TEMECULA SCHOOL DIST. WON’T RELEASE NAMES OF BOARD APPLICANTS
Who wants to help oversee a public school district with 33 schools, more than 2,000 employees, roughly 28,000 students and a $408 million annual budget?
The Temecula Valley Unified School District isn’t saying, at least for now.
District officials are not releasing the names of those who applied by a Friday, Jan. 26, deadline to fill an open school board seat created by Danny Gonzalez’s resignation. It’s not known how many people applied.
Depending on when the names are shared, the public might not have much time to learn about the applicants before Tuesday, Feb. 13, when the remaining board members will interview the applicants in public and try to appoint someone that night to fill the vacancy.
If the board agrees on a replacement for Gonzalez, that person could determine whether the board’s conservative majority is restored or blocked. Many controversial items since late 2022 have passed by a 3-2 vote.
Board bylaws prevent the district from disclosing applicants’ names until a board subcommittee has reviewed their applications, district spokesperson Jimmy Evans said via a text message. He did not elaborate on what bylaw bars the district from sharing that information now.
The subcommittee will likely meet the week before the full board’s Feb. 13 meeting, Evans added.
It’s not clear if the applicants’ names will be made public after the subcommittee meets or when the Feb. 13 agenda is published. Board agendas are typically posted online the Friday before a meeting.
The Southern California
News Group on Monday, Jan. 29, submitted a request to the district under the California Public Records Act seeking information about the applicants.
While the district may be legally able to withhold applicants’ names, doing so denies the public the opportunity to vet the applicants ahead of time, said David Loy, legal director for the First Amendment Coalition, which advocates for government transparency and is suing the district over its policy over board President Joseph Komrosky’s practice of ejecting audience members whom he deems to be disruptive or threatening from board meetings.
The Southern California News Group is a longtime member of and contributor to the First Amendment Coalition.
The co-founder of One Temecula Valley PAC, which has pushed back on the board conservatives’ agenda, criticized the withholding of applicants’ names.
“Since the day Komrosky was sworn onto the TVUSD board there has been a clear lack of transparency with the public and fellow board members, which has led to a complete loss of public trust, so this is hardly a surprise to us,” Jeff Pack said via email.
“One Temecula Valley PAC stands for good governance, and we believe it is important that stakeholders and the public have an opportunity to be actively involved in this process, with the opportunity to research and raise concerns with potential candidates prior to any appointment.”
Citing an impending move to Texas, Gonzalez resigned from the board Dec. 15.
Before that, he was one of three Christian conservatives who won a majority on the five-member board in late 2022. Gonzalez, along with board members Komrosky and Jen Wiersma, passed controversial policies such as a ban on the teaching of so-called critical race theory and requiring district staff to notify parents if their child identifies as transgender.
“Precisely because the board has such a history of controversy, I think the public has an especially compelling interest in knowing who is being considered for the open seat,” Loy said.
That said, Loy said the district might have legal cover in not disclosing applicants’ names from a couple of 1990s court cases in which Loy’s coalition and the Los Angeles Times sought the names of applicants for open seats on a county board of supervisors.
At the time, the court ruled that releasing the names “would potentially compromise the ability of the government to review those applications (and) would discourage people from applying ” because they may not want it known they’re applying or may have to share “potentially confidential or embarrassing information,” Loy said.
Gonzalez’s departure sets up a potential 2-2 deadlock on the board, with Komrosky and Wiersma on one side and board members Allison Barclay and Steve Schwartz, who usually oppose the conservatives’ agenda, on the other.
The remaining board members will try to agree on a replacement to take Gonzalez’s Trustee Area 2 seat, which represents neighborhoods east of Margarita Road and north of Rancho California Road in Temecula. If they can’t, voters will choose who succeeds Gonzalez.
To seek an appointment, applicants must be at least 18 years old and can’t be Temecula school district employees or disqualified from running for elected office because of a felony conviction.
The upcoming applicant interviews come amid another possible board shakeup.
Komrosky will have to face a recall election after One Temecula Valley PAC got enough valid voter signatures to force a recall election, which has yet to be scheduled.