The February school board meeting was held on Feb. 19 and consisted of various comments made by the trustees and public speakers regarding the past month.
To start off, Superintendent Brown shared about the teachers of the year. At the high school level, Erin Bo, the AVID teacher at San Clemente High School, won the Teacher of the Year award.
Next came the public comments, which covered a variety of topics. First, the mother of a high scholar at San Clemente High School complained about how the girls’ wrestling team was in “shambles.” A couple of weeks ago, the wrestling coaches were fired, and the parents didn’t hear about this until they reached out to the school.
One of the most memorable speakers of the night was Lisa Myers, who said, “you proudly ran your school bus campaign aligned our president, who is now in the process of dismantling the department of education. For everybody to be aware, the IDEA Act was passed by Congress in 1975 to ensure that students with disabilities would have access to the best free and appropriate education that they were able to.”
She further noted that these programs are funded by the Department of Education and ended with, “I know you all spoke so frequently about parent’s rights in your campaign, so I’m looking forward to hearing what you have to say about parent’s rights for these important groups of students.” As she walked away from the podium, she received a loud applause from the audience.
A majority of the speakers brought up the rise in antisemitism in the district and the importance of properly educating students about Jewish history. One speaker was a representative of the Holocaust Museum, and she shared about how the museum is a great opportunity for kids to interact with holocaust survivors and hear their stories.
One speaker shared how he immigrated from the Soviet Union to escape religious persecution and shared, “disturbingly, I see echoes of these policies in the United States today. Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives often prioritize identity over merit, fostering division.” He feels that education misrepresents Jewish history and portrays them as occupiers or aggressors to students.
Another speaker brought up the parental notification policy, which has been a topic of conversation since it was proposed in October 2023.
Another speaker brought up Jocelynn Rojo Carranza, an 11 year-old girl who took her own life after being bullied about her family’s immigrant status. This speaker shared that now is more important than ever to look out for and support each other.
One of the last speakers questioned a trustee who previously shared a story about her family’s history on a reservation and when she told her children about it, called it a “celebration of culture.” This speaker argued that the trustee should not only celebrate culture but also explain to children the roles of oppressors, and she should have explained why her family was on the reservation in the first place.
While the school board meetings are often a place of division, they are also a place of unity where families come together to fight for their rights and encourage the change they want to see.
