Opinion: Wiersma continues to attempt to create solutions to problems that don’t exist at TVUSD

1TVPAC Team

In 2025, California Assemblymember Kate Sanchez introduced Assembly Bill 89 — a proposal that would prohibit any student whose sex was assigned male at birth from participating on a girls’ interscholastic sports team. 

Now, in a local twist, Temecula Valley Unified School District (TVUSD) Trustee Jen Wiersma is pushing a resolution in support of this bill with an agenda item to create a resolution to send a letter to Sacramento in support of AB 89. 

But let’s be honest: this resolution does absolutely nothing for Temecula students. There is no local problem it addresses. It’s political grandstanding, not policy.

That is the basis for our opinion here.

We aren’t taking an opinion on the assembly bill, but we are taking an opinion on a school board member using TVUSD to further her personal political beliefs.

Temecula is not facing a crisis in girls' athletics. There are no widespread complaints, no lawsuits, no lines of transgender athletes dominating girls' teams.

Wiersma’s supporters will say, “Well, it could come here and be a problem, let’s be proactive and prevent it before it happens!”

Fair enough. It’s good to be proactive. 

But stop for a minute, imagine all the critical threats that our students are currently facing on a daily basis right now — and this non-existent “threat” is what she is spending time and district resources on. 

What’s next on Wiersma’s agenda?

Banning UFOs from snow covered playgrounds?

This performative resolution supporting a bill that has no impact on TVUSD schools or students accomplishes just as much as banning UFOs. 

Money and time well spent? Let’s be serious.

What this is, is Wiersma looking for something she can pat herself on the back for politically.

This isn’t about protecting fairness in competition — it’s about manufacturing outrage where none exists.

And since being sworn in December of 2022, these types of distracting, nonexistent issues to “solve” are par for the course. 

Instead of addressing real challenges facing our schools — like classroom overcrowding, declining mental health among students, learning loss from the pandemic, or underfunded athletic programs — Wiersma has chosen to pour energy into a resolution that’s purely symbolic. 

If Wiersma and the school board majority were genuinely interested in supporting female athletes, there are dozens of meaningful actions they could take. They could invest in equitable sports funding across schools, improve athletic facilities, or launch mentorship programs for young women in sports. 

But that kind of work doesn’t grab headlines or fire up partisan bases. So instead, we get culture war resolutions meant to divide our community.

It’s about scoring political points. AB 89 is part of a broader national agenda — that’s why Wiersma is pushing it.

Temecula deserves better. Our students deserve leaders focused on facts, not fear. Our parents deserve boards that care more about reading scores than right-wing soundbites. And our transgender students deserve to feel safe, seen, and supported—not targeted.

This resolution is performative. It doesn’t solve anything because there’s nothing here to solve. 

What is it going to take for Wiersma to attend a board meeting and actually help our TVUSD students, staff, and teachers succeed?

We don’t think there’s any chance of that happening — two years plus of evidence supports the opinion that Wiersma has no interest in doing that for our community.

Temecula deserves better.