Temecula Valley USD Board's Biggest Hurdle: Working Together

TEMECULA, CA — The Temecula Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees recently attempted to work through ill feelings after years of clashing on the dias. They made limited headway during a Feb. 11 Governing Board Workshop meeting, with accusations flying between Jen Wiersma and Steve Schwartz.

All were present at the roundtable discussion meeting, including board president Dr. Melissa Anderson, Steve Schwartz, Jen Wiersma, Emil Barham, and Dr. Joseph Komrosky. They intended to address some root issues with their governance handbook and guidelines for working together.

About an hour and a half into the meeting, while hammering out bullet points for " agreeing to disagree with civility," Wiersma used that time to call out Schwartz.

Under a preface of "clearing the air," she accused Schwartz of "calling her and Dr. Komrosky Christian Nationalists," then alleged that as they gathered for a Christmas party photo, Schwartz suggested she "cop a feel" during the photo pose, and had "devalued her as a woman." She also suggested that the new Board President, Anderson, brushed any uneasy feelings aside, saying, "That's just Steve," which Anderson ignored during the meeting.

Anderson did attempt to halt Wiersma's tirade during the public forum.

"I think you are digging your own grave," Anderson warned Wiersma. "You're kicking a hornet's nest, and I'm doing you a favor by calling point of order."

Schwartz immediately addressed Wiersma's comment on Christian Nationalism, saying he "did not recall that incident." He apologized to both. However, he and Komrosky hashed it out and agreed that Schwartz had mentioned "Christian Nationalism," but he had never called anyone on the board a "Christian Nationalist."

As to the point of the Christmas party statement, Schwartz addressed all present, revealing he had sworn statements from five people, saying, "No one heard me say what she says she heard."

Schwartz—who met with his attorney during the break—said his lawyer wanted to file suit against Wiersma for defamation in civil court if she would not retract her comments.

The two could not agree during the session.

In an attempt to rein in the reason for the meeting, Dr. Komrosky suggested that "while it's good to air out dirty laundry, this board needs to lead by example. Let's be honest and respectful. We don't need to demean. We need to be professional on the dias. That's why we were elected."

Emil Barham suggested: "We need to focus on the kids, which is what all this is about."

Later, Anderson wrote a statement to Patch via email, explaining that she was aware of Schwartz's civil lawsuit before the meeting and was being used as a "star witness" to Wiersma's claims.

"I did not know Mr. Schwartz very well at the time of the photo," Anderson told Patch in an email. The two had only met a handful of times, and she did not know him personally. "It would be unusual for me to say 'that’s just Steve,' when I don’t even know the man.

"When Mrs. Wiersma made her statement, I was aware that Mr. Schwartz already had private attorneys involved in the matter and that she was not aware of it. I knew it was a civil matter and should not be discussed at a governance workshop." Anderson was made aware of Wiersma's intentions. "At this time, I do not believe Mrs. Wiersma has ever asked for my statement from the district or private attorneys. I can confirm she has never discussed the matter with me personally (as of Thursday morning). She does not know my account of the event. Any statement she makes regarding my perspective is hearsay."

Patch has contacted Wiersma and Schwartz, and both declined further comments on the session.

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