The Christian right appears to be gaining ground in the turf war over Inland Empire public schools.
While thousands of votes remain to be counted, candidates with conservative views — including three endorsed by a Christian conservative political action committee — are on track to win school board seats in Temecula and Redlands.
Recalled from office in summer, Joseph Komrosky held a 180-vote lead Friday morning, Nov. 15, in his bid to return to the Temecula Valley Unified School District board.
ELECTION RESULTS: See a chart of the latest vote counts
Allison Barclay, who frequently opposed policies brought by Komrosky and his fellow conservatives, is losing her reelection bid. Further north, Candy Olson and Jeannette Wilson are leading in their races for seats on the Redlands Unified School District board.
Komrosky, Olson and Wilson had the backing of the Inland Empire Family PAC. Three other PAC-endorsed candidates — Jon Cobb in Temecula, Lawrence Hebron in Redlands and Marcelle Williams in Riverside — are trailing.
412 Church Temecula Valley Pastor Tim Thompson, the public face of the family PAC, is pleased with the results.
RELATED: Ousted Temecula schools trustee Joseph Komrosky has slight edge in comeback attempt
“As Christians, we believe the results are up to the Sovereign God we serve,” Thompson said. “That being said, we are thankful for the three (PAC-endorsed candidates) that won their race and look forward to what they will accomplish in the next four years.”
Thompson added he’s especially pleased that Komrosky is poised to return to office.
“His reelection rings loud the conservative values of the Temecula Valley,” the pastor said.
A self-described coalition of parents rights groups that includes the California Family Council and Murrieta-based Advocates for Faith & Freedom, is hailing conservative school board wins throughout California.
“Parental rights were on the ballot this election, and common sense prevailed with the election of at least 32 school board candidates who will fight to protect a parent’s constitutionally protected right to raise their children,” Assemblymember Bill Essayli, R-Corona, said in a news release issued on the coalition’s behalf.
RELATED: 2 challengers lead in race for Redlands Unified school board
The term “parents rights” is often used by advocates of requiring officials to tell parents if their child identifies as transgender while in school.
Parents, they argue, deserve to know everything about their children. Critics contend the policies endanger transgender children whose parents don’t accept their identity.
Jeff Pack, co-founder of One Temecula Valley PAC, which spearheaded the Komrosky recall, said via email that while “we are disappointed in the results … we are proud of our candidates and what they stood for in the face of a mountain of fear mongering and misinformation.”
The issue, Pack said, isn’t that conservatives are in charge.
“‘Conservatives’ have held most of the elected positions at the school board for many years in Temecula, some of which are a part of (our PAC) today,” he said.
Rather, Pack said he’s concerned that taxpayer money will fund pointless culture war battles.
“The more they use our money to fight their political wars with illegal policy, there will not be funds for special programs, teachers, extracurriculars and other programs that make our district the top-performing district in the county,” Pack said.
In October, Thompson said a PAC-endorsed candidate “must align with Judeo-Christian values and support the four key issues of our PAC,” including:
- “Ensuring the rights of parents to direct the upbringing of their children.”
- Protecting “children from radical sexual indoctrination.”
- Having “a strong stance against any future mask or vaccine mandates.”
- Supporting “an environment that is supportive of local law enforcement.”
The family PAC, building on political momentum from parent objections to school closures and other COVID-19 prevention measures, backed seven school board candidates in Temecula, Murrieta and Lake Elsinore in 2022.
Five of the seven won, with three — Komrosky, Jen Wiersma and Danny Gonzalez — forming a majority on the Temecula school board.
On their first night in office, Gonzalez, Komrosky and Wiersma voted to ban critical race theory, a term used by conservatives to describe what they consider to be hateful teachings about race and U.S. history. The trio also joined other Southern California school districts in passing a policy requiring parents to be told if their child identifies as transgender.
They also refused to adopt a social studies curriculum referencing slain LGBTQ civil rights leader Harvey Milk, relenting only after Gov. Gavin Newsom threatened to send textbooks to Temecula and fine the district. Gonzalez and Komrosky called Milk a “pedophile.”
The majority broke up after Gonzalez resigned in 2023 and Komrosky was recalled in June. Barclay and Trustee Steven Schwartz frequently voted the opposite of Komrosky, Gonzalez and Wiersma.
Both were up for reelection this year. While Schwartz is on track to beat Cobb and win reelection, Barclay is losing to dentist Melinda Anderson, 57% to 43% as of Friday.
In a phone interview Thursday, Nov. 14, Anderson described herself as “moderate/conservative.” While she supports transgender notification policies, Anderson said she would have voted to adopt the curriculum that referenced Milk.
“I want to see more professionalism on the board,” Anderson said. “My biggest critique of the past board … is that they do not understand parliamentary procedure and they could have accomplished a lot or they could have prevented a lot” by understanding it.
A new California law being challenged in court bars transgender notification policies.
“I think overall, parental notification is going to play itself out in the court,” Anderson said.
“So I don’t want to spend the next three to five years hashing it out at the school board because … everyone’s anticipating major budget cuts” at the state level.
Barham declined to comment. Responding to a Southern California News Group candidate questionnaire in October, Barham wrote: “Parents have a right to be notified (about a child’s transgender identity) so that as a family they can determine the right course of action which best fits their family dynamic.”
While the family PAC didn’t endorse Barham or Anderson, “their values do line up with the major tenets of the PAC, and we do consider them allies to Dr. Komrosky and Mrs. Wiersma,” Thompson said.
In a phone interview Wednesday, Nov. 13, Schwartz said he hadn’t spoken to Anderson or Barham and didn’t know whether their views aligned with his.
“Hopefully, we will get along and maybe we will actually agree on stuff and work together for the benefit of the district,” Schwartz said.
“It’s been a battle for me to deal with the people who are on the other side of the board. And so hopefully maybe we’ll have some fresh blood and those people will be there for the kids, which would be great.”
Olson and Wilson, the Redlands board candidates, share similar views as Temecula’s Christian conservative school trustees. On her campaign website, Olson expresses dismay at what she said are school policies that hide information from parents about their children.
She described herself as “a leading voice fighting to prevent children from being exposed to hypersexualized material … If elected, one of Candy Olson’s top priorities is to clean up our school libraries, having only age-appropriate content accessible.”
Wilson also supports telling parents if their child is transgender.
“These children need support and guidance, and the parents or stand-in parents must (be) kept informed,” Wilson wrote in her SCNG candidate questionnaire. “I believe this to be a moral issue, as well as a legal issue.”
In recent years, the Redlands district has grappled with allegations of sexual abuse.
In May, the California Attorney General accused Redlands Unified of “systematically” violating laws designed to protect children from teacher sex abuse. Victims’ lawsuits have cost the district more than $45.5 million in settlements, the equivalent of 696 first year teachers’ salaries.
The Redlands district, Thompson said, “has had years of unchecked problems. With the new, conservative board members, I am hopeful for the district to start dealing with the outstanding issues.”
Thompson said the family PAC “plans to continue to branch out beyond southwest Riverside County.”
“We also have plans on starting PACs in other states to continue grassroots efforts to fundamentally change school boards across the nation,” he said.
Staff Writer Beau Yarbrough contributed to this report.
