Temecula School Board trips over its own distractions

A few suggestions to get trustees back on track, based on 2025 board meetings so far

Distraction #1: Subcommittees

Some Temecula Valley Unified School District board members are retired (Steve Schwartz, Emil Barham, Melinda Anderson), and some work part time (Joe Komrosky, Jen Wiersma). No current TVUSD trustee has a full-time job. Apparently they have lots of free time.

We suppose that’s why the board now has 11 subcommittes, in addition to the 15 standing committees that already existed. The April 15th meeting agenda proposes yet another new subcommittee.

Subcommittees are useful for some specific projects: you get two trustees to focus on an issue, they work as needed with district staff, and then they bring back recommendations to the full board.

But our retired and part-time worker trustees apparently haven’t noticed something important: unlike the trustees, our TVUSD district staff all have full-time jobs. If trustees spend hours in multiple subcommittee meetings with district staff, when do staff get their jobs done?

A modest suggestion

We don’t want to discourage trustees who care—especially Schwartz and Barham, who clearly support public education and want to do the best for our Temecula students. They’re enthusiastic about making sure that teachers have the training and support they need, that students learn well and feel safe at school, that test scores and learning improve. Bravo.

And since these trustees are retired, they have all the time in the world to devote to subcommittees on grading practices, accountability and goals, dual-language immersion, budget details, special education.

All these things are important and may need attention, but all at once? We suggest the board consider two things: first, the burden they’re placing on district staff, and second, the value of focus.

• Staff all have full-time jobs. Lately subcommittee work has taken up far too many hours and far too much extra attention, leaving not enough time for the job.

• A dozen subcommittees all at once? That’s not focus; that’s scatter. Scatter gets nothing done, because everyone is trying to do 12 things at the same time. Much better to focus on one or two things, finish them, and then move on to something else.

Superintendent Dr. Gary Woods is a kind, encouraging, optimistic person. We suggest he kindly encourage the board to limit the number of subcommittees and the staff’s involvement. Giving district staff the time to do their jobs is essential for his optimistic vision of TVUSD.

Let’s focus and let staff do their jobs.

Distraction #2: Agenda items

The board has done a few important things—like approve by a 5-0 vote the tentative agreements with TVEA (Temecula Valley Educators Association) and CSEA (California School Employees Association), raise classified staff substitute salaries (5-0), and revise staff salary schedules (3-2, Komrosky and Wiersma opposed). But more often, repetitive discussions and irrelevant agenda items take center stage.

Repetitive discussions

So much time has been spent arguing about comments during meetings—the same arguments, over and over:

• When should general public comments be heard? Public comments on agenda items are always heard when the item comes up; general public comments were moved to the end of the meeting by a 3-2 vote. But Wiersma demands a new vote every meeting.

• Should TVEA, CSEA, and PTA Council presidents be invited to comment at each meeting? Traditionally they do, and the current board supports it (3-2), but since Komrosky doesn’t like these organizations, he frequently argues about it.

• Should the Board President make special comments at the start of a meeting? More discussion.

• How long can each trustee discuss an agenda item? Without limits, some trustees talked far too long. But how limits are handled is a constant irritant.

Irrelevant agenda items

After basic formalities (like attendance, the Pledge of Allegiance, and announcements), the Open Session part of every TVUSD meeting agenda is in three main parts: Consent Calendar, Information & Reports, and Action Items.

• The Consent Calendar lists multiple items the board needs to approve, all of which are considered routine. Unless a trustee questions an item, the whole bunch is approved with one vote.

• Information & Reports are just that: items the board needs to know about and discuss, but not vote on at this meeting.

• Action Items are things the board expects to vote on at this meeting. Each action item is usually voted on individually.

Let’s look at that second section, Info & Reports. Typically given by district staff, these items should be new information and updates on things like these:

• Budget and finances

• Curriculum and learning materials

• Safety and security

• Educational programs like CTE (career & technical education), LCAP (local control accountability plan), Special Education

• Facilities

• Family and community engagement

• Board policy changes required by new laws

But in board meetings since December 2024, the Information & Reports section has increasingly contained distractions. Instead of items about education and safety—the trustees’ real job—we’re getting trustees’ pet peeves and pet projects:

• A parliamentarian to referee board meetings

• Board civility policies

• Proper trustee social media use

• Hired/fired attorney firms

• Complaints about a math workbook question

• A “better” location for board meetings with a raised dais

• Electronic voting for trustees

• More new subcommittees

Meetings should be professional, focused on education, and short. Getting rid of repetitive discussions and unnecessary agenda items would help—a lot.

Distraction #3: Unprofessional conduct

Most people who have attended school board meetings this year or watched them on video have been bothered by the trustees’ unprofessional conduct: bickering, lying, personal accusations, and inability to listen or work together.

Without showing respect, tolerance, and honesty, how can the board do its job? How can the district move forward and improve student learning when its trustees are constantly distracted with these internal, personal vendettas?

Do these trustees have any idea what a functioning board looks like? We doubt it. Not one of them has experienced an effective board or a healthy board meeting—not even Schwartz, who was elected in 2020. Remember the chaos of 2020-22? The Covid-era meetings were filled with anger, fear, personal abuse, irrationality. And every meeting since December 2022 has been similar.

Maybe it’s like growing up in a chaotic, abusive family. Unless you have the chance to see how things work in a more supportive family, how can you help create an effective family yourself?

We suggest each trustee privately think about a time when they were part of a respectful, effective organization—if they have been so fortunate as to experience one. Think about how those people behaved toward one another. Notice what made them feel respected, and how they showed their respect for others. Notice the give and take of discussion and the reliance on facts. Think about what the group was able to accomplish and how that happened.

Trustees, you don’t need more policies and rules about your behavior. You already know how to behave. You just need to do it. Need a reminder? It’s written in your Judeo-Christian background: Love your neighbor as yourself. Treat others the way you would like to be treated.

Please reflect in private and resolve to do better. Do not spend any more time discussing civility, respect, or other trustee behavior in board meetings. Just do it.

And then there’s politicking…

Judging by their actions since first elected in 2022, Trustees Komrosky and Wiersma are in this position for personal reasons. For example, they establish or serve on subcommittees only to promote their personal political and religious ideas: ethnic studies curriculum, board policies review, a special location for board meetings, parental notification. (Komrosky and Wiersma established that one, but Anderson and Barham are now the subcommittee members.)

All our current trustees have made political and religious comments in board meetings. All have been taunted for their political and religious views. These comments and taunts are totally inappropriate; they all distract from board business.

In her board comments at the March 11, 2025, meeting, Wiersma stated: “It has been said that school board is non-partisan. Nothing is non-partisan anymore.”

Wrong.

School board trustee IS a non-partisan position. Legally and officially. That’s why your party affiliation is not listed on the ballot when you run for this office.

Trustees serve the whole community and are responsible for educating all students. Neither personal religion nor personal politics have anything to do with a trustee’s job. Period.

Here’s something we think is important: if you read a political stance into everything, you fail to notice reality. And a failure to notice reality has unpleasant consequences for individual humans and their institutions. When you miss the stalking tiger in the jungle, overlook the value of measles vaccines, or fail to see that many American men feel displaced, you suffer unpleasant consequences.

But we digress. Let’s get back to our local public schools.

Finally…

We have at least three trustees who appear to want a healthy board and meetings that function well. It’s an open question whether the other two even want to try, but we hope they all do.

Let’s stop the distractions and work on all the things that truly need attention here.