PART 1: Misinformation and Manipulation: The Troubling Pattern of TVUSD Trustee Jen Wiersma
This post is part of a multi-part series examining the failed leadership, legal defeats, and misinformation campaigns led by TVUSD trustees Jen Wiersma and Joseph Komrosky. Over $300,000 in legal costs, multiple overturned policies, and continued public misstatements have defined their tenure. Temecula deserves better.
Wiersma’s latest video is about saving face in the wake of mounting legal and public failures
1TVPAC Team
In a recent Instagram video, Temecula Valley Unified School District board member Jen Wiersma once again demonstrated the very behavior that has cost the district hundreds of thousands of dollars, sown division in the community, and derailed the focus from what truly matters — student success.
Let’s be clear: this wasn’t a routine update or a thoughtful defense of a policy. It was a brazen, misleading attempt to rewrite history, deflect accountability, and villainize fellow trustees for refusing to continue fighting a failed ideological crusade in court.
Falsehoods and Fiction: CRT and the Court Ruling
Wiersma begins her video by invoking the infamous Critical Race Theory (CRT) resolution passed in December 2022 — one that was hastily copied from another district, adopted without staff review, and immediately challenged in court.
She claims the district’s hired legal defense was “pro bono” or “minimal cost.” That’s simply false.
Public records and consent calendar items show that the district has already paid over $50,000 in legal fees to Advocates for Faith and Freedom (AFF), with total legal costs exceeding $200,000. Those totals do not include fees to be paid to the plaintiffs and their representation in this case.
This wasn’t free. It wasn’t smart. And it certainly wasn’t necessary.
More egregiously, Wiersma claims that “some teachers have promoted” CRT in TVUSD. Yet in court, their legal team could not produce a single piece of evidence to support that claim.
Weirsma’s statement in the video is not just misleading — it’s dishonest. A three-judge panel of the California Court of Appeal unanimously ruled the CRT resolution was unconstitutionally vague and interfered with teaching state standards.
Attacking Colleagues for Doing Their Job
Wiersma accuses fellow trustees — specifically Board President Melinda Anderson and Trustee Emil Barham— of “sabotage” for refusing to appeal a decision that legal experts widely agreed was unwinnable.
She paints herself and board ally Joseph Komrosky as the lone defenders of American values, when in reality, they were the architects of policies that failed legally, financially, and educationally.
And she does this while speaking out of both sides of her mouth — claiming to want to be collaborative and also trashing her fellow board members in meetings and on social media.
The truth? Barham and Anderson are attempting to move the district forward — prioritizing legal compliance, fiscal responsibility, and restoring the public’s trust after a year of chaos.
Wiersma and Komrosky only view submission to be collaboration, expecting other “conservative” trustees to agree with everything they do and say, unwilling to meet anyone “in the middle.”
This is what abusers and bullies do, and has no place on TVUSD school board.
A Pattern of Evasion and Blame
Wiersma's Instagram rhetoric fits a troubling pattern:
She and Komrosky regularly post online attacks against colleagues and critics while hiding comments and blocking dissenting voices.
She stormed out of a public meeting when confronted with facts about her failed policies.
She continues to push divisive narratives that have cost the district over $300,000 in legal fees — money that could have gone toward classrooms, student support, and teacher development.
This Isn’t Leadership — It’s Political Theater
Wiersma’s role as a school board trustee is to improve student outcomes, ensure legal compliance, and be a responsible steward of public funds. Instead, she continues to wage a personal culture war rooted in misinformation and grievance politics.
Her recent video was not about students. It was not about education. It was about saving face in the wake of mounting legal and public failures.
Our Community Deserves Better
Temecula Valley students, parents, and educators deserve leaders who:
Follow the law.
Tell the truth.
Focus on education — not Instagram theatrics.
It’s time for the board — and the community — to hold Trustee Wiersma accountable. No more costly lawsuits. No more lies. No more distractions.
Let’s get back to the business of educating kids.
👀 Coming next in this series: Part 2: The Cost of Culture Wars — $300,000 and Counting
