I specifically voted to ban racism and supported a resolution disallowing Critical Race Theory to prevent students from being judged by the color of their skin instead of the content of their character. TVUSD is committed to education which learns

Page 61 of “Angels in America.” To see more pages from this play, go to myvalleynews.com and search “trustee.” Valley News/Courtesy photo from past injustices, racisms, and discrimination and rejects current discrimination threatening to undermine our shared humanity. In a recent Supreme Court decision striking down racial discrimination in college admissions, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote, “The words of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 are not like mood rings; they do not change their message from one moment to the next.” AB 1078 is one bill of many designed to limit the authority and autonomy of school boards.

Trustees are elected by constituents in their community as fiduciaries and are bound by law to make the best decisions in educating and protecting kids while upholding parent’s rights. If AB 1078 were to become law, it would use bullying techniques to threaten trustees who make good, but unpopular decisions, for their schools; this is how a democratic republic works. The bill would also levy fines, dox school board members, and seek to remove local control over curriculum decisions if they were to get on the state’s bad side for any arbitrary reason. This bill is flatly unconstitutional and will be challenged in court should the governor sign it. This bill proposal is also a direct attack on voters. Parents have a duty to connect with their legislative representatives and remind them that the school boards need to be protected from state control so they can provide the best content for their children’s education.

Jen4tvusd.com

@jen4tvusd media@jen4tvusd.com

“The Board of Education of the Temecula Valley Unified School District did not ‘ban’ a book at its May 16, 2023 regular meeting. Instead the Board of Education determined not to adopt as curriculum a history-social science program for District-wide use that had been part of a pilot study conducted by the District.

TWEET from page A-1 FAIR Act, before the next school year is set to begin. That proposed curriculum will be presented to the Board of Education for consideration and adoption on July 18, 2023 at its next regular meeting. What is also unfortunate is that the Governor knows this and has elected to publish this threatened action ahead of the District’s hard work on this matter that will be come to fruition in just a few days.

“Members of the Board of Education did state concerns about a supplemental material, not a textbook, that was part of that curriculum related to a lesson for fourth graders about Mr. Milk. But what the Governor has conveniently ignored is that members of the Board of Education expressed other significant concerns about the District’s process, including whether it had adequately engaged the community regarding the adoption of curriculum, as well as whether the proposed curriculum adequately addressed the needs of English learners and special education students.

“What has followed is an intense effort by a significant number of stakeholders within the District to resolve these concerns and assemble a curriculum that meets all state standards, including the

“It should also be noted that the contention by State Superintendent Tony Thurmond that the students of the District are “slated to begin the school year on August 14, 2023 without enough textbooks for every student” is categorically false.

“Following the decision by the Board of Education in May not to adopt the pilot curriculum, the District made arrangements with the publisher of its currently adopted curriculum to provide enough textbooks for every single K-5 student of the District (which are the grade levels effected by this issue). That plan is in place and can be implemented should a new curriculum not be adopted by the Board of Education.

According to a press release from Go, the rejected curriculum was one of four programs ap- proved by the state and is used in hundreds of school districts in California.

Assemblymember Dr. Corey Jackson has introduced Bill1078, which would require a ⅔ supermajority vote for any school board who chooses not to use a books recommended by the state and allows parents to bypass the local school boards and appeal the decision to county boards of education. Jackson was quoted in the press release, “Book banning is not acceptable and will not stand in

California,” This sends a clear message that such actions will not be tolerated. We stand united in our commitment to protect our students’ access to diverse educational materials and ensure an inclusive educational environment. We will not go backward. We will meet this historical moment.”

“As I stated in my response to the Attorney General on June 22, 2023: “The Board remains steadfastly committed to compliance with all laws, providing a safe-learning environment for all students, prohibiting any activity that is discriminatory towards any student or staff member, and fulfilling its statutory duty to comply with all mandates of the Education Code related to the adoption of curriculum. The Board is charged with meeting the needs of its local community, and believes it is doing so appropriately and lawfully, and free from unlawful discrimination, said Dr. Joseph Komrosky – School Board - 4th District (R, N), A.R.R.T., Ph.D.

Rotary Club of Menifee names new president

she is a facilities property manager. Mills is setting the picture for the Rotary Club of Menifee for the 2023-2024 year with the theme of “bridging the gap.”

Mills joined the Rotary Club because she felt that the Rotary Club encompassed what her heart has always felt. “Service Above Self,” which is the Rotary motto, or “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” is the motto by which she lives. Her goal for the year is to bring a fun, project-filled year to the Menifee community.

To increase the amount of service the Rotary Club can accomplish; Mills encourages people to join the Rotary. She feels that through joining Rotary people can build relationships and grow their ideas with other service-oriented people. Three of her favorite events as a Rotarian have been the Rotary Leadership Institute, the Rotary Club of Menifee School Supply Drive and the first Ignite Event which brought multiple Rotary Clubs together.

If you are interested in learning more about the Rotary, meetings are held the second and fourth Tuesday of the month at 11:45 a.m. at Mt. San Jacinto College Menifee Campus, 28237 La Piedra Road, in the 3000 Building.

Submitted by Rotary Club of Menifee.