A California school board that initially stood up to the state’s woke curriculum backed down after Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom threatened to levy a $1.5 million fine.
The Temecula Valley Unified School District (TVUSD) in Riverside County took a stand against social studies requirements for first through fifth grades. Part of the curriculum was to study the accomplishments of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay California elected official.
The problem was, he is well known to have had an intimate relationship with a 16-year-old while in his 30s.
This did not sit well with the conservative Temecula board, some of whom referred to Milk as a pedophile. By a 3-2 vote, members rejected a new social studies book and the materials that accompanied it.
But Newsom cited a 2011 state law that required California schools to educate students on LGBT figures in history. His threat of a heavy fine against the system apparently was enough to convince board members to backtrack.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has FINED a school $1.5 million for rejecting the teaching of LGBT gender ideology that was proposed to schools by the Governors office.
Temecula County school board unanimously voted to reject the curriculum which included a book that referred… pic.twitter.com/gU5GC7bLYn
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) July 20, 2023
On Friday, the TVUSD approved the new textbook but requested the interim superintendent examine sections that touch on gay rights and same-gender marriage.
They asked that substitute lessons be implemented that are age-appropriate and “consistent with the board’s commitment” to keep the subjects out of elementary school grade levels.
They added that they still need to follow California law. The new vote was unanimously in favor of ceding to the state’s wishes.
Board President Joseph Komrosky on Friday said that the decision to reverse course was not made in fear. Rather, it was to avoid the burden of a lawsuit, though that sounds remarkably like fear.
Newsom gloated after the TVUSD changed course, saying that its students will now receive the materials needed to be educated. But the Democrat went further, declaring the first vote was “about extremists’ desire to control information and censor materials used to teach our children.”
So, in the eyes of the governor, the board members who initially rejected the books are “extremists.”
Not content with victory, Newsom continued. “Hate does not belong in our classrooms and because of the board majority’s antics, Temecula has a civil rights investigation to answer for.” Apparently, at least in California schools, every knee shall bow.
