The High Stakes Of Temecula Valley USD's Race Debate

TEMECULA, CA — A wedge issue — critical race theory — has divided the Temecula Valley Unified School District governing board and the community for more than three months. The strife continued this week.

A TVUSD special governing board meeting was held Wednesday night at James L. Day Middle School for the purpose of a CRT panel discussion. The nearly five-hour community event hosted by the TVUSD board was billed as an opportunity to learn more about CRT — to hear diverse expert viewpoints and ask questions.

It didn't always go smoothly. The meeting was often raucous and emotions ran high. Three people were removed by law enforcement for alleged disruptive behavior.

The event was bound to divide. All six panelists hired by the board majority share an anti-CRT viewpoint. The meeting agenda spelled it out: "The intent is to raise awareness of the potential harms of CRT and its associated tenets as well as to provide an opportunity for community members, staff, and students to ask questions of the panel members."

TVUSD governing board members Jennifer Wiersma and Joseph Komrosky handpicked the panelists. The two, along with board member Danny Gonzalez, voted in December to ban CRT in the district, which set off a firestorm, including student protests. The ban was the first order of business for the three newly elected board members who now hold a majority and represent a district that has never taught CRT.

For students, parents and teachers incensed by the ban, Wednesday's one-sided panel did not sit well.

During a particularly heated moment in which Komrosky threatened to clear the auditorium due to disruptions, an audience member shouted, "Shut down this sham meeting." One public speaker called the event "TVUSD's biggest waste of student funds ever."

Not everyone agreed. Several people at Wednesday's event offered support for the anti-CRT stance. One said the discussion could demonstrate a level of "humanity."

The CRT ban and ensuing efforts to educate the public about it have come at a high price, however.

Attorney Christopher Arend sat on the panel and was hired by the board majority to provide two days of CRT lectures to TVUSD teachers. His contract showed he was billing the district $500 per hour. One teacher likened his talks to an "indoctrination camp."

The total cost for all panelists on Wednesday was approximately $4,900, according to the district.

Other costs the district has incurred include paying substitute teachers to take over classes for TVUSD educators who attended Arend's lectures.

The district is also paying for increased law enforcement services given the ongoing unrest amid the CRT controversy. The figure is up to an average of $3,500 per board meeting this year for security services, compared to about $740 per meeting before CRT became the primary discussion item, board member Allison Barclay said Wednesday.

Additionally, the board majority approved hiring another attorney to advise it.

The TVUSD's reputation has also suffered, according to Barclay.

"We currently have multiple positions in this district — administrator and director levels — that we are not able to fill with qualified candidates because of the climate created here in the last three months," she said.

So what motivates the three governing board members to push through their anti-CRT agenda? All have publicly stated that TVUSD students are at the heart of it.

Komrosky maintains it is for the "safety and security" of kids.

"A guardrail had to be put on," he said Wednesday. "We had to tighten the net so we could catch these possibilities of slipping through [the state's education code]."

In its resolution banning CRT, the district does allow social science courses to include limited instruction on the topic. It can be taught in these classes "provided that such instruction plays only a subordinate role in the overall course and provided further that such instruction focuses on the flaws in Critical Race Theory," according to the resolution.

Wiersma said Wednesday, "For the people that disagree with us, and for some of the teachers that have felt like they have disagreed with us, that's ok. We're moving forward with the resolution [to ban CRT] and the determination to protect all kids and give them the best education here at TVUSD that we can."

In addition to Arend, Wednesday's panelists included Dr. Wenyuan Wu, executive director of Californians for Equal Rights Foundation; Esther Valdes-Clayton, attorney; Walter H. Myers, III, adjunct faculty member at Biola University; Dr. Joseph Nalven, University of California San Diego professor; and Dr. Brandy Schufutinsky, director of education and community engagement at Jewish Institute for Liberal Values.