Despite Public Calls For Change, TVUSD Reelects Komrosky As Board President; Clerk Vote Stalls

TEMECULA, CA — Despite a wave of public comments from students, parents and community members urging trustees to elect Board Member Steven Schwartz as the next Temecula Valley Unified School District board president, Dr. Joseph Komrosky was reelected to the role — the same seat from which he was recalled last year.

The district’s annual organizational meeting, meant to be a procedural restructuring of leadership positions, instead unfolded with renewed tensions that mirrored months of controversy surrounding the board.

Many public speakers pleaded for a course correction, arguing that Komrosky’s leadership had brought “chaos,” legal expenses and negative statewide attention to the district.

Many students asked the board to prioritize stability and student-centered decision-making after a turbulent year marked by lawsuits, policy disputes and repeated criticism of the board’s conduct.

“Our community deserves leadership that puts students first, not more turmoil or distractions,” Jackson Price, a sophomore at Temecula Valley High School said.

Nathan Barry, a Junior at Chaparral High School, held up a poster displaying a series of news headlines stemming from actions taken under Komrosky’s presidency.

“Is this what we want our school board to reflect?” Barry asked the room. "These are all negative articles that highlight the chaos that occurred under Joseph Komrosky."

One of those actions includes his now-abandoned “penalty card” system for managing meetings — a policy that triggered litigation and intense public backlash.

Sitting Board Clerk Emil Barham was the first to nominate Schwartz for president.

"I hear a lot of people coming up here talking about conservatism. First of all I want to say, Steve is for the kids... That's the most important thing," Barham said. "But I want to remind everyone of some of the things that Steve voted for this year, he voted for AB 89, to save girl's sports. He voted for every single parental notification policy except for one. He's able to cross over and be common-sense oriented."

In response, Schwartz said a few words.

"I want to remind people that school boards are nonpartison," he said. "I don't care what your political views are. School boards are nonreligious. You're welcome to your religious practice. We don't have religion in schools because of the multiplicity of faith that exists in our schools. We don't want anyone to feel that they are not part of what goes on."

Schwartz went on to say that he is the most experienced educator on the board and the longest serving board member, with 35 years of experience as a teacher, administrator and as a sports coach in New York state and 5 years in California. He's also a board member of the California School Boards Association.

After Schwartz spoke, Anderson reminded the room that she would be voting "no" on any candidate for president, to avoid holding the deciding vote on the board.

"So, please don't gasp when I vote no on everyone," she said, adding that she agreed with Barham's nomination of Schwartz. "If you call Steve an evil person, you don't know him."

Trustee Jennifer Wiersma then took the microphone to express her objections to Schwartz candidacy.

"I know that this is a bipartison position," she said, using finger quotes. "However, in this day and age, things have changed and the community did vote for four trustees who were more conservative. That was part of the expectation."

While Wiersma said she didn't question Schwartz's love for students, she said she hasn't been treated well.

"...I can speak differently as a woman," she said, in reference to an accusation of sexual harassment she levied against Schwartz at a Christmas party last year. After a probe conducted on behalf of the district, an investigation found that Wiersma's claim was unfounded.

The motion to elect Schwartz failed, with just two votes for Schwartz, from himself and Barham. The no's came from Wiersma, Komrosky and Anderson.

After securing nominations from Wiersma and himself, Komrosky secured the votes to reassume his role of president. He replaced outgoing Board President Dr. Melinda Anderson.

"This process has truly humbled me and I know it has for Dr. Komrosky as well," she said after a vote. "We haven't done everything right, we've made mistakes, but the one thing that has amazed me about Dr. K is that even in having a job threatened, going through a recall and deciding to come back, having health challenges — watching the things that he's gone through has reassured me that he is a different person today and he does care about students."

"I fully believe that he will lead in this next year very differently," Wiersma said. "Students, he will hear you. We will make some good decisions. I'm confident in that."

Kromosky then took the floor, immediately denying claims made by public speakers over the course of the evening, including legal fees accrued due to his actions and a violation of "someone's" First Amendment right.

"Again, that's not true. I can stay up here for a long time saying that but I'll just off the cuff say that I wasn't elected to represent the union of the district. I was elected by the parents of this community, the majority and they have a set of values that I told them 'if you elect me, I'm going to uphold these values that I'm running on that you agree with."

Kromosky said he applauded the students who spoke up at the meeting.

"But you're minors. I represent the parents that put me here."

"That is exactly why I got recalled because I was steadfast, shielding you students from darkness — whether you know it or not."

Unrest erupted in the room after that statement before Kromosky continued: "The hypersensitivity to racism, social justice, VTQAI+ — I am a professor. I have gay, bisexual, trans students all in my class and I've had them for 10 years. I love all of them. And they know and they love me and they respect me. But we don't talk about that in the classroom."

He went on to affirm that he was elected to shield students from "wokeism."

"This is a nonpartison position," Schwartz returned. "I don't know what wokeism is. I don't practice wokeism, I don't know what it is and if we're going to continue to bring politics to our schools, all we're going to do is divide this community."

The board’s reorganization stalled, however, when trustees were unable to agree on who should serve as board clerk.

Schwartz declined a nomination for the position from Kromosky and other board members, expressing frustration with the board’s dynamics. In response, Anderson urged Schwartz to accept, saying that she felt the board needed a balance of differing political ideologies at its helm.

"Mr. Schwartz, I want to you to consider the balance of having you and Dr. Komrosky together," she said. "We need oversight for the president...the power’s in the majority."

"We don’t need this to look like it did last time with three conservatives all in leadership,” she added.

Still, Schwartz declined to accept.

"I’m not gonna be anyone’s mate," Schwartz said. "If I’m not the captain, I don’t want to be on this crew."

Attempts to nominate other members failed amid visible tension, personal accusations and legal concerns raised during the meeting.

At one point, Board Member Anderson said she had been “threatened” and said she was speaking with an attorney while at the meeting.

Anderson later declined a nomination for clerk, and when her selection was put to a vote, the motion failed. With no consensus in sight, Komrosky, despite pleading with Anderson to accept, called a brief recess to consult district counsel before announcing that the clerk appointment would be postponed to a future meeting.

Public comments earlier in the night set the tone for a contentious outcome, with parents and students sharply criticizing the board’s recent history and urging trustees to “listen to the kids,” as Chapparel High School parent, Leanne Charton, put it.

“Steven is the only person who should be sitting in that president’s chair. There’s no chaos, no agenda, other than the children and fiscal responsibility," she said. “It should be the easiest decision you make this year. It should be about the kids."