A three-member majority on the Westminster School District Board of Education has raised the ire of teachers, parents and their community by refusing to comply with state language and thus putting state and private funding for schools at risk.
Claiming the language violates their religious principles, the board members initially refused to include the phrase "perceived sex" among a list of protected classes that include gender and sexual orientation. They argued that the state law might encourage transsexualism among Westminster's K-8 student population or lead to confusion in the use of student restrooms.
The board's defiance drew national attention as the California Department of Education sent signals that millions of dollars in state funding might be withheld from district schools. The Westminster Teachers Association strongly denounced the board's playing morality politics with school funding.
"We can't have individual board members jeopardizing funding by deciding that their personal beliefs are more important than state law and more important than our students' education," says WTA President Janet Brubaker. "If they want to change the law to suit their views through proper legislative channels, they are welcome to try, but to just break the law because they happen to disagree is completely wrong and a terrible example for our kids."
The stakes were raised in late March when the Bank of America notified the district that the risk of losing state funding was putting its $16 million loan for facilities in jeopardy. As school board meetings grew more fractious, talk of recalling the trustees who are not already up for re-election in November got serious.
In mid-April, as a showdown with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell seemed imminent, the board fired the school district's attorneys and hired antiunion activist Mark Bucher to help push the board's conservative agenda in their showdown with the state. A businessman turned lawyer, Bucher founded the ultraconservative Education Alliance, an Orange County political action committee that contributes to conservative school board candidates throughout the county. He was a force behind a school voucher initiative that was resoundingly defeated in 1993, and he co-authored Proposition 226 in 1998, which would have restricted the ability of CTA and other public employee unions to collect political contributions from members.
On April 14, in an attempt to stay within the law but still advance their conservative agenda, the board approved a new policy that met some of the state requirements but included their own definition of "perceived sex." Shortly thereafter, the board received a strongly worded letter from Superintendent O'Connell stating they had "technically" complied with the law but advising them that he would watching closely for any complaints of discrimination. He followed up with a letter to all school districts advising them not to follow suit.
In late April, the Westminster board considered further defying state law by approving a parental "opt-in" requirement for HIV/AIDS prevention and education, instead of the "opt-out" provision allowed under the California Comprehensive Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Act. The rebel majority also stripped the board president of his position and replaced him with one of their own.
"Unfortunately, it looks like the board has been emboldened by the lack of real consequences for their actions," says Brubaker. "I fear we'll see further examples of their putting ideology above the needs of the community or state law." In the meantime, WTA is working with community members who have started a recall movement. The effort is gaining momentum as the board becomes more overt in pushing its agenda.
At press time, Westminster was the only school district that has challenged the state's antidiscrimination language. However, teachers worry that others are considering following suit.
"It would be a shame to see more of this type of thing, but CTA will be here for these communities to help them protect public education," says CTA Board member Tom Conry, who represents much of Orange County. "This area is generally politically and socially conservative, but there is a huge difference between being a conservative and being an extremist. Anyone who puts personal biases above state law - above the wishes of the community and above the welfare of our students - is an extremist in my book."
Frank Wells