What’s important to this TVUSD board, flash or substance?
1TVPAC Team
With the new school board members installed and ready to work for two years together until there is another election, it’s time to look at the boring business of school board trustees. The phrase “make Temecula boring again” is all about holding this board accountable to do the job, the actual work, of a trustee.
The job of the trustee is just like any other job: there is a job description, expectations, and an annual performance review. I won’t bore you with the details, feel free to look it up here. The job of trustee is very well-defined and honestly, quite boring. The focus is on the budget and allocation of resources, long-term growth plans, and maintenance of the facilities that make up all the schools in the district.
Pay attention to those very boring nuts and bolts, the high level view of the district, the job of the trustee. Ask yourself:
Are they performing those duties?
Or are they abandoning them for attention-grabbing activities, sensationalism and social media clout.
At your job, would your boss be happy with you neglecting your duties to do things that interest you and get you attention at work?
What if, instead of doing your job, you walked on over to someone else and stuck your nose in their job, telling them what to do and “helped” them do it better. Would that be rewarded at your work or would you be talked to and then written up if you continued?
School board meetings
One of the first tasks of the new board at the December meeting every year is setting the schedule of school board meetings. You’ve been sworn in, now let’s nail down the schedule for the next calendar year. The agenda had an attachment with two proposed board meeting schedules for the trustees to review before the meeting and then they discussed, modified and decided on a schedule, voting to approve it.
This mundane task is incredibly important, as key elements of the business of the school district can’t happen without a board quorum and vote.
There are two incredibly important and legally required meetings in June related to the budget. All trustees should be present at meeting No. 1 to review the proposed budget for the next fiscal year and provide feedback. At meeting No. 2, they review the final budget and vote to approve it. The fiscal year ends June 30 and begins July 1, every single year. This is how all public school districts in California function and how TVUSD functions, and has for years.
Last year, Wiersma scheduled her vacation during one of those June meetings, just a mere six months after voting to approve the schedule. That action speaks to her lack of commitment to the position, and lack of knowledge of the rules that govern the district. At the December 2024 meeting, not all trustees came prepared for the schedule task. Komrosky seemed unaware of the two proposals and had not reviewed them before the agenda item came up for discussion.
During the one short year of the Wiersma, Komrosky and Gonzalez board majority, more last minute special meetings were scheduled than in prior years. That board majority did not understand how to plan, prepare and conduct business ethically and according to their “job description”.
The schedule all five members agreed to at the Dec. 17, 2024 meeting is below (not proposal A or B, but a new one they mutually discussed and agreed to, so all five of them could attend, barring emergencies or unforeseen events).
January 28
February 25
March 11, 25 (plus HRD workshop)
April 15
May 13 (plus HRD workshop)
June 10, 24
July 22
August 26
September 9, 30 (plus ESS workshop)
October 14
November 18
December 9 (plus Fiscal workshop)
These 15 board meetings and four required workshops makeup the core work of this board.
The proof is in the pudding
Let’s see if these board members prioritize the work of a trustee, come to these meetings prepared, attend every single one and actually do the job of trustee. The five members of the board have each spoken about working together, moving past the division, caring about students, and a desire to do the work. Actions speak louder and words. The last two years the board was unable to show up for every meeting, prepare sufficiently to do the business on the agenda but instead focussed on creating division and sensationalism.
If this board truly is different, we shall see at these meetings and in the policies they pass.
Pay attention Temecula, this board will tell you who they are, what they care about and who they prioritize with their actions.
