Despite a Well-Run Meeting, More Time Wasted by TVUSD Trustees — April 15th Recap
1TVPAC Team
Once again, the TVUSD Board of Education spent much of the April 15th meeting focused on topics that don't directly improve schools, student outcomes, or the district’s financial health. Instead, the majority of the meeting was consumed with culture war debates, internal board dynamics, and discussions about policies mandated by state law — matters largely outside the district's control.
You can watch the meeting at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qctcySs6hbM.
Solid Performance by Newest Board Members
Board President Dr. Melinda Anderson attended the April 15th meeting via Zoom, staying on through most of the session — far beyond what was required — demonstrating her commitment to her role and to the public. To ensure smooth operations, Clerk Emil Barham served as acting president while Trustee Steve Schwartz temporarily took over clerk duties, including reading out closed session actions.
Mr. Barham, who has only been on the board since December 2024, showed impressive leadership skills, managing the meeting professionally and efficiently. He made key decisions about the order of discussions and voting that kept the meeting on track while ensuring that both public and trustee voices were heard. Remarkably, he was more organized, prepared, and effective at running a meeting in just his third month than Dr. Joseph Komrosky managed to be over his 18-month tenure as board president.
Unfortunately, despite the efficient management, the board once again spent significant time on issues that neither improve student outcomes, enhance financial health, nor directly impact schools.
One Hour on a $700 Item
The most controversial — and time-consuming — agenda item came from the consent calendar: a $700 contract with an approved vendor to provide three speakers for one session of a high school World Religions class. Trustees devoted nearly an hour — roughly one-fourth of the 4.5-hour meeting — to dissecting this single item.
For context, the consent calendar is meant to bundle routine operations into a single approval vote. Trustees receive the agenda and backup documents 4–5 days prior to meetings, providing ample time to research or request clarifications from district staff beforehand. Yet, instead of doing their homework, some trustees used valuable meeting time to question a thoroughly vetted, low-cost contract — something that should have taken no more than a minute to approve.
Had trustees read the attached documentation or reached out for clarification before the meeting, they would have known that the vendor had already been approved, the speakers represented three different religions, and the session was part of a year-long, advanced-level IB (International Baccalaureate) course.
At one point, Anderson asked whether the several people who spoke on this item in the meeting had spoken to board members and questioned whether those speakers were given the full picture of what the program is.
“Did the other board members let them know that we have someone from the Hindu religion representing their community on the panel?” She asked. “Because I get the sense that the community did not know that we have someone from the Hindu religion that has been vetted, that is insured to come and participate in this panel of three. That's my feeling.
“My gut feeling is that they weren't informed of that. So, did anyone on the board know that or share that with the community?”
Wiersma answered.
“I only spoke to one person and they're not, they weren't actually in the Hindu community,” she said.
Komrosky did not answer the question and redirected to a statement made by Assistant Superintendent Kimberly Velez regarding vetting and liability insurance requirements for those speaking in the program.
“Nick Pardue from the Murrieta School Board invited the president of the Hindu community into his classroom for free,” he said. “So there's that debate.”
Anderson shot back with another question.
“Does Mr. Pardue, does he teach an IB class?” she said. “Did he have to have a qualified insured representative? Do you understand the difference between IB classes and just, like regular social studies classes? Like we're trying to raise the bar and bring in highly, highly qualified because these are students that are.”
Pardue teaches in the Perris Unified School District and does not teach an IB class. He does, however, serve as the advisor of the politically-motivated Turning Point USA (TPUSA) club at Paloma Valley High School.
Despite multiple district experts providing background and information to explain and answer any misunderstandings possessed by board members and members of the public who spoke at the meeting, Komrosky continued to show objection to the program.
“Even if there was a Buddhist or a Hindu speaker the Islamic Network Group is getting paid $700 and I object to that,” Komrosky said.
Barham explained why he was in support of funding the IB program, as it has been for several years.
“The policy supports a broader instructional approach,” he said, while reading some of the background provided by the district. “The policy encourages comprehensive and thoughtful exploration of topics with multiple perspectives addressed across the curriculum, that's the operative word, consistent with the goals of promoting critical thinking, tolerance and democratic values.
“The course on world religions comes from the International Baccalaureate organization at the global organization. It's rooted in academic inquiry, not religious promotion — that is really important here — it is important to support opportunities that allow students to engage critically and respectively with diverse world views.
“To me this is a field trip. … We're trying to get these students to earn an IB diploma. They need to pass these assessments and if the class were not balanced they wouldn't be passing these assessments.”
Anderson, Barham and Schwartz voted to fund the contract, with Komrosky and Wiersma voting no.
Komrosky and Wiersma’s confusion, mistrust and political posturing cost the district — and the public — time and demonstrated a continued lack of preparation and understanding of how to do the job of trustee.
Further misunderstanding on display
The board then moved to conduct a public hearing of the Temecula Valley Unified School District and Temecula Valley Educators Association, CTA, NEA, joint re-opener initial proposal for contract negotiations for the 2025-2026 school year.
The confusion started early with Komrosky misunderstanding what was on the table.
“I'm not against the process,” he said. “I disagree with the substance of the two policies. For me, I ran on parental rights actually three times, first election, then the recall, then the re-election. So for me, I won't vote for this only because I wanted the parental notification policy on this.”
Schwartz commented.
“We're just deciding whether or not we're going to have a hearing on negotiating with the teachers,” he said. “It's either yes, we're going to negotiate, or no, we're not going to negotiate.
“We're not talking about what you want in it or what I want in it or what they want in it. We're just talking about whether or not we're going to open negotiations. So, I don't see what the issue is.”
The board opened the vote for a public hearing to open negotiations and Komrosky voted no, while all others voted yes. After some conversation, the board again voted 4-1 to open negotiations with Komrosky voting no, again.
Still Learning the Job
In addition to the above examples, Dr. Komrosky frequently lost track of agenda items and both he and Mrs. Wiersma needed reminders to stay on topic. Worse, instead of properly reporting on the City/TVUSD committee during the agenda slot, he used his personal board comment time to do so, violating standard procedure.
Similarly, Komrosky criticized Barham for providing verbal information without an attachment, then moments later, did the same without even including the item on the agenda where it belonged. This lack of basic understanding of board operations continues to undermine their credibility.
Dr. Anderson, who was at a disadvantage attending via zoom, said “I’m just confused…like I said…I don’t know…there’s a lot I don’t know about what’s happening,” indicating that she’s still learning the job.
In contrast, Komrosky should know the job by now.
Lack of accountability…the Golden Rule in Reverse?
Trustees Wiersma and Komrosky repeatedly emphasized the need for all five board members' voices to be heard and for decisions to reflect consensus rather than simple majority rule. Ironically, they are asking for better treatment than what they extended to board members Allison Barclay and Steve Schwartz during 2023. Now that they are in the minority, receiving the same treatment they once dished out is no longer acceptable.
Public comment also highlighted this lack of accountability. Speakers urged the board to balance fighting for their beliefs with the humility to admit when they are wrong. Shortly after, Jen remarked how she wished the board could function more like the City Council — fostering trust and collaboration — while seemingly ignoring her own role in creating the current dysfunction. Before the December 2022 installation of new board members Gonzalez, Komrosky, and Wiersma, disagreements existed, but debates were healthy and progress was made. Since then, dysfunction has only deepened, raising the question: why? The dysfunction and lack of progress continues with Wiersma and Komrosky on the board, leading to only one logical conclusion: the board can’t function well with two dysfunctional members.
Accomplishments (or Lack Thereof)
Despite spending 4.5 hours in session, the list of accomplishments contained little that directly benefits students:
Created two new committees: One to explore dress code policy changes and another advisory committee made up of six hand-picked community members — neither directly tied to academic improvement.
Recognized Day of the Teacher and Classified Employee Week: Important ceremonial acknowledgments but standard yearly recognitions.
Reopened negotiations with TVEA and CSEA: A routine, annual requirement. Comments from Komrosky showed a misunderstanding of how negotiations work.
Pushed forward edits to an existing policy requiring employees attending professional development to submit a report on what was learned — additional bureaucracy with unclear student benefit.
Added two new projects requiring district staff to conduct investigations and report back, pulling staff time away from their core duties.
Approved all but one consent calendar item, allowing the district’s basic operations to continue despite distractions.
Micromanagement and Mistrust
Once again, a pattern emerged: micromanaging operational details, second-guessing professional staff, and inflating minor issues into lengthy debates, rather than tackling initiatives that would improve educational outcomes for TVUSD students.
The board's repeated deep-dives into administrative matters — such as the world religions class panel, Medi-Cal billing on the warrant list, and the placement of feminine hygiene products in middle school bathrooms — illustrate an alarming trend: micromanagement rooted in mistrust.
When public outrage surfaces due to lack of understanding, instead of trusting the expertise of district staff, teachers, and directors — many of whom have years of exemplary service — the board assumes the worst. It's as if a CEO abandoned their strategic role to sit beside an employee, nitpicking the grammar of an email. There's an expectation that professionals are trained, competent, and trustworthy — and if they aren't, supervisors are in place to correct it. Yet the board continues to operate from a place of mistrust, which bogs down meetings and signals a deep misunderstanding of the trustees' governance role. Trustees are elected to set vision and policy, not to micromanage the daily operations of a district with thousands of employees.
Until the board redirects its focus toward real student-centered priorities and begins trusting the trained professionals within the district, time, resources, and public confidence will continue to erode — to the detriment of the very children they were elected to serve.
