Temecula Valley USD Board President Must Cease 'Penalty Card System'

TEMECULA, CA — A federal civil rights lawsuit stemming from a "penalty card system" used by the president of the Temecula Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees to boot attendees from meetings, impacting their free speech rights, was resolved in an out-of-court settlement, the plaintiffs announced Tuesday.

According to the First Amendment Coalition and the ACLU of Southern California, the civil action against the TVUSD board and its president, Joseph Komrosky, ended after the plaintiffs received concessions from the defendants that there would be no further use of penalty cards to substitute for verbal warnings that a person's behavior could result in removal from a meeting.

The settlement further stipulates that Komrosky or his designated representative can no longer justify ejections from meetings based solely on opposition to a speaker's point of view, according to the plaintiffs.

TVUSD teacher Julie Geary, one of the principal litigants, said the agreement underscores "that our rights to petition the government and air grievances shall not be infringed by a school board president on a power trip."

"My hope is that the Temecula school board goes back to supporting students' academic excellence and stops trampling on our constitutional rights," she said.

The other lead litigant, Temecula Middle School Parent-Teacher-Student Association President Upneet Dhaliwal, expressed hope the agreement would "ensure our elected representatives, including Joseph Komrosky, respect the law and refrain from silencing critical opinions."

In a statement released to City News Service, Komrosky called the settlement "great news for the district."

"TVUSD celebrates our community's First Amendment right to speak," he said. "We also expect adults to act like adults and follow proper parameters of decorum at the meetings. Activists are consistently weaponizing law-fare and victimhood while draining district resources meant for our students."

The suit, filed last December in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, alleged Komrosky engaged in conduct that led to the "deprivation of the plaintiffs' federal and state constitutional and statutory rights," specifically the First Amendment guarantee to freedom of speech, and the California Brown Act provision for the ability to attend and express thoughts and concerns during public meetings.

The plaintiffs said that after the defendant in June implemented an "expulsion process," later approved by the entire board, he began using it to "chill the constitutional rights of the plaintiffs" by having them booted from meetings whenever they said or did something that caused him discomfort.

The process entailed use of a "penalty card system loosely borrowed from soccer matches," according to the suit. Komrosky explained at the outset of the process that the system was a means to save time. One card was yellow for a warning; the other card red for "you're out," he said.

"A disruption can be a loud outburst, or even something like constant talking in the rear that causes one of the board members and staff here to lose the ability to concentrate and thus govern properly," Komrosky said. "Also, when people are commenting, no yelling. There's going to be controversial comments coming from both sides. Be respectful and let people talk."

Those red-carded were expected to self-escort themselves to the exit, but in instances where they didn't immediately leave, security personnel were summoned to show them the door, according to the suit.

Geary was red-carded on July 18 and Aug. 9. The first instance stemmed from her openly questioning Komrosky's decision to bar two people from further comments after one, Pastor Tim Thompson, said a board member was "probably a communist" and another, teacher Jennee Scharf, described a board member as a "homophobe."

When Geary looked at Komrosky from her seat in the audience and asked, "What is this?" she was red-carded, according to the suit. Her Aug. 9 expulsion happened after the educator began speaking among people near her while the board was conducting business, taking issue with the body's "disruptive conduct regulations."

Dhaliwal was red-carded on Sept. 1 during a special board meeting where she was addressing the board via the public microphone, objecting to a section of an agenda item pertaining to qualifications for prospective superintendent candidates.

"Mr. Komrosky apparently determined that her comments did not address the agenda and interrupted her, telling her, in effect, to `stick to the agenda' before instructing her to yield her time," court papers stated.

The board has been at the center of controversy since the beginning of 2023, first for voting to prohibit critical race theory from classroom instruction. CRT's supporters say it provides a window to the past that gives minority viewpoints improved standing, while critics argue it is a racially charged curriculum that redefines history without merit.

The board also drew fire over its initial 3-2 decision to reject the state-recommended K-5 social studies book, "Social Studies Alive," which devotes a section to San Francisco County's first openly gay Board of Supervisors member, Harvey Milk. Komrosky and others cited the late politician's conduct with a 16-year-old boy as reasons not to make him a focus of interest.

However, the board soon after relented and adopted the textbook.