Commentary
California parents are learning the hard way who runs the state’s public schools: not them. If you’re a parent and send your kids to a public school, you have two functions: paying for the school and preparing your beloveds to be brainwashed.
That’s the lesson from Gov. Gavin Newsom directly intervening in the controversy over a “woke” textbook in Temecula Valley Unified School District.
Last December voters elected a pro-parent, 3–2, majority to the school board. It was democracy in action. “These current board members were elected because parents were completely unsatisfied with the board members of the past two years,” parent Stephanie Dawson told The Epoch Times in June. “We felt they didn’t listen to our concerns and that they belittled us for how we felt.”
The voters got what they wanted when the board rejected the woke textbook “Social Studies Alive! America’s Past.” The reason, ABC 7 News reported, was the “inclusion of gay rights activist Harvey Milk in the supplemental material used by teachers, even though Milk is not in the 4th grade textbook himself. Milk, who was one of the first openly gay elected officials in the country, was assassinated while serving on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.”
Some news outlets, even liberal ones, pointed out something important. Here’s CNN’s version: “According to the late San Francisco journalist Randy Shilts’ biography of Milk, ‘The Mayor of Castro Street,’ Milk began a relationship with Jack McKinley, a 16-year-old runaway, while living in Greenwich Village. Milk was 34. Their relationship has long been a source of controversy. The age of consent in New York was raised from 14 to 18 in 2017. McKinley died by suicide in 1980.”
At the May 16 board meeting, President Joseph Komrosky asked, “My question is why even mention a pedophile? Why even mention that? What has that got to do with our curriculum in schools? That’s a form of activism.”
The question brought this June 3 tweet from Mr. Newsom: “An offensive statement from an ignorant person. This isn’t Texas or Florida. In the Golden State, our kids have the freedom to learn. Congrats Mr. Komrosky you have our attention. Stay tuned.”
Mr. Newsom then threatened to fine the district $1.5 million for not pushing the book on the students. This action by him, as The Epoch Times’s Micaela Ricaforte reported on July 20, is illegal.
Ignorant person? Mr. Komrosky’s biography reads he “holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Claremont Graduate University and is a tenured college professor teaching logic full-time at Mount San Antonio College.” Before that, he helped cancer patients in nuclear medicine. He served as a U.S. Army Airborne Ranger and is a disabled veteran.
Board Reversal
On July 21, the bullied board voted 4–0 to reverse itself and bring back “Social Studies Alive!” But that still didn’t satisfy Mr. Newsom, who kept up the attack in a statement, “Fortunately, now students will receive the basic materials needed to learn. But this vote lays bare the true motives of those who opposed this curriculum. This has never been about parents’ rights. It’s not even about Harvey Milk — who appears nowhere in the textbook students receive. This is about extremists’ desire to control information and censor the materials used to teach our children.“Demagogues who whitewash history, censor books, and perpetuate prejudice never succeed. Hate doesn’t belong in our classrooms and because of the board majority’s antics, Temecula has a civil rights investigation to answer for.”
The announcement also said Mr. Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and the California Department of Education under Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond are investigating the district for civil-rights violations.
Take that, parents!
Mr. Komrosky explained his reversal at the meeting, “Newsom, Thurmond, Bonta, they are salivating for us to make a mistake. So, for me, I want to make the right decision. We do not have curriculum. We are three weeks out [from the start of school]. This is just my concern. What I’m saying is we have to take action that’s legal, not illegal, to avoid litigation.”
Speaking at Mr. Newsom, Mr. Komrosky added, “Gov. Newsom, I act independently and authoritatively from you. I am a sovereign citizen of the United States of America. I was voted in as a trustee. I make my decision completely independent of what you do. Our kids need an education. They need curriculum. They need it. We have to provide it.”
Anti-Parent Bills
To prevent any more attempts at parental involvement in their own children’s education, Assembly Bill 1078 was introduced. Its sponsor headlined his press release, “Assemblymember Dr. Corey Jackson Fights to Preserve Inclusivity and Knowledge: Unveils AB 1078 to End Book Banning and Reject Extremist Agendas in California’s Education System.” The Moreno Valley Democrat’s 60th District is just north of Temecula. His doctorate is in social work.AB 1078 passed the Assembly, 62–16, on May 30; and the Senate Education Committee, 5–2, on July 5. No doubt it will pass the full Senate soon and be signed into law by Mr. Newsom. However, it could be modified as the California School Boards Association objected to the bill’s financial penalties.
All these events put a punctuation mark on the remarks at a June 13 meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee by state Sen. Scott Wilk (R-Santa Clarita), “If you love your children, you need to flee California. You need to flee.”
He added, “In recent years, we have put government bureaucrats between parents, children, and doctors when it comes to medical care—and now we have [Assembly Bill 957], where if a parent does not support the ideology of the government, [children are] going to be taken away from the home.”
AB 957 is by Assemblymember Lori D. Wilson (D-Suison City). The bill specifically says “child custody and visitation … would include a parent’s affirmation of the child’s gender identity or gender expression as part of the health, safety, and welfare of the child.” It passed the Assembly, 51–13, on March 30; and the Senate Judiciary Committee, 8–2, on June 13. Full passage in the Senate, followed by Mr. Newsom’s signature, is likely.
The state is not anywhere near the end of these attacks on parental rights—which means many more parents will heed Wilk’s call and flee.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
