Four of five Temecula school board seats will be up for grabs in November, after the board decided to ask voters to replace ousted trustee Joseph Komrosky on the ballot.
In a unanimous vote Saturday, June 22, the remaining members of the board Allison Barclay, Steven Schwartz and Jen Wiersma added the empty seat to the election.
RELATED: Temecula school board President Joseph Komrosky recalled, final results show
The decision comes after the successful recall of board President Komrosky.
In the June 4 special election, 51.09% of voters in Trustee Area 4 chose to oust Komrosky, while 48.91% voted to keep him in office, final results show. The election had a 45.01% turnout, with just under 10,000 ballots returned.
The recall was approved by 212 votes, with 4,963 voting yes and 4,751 voting no.
Under the state education code, if a board vacancy occurs within six months before a regularly scheduled election, the seat would be filled in a special election that will take place at the same time as the regular election.
Komrosky, a Christian conservative who was elected in November 2022, had two years left on his term.
The seats held by Komrosky and previous board member Danny Gonzalez, who resigned in December 2023, have two years left on their terms. Whoever fills those seats would serve the remaining two years of those terms, Schwartz said.
The board did not reach a decision in February on who should replace Gonzalez, despite interviewing 11 candidates who applied for his old seat. The board chose to leave the decision up to voters in Trustee Area 2, which includes locations between Margarita Road and Winchester Road.
Komrosky represented Trustee Area 4, which includes locations between Temecula Parkway and Rancho California Road and extends into Temecula Valley Wine Country.
Barclay and Schwartz also are up for election in November.
In a Friday, June 21, email, Komrosky doubled down on his statement at the June 11 Temecula Valley Unified School District board meeting, when he thanked supporters and said he would look to run again in November.
The Riverside County Registrar of Voters office is still researching whether Komrosky is eligible for the election, spokesperson Elizabeth Florer said in a Monday, June 24, email.
Critics opposed actions taken by Komrosky and the then-conservative board majority, such as banning critical race theory and approving a policy requiring parents to be told if their child identifies as transgender.
Supporters said Komrosky kept his promise to restore parental rights and protect children from pornography and liberal indoctrination.
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“Our community expects something different and I am here to do that,” Wiersma said during Saturday’s meeting.
In a Monday email, Barclay wrote: “I am hopeful that we can move forward with a greater spirit of cooperation on our board, working to put the interests of the students first and foremost.”
Schwartz said in a Monday interview that he looks forward to meetings “focused on the needs of the students and the district.”
“That is why I was elected, to focus on the needs of the students and the district and not to bring politics into what I do on the board,” Schwartz said. “Do I have political beliefs? Yes, I do … that is irrelevant to what I do as a school board member.”
