One Temecula Valley PAC opposes move to hire outside counsel for TVUSD board members, disputes Wiersma’s claims of ‘safety issues’
— NEWS RELEASE —
TEMECULA (Jan. 31, 2023) — Once again, Temecula Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees President Joseph Komrosky has called for the TVUSD Board to consider retaining “Temporary or Specialized Counsel.”
It is yet another example of the lack of transparency and backdoor dealings being perpetrated by board president Komrosky and trustee Jen Wiersma.
“From time to time, the District or Governing Board requires the use of specialized legal counsel,” the proposal reads, falsely contending that this is common practice within TVUSD past and present, while mentioning something called “The Matter.”
Link to the TVUSD Agenda: https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/SB_Meetings/ViewMeeting.aspx?S=36030186&MID=17625
Attached to the proposal is an Engagement Letter written and delivered by email on Jan. 27, 2023.
"We are pleased that the Board of Trustees of the Temecula Valley Unified School District (the “Client”) has selected Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. (the “Firm” or “EBG”) to provide temporary and specialized legal services. We look forward to working with you."
— Jonathan M. Brenner, Epstein, Becker, Green
Engagement Letter: https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/Meetings/Attachment.aspx?S=36030186&AID=423772&MID=17625
To the best of 1TVPAC’s knowledge, only two of the five sitting TVUSD board members had any connection to EBG, prior to the special meeting called by Komrosky on Jan. 18. And yet, this letter seems to imply that “the board” has “selected” the firm without the knowledge of or input from the remaining three board members, or that of Superintendent Jodi McClay.
Further, during the special Jan. 18 meeting, Trustee Wiersma declared that she was concerned for the “safety” of students in regard to student walkouts led by campus student groups.
She quoted a parent who allegedly told her that her student felt frightened by the use of a bullhorn on campus by another student during the walkout, comparing it to “The Purge.”
Reports from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department to the Temecula City Council referred to the two student walkouts as without incident, peaceful and safe. 1TVPAC understands that Wiersma never reached out to TVUSD Safety and Security representative Jason Vickery regarding the issues “of safety.”
She also referenced a feeling of being “stonewalled” by district administration as to how she could move forward with actions or communications regarding the walkouts.
Given that line of accusation, and the lack of any real indication that students were unsafe during the walkouts, 1TVPAC surmises that Wiersma was intending to lay the groundwork for the eventual termination of Superintendent McClay with this baseless narrative.
“Wiersma’s ‘stonewalling’ statement tells us she and Komrosky were laying the groundwork for, and intend to use the playbook they’ve been following since they obtained seats on the TVUSD board to fire McClay,” 1TVPAC said. “With McClay’s performance review coming up in February, having a ‘special counsel’ in place to help them navigate any termination action they embark on will be of service to them. Their lack of transparency speaks volumes of their intentions.”
Given their passage of a politically-motivated grandstanding anti-CRT resolution in early January, which caused the student walkouts in protest, and now seemingly targeting the termination of TVUSD’s superintendent, once again, 1TVUSD opines that Komrosky and Wiersma are following the playbook set forth by extremist groups such as the Heritage Foundation and Moms for Liberty.
“Komrosky and Wiersma aren’t bringing new ideas to the table for the benefit of TVUSD, its students and staff,” 1TVPAC said. “There’s nothing unique that they are adding to our successful school district. They are attempting to follow a playbook that was laid down in front of them designed to dismantle public schools. This is mindless adherence to a national directive and it does a disservice to our students, educators and administrators who have worked for years to provide a top level education for all of our children.”
It is the opinion of 1TVPAC that irresponsible actions such as these have and will create instability in a school district widely known to be one of the top school districts in the state. The continuation of such mindless actions will undoubtedly damage the stellar reputation of a high-achieving school district for many years to come.
This kind of poor governance, the dismantling of our school district will undoubtedly have devastating effects on our community that will last for decades. A poorly-managed school district can ultimately have severely damaging effects on a community and economy in the form of lowered housing valuations, an inability to attract new businesses, a stunted tourism industry, all of which could take decades for the city to recover from.
The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 31 at the TVUSD Conference Center, 31350 Rancho Vista Road, Temecula, CA 92592.
We call upon all Temecula residents, business owners and TVUSD stakeholders to attend Tuesday’s meeting and push back against a board majority that is acting irresponsibly in their own personal and politically-motivated interests and are determined to destroy TVUSD’s stellar educational reputation.
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One Temecula Valley Political Action Committee was to support and foster a stable and common sense approach to governance for Southwest Riverside County. The group has expanded to five working teams actively monitoring local school boards and city councils throughout Southwest Riverside County encompassing the cities of Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee, and Lake Elsinore. To learn more, volunteer, and donate, visit www.onetvpac.org.
