STATE: Superintendent of Public Instruction

PAY ATTENTION TO THIS RACE!

Anthony Rendon, former speaker of the Assembly and a longtime early education program administrator, stated:

“[Barrerra] is the candidate who will stand up to and defeat the dangerous, extremist ideology of Sonja Shaw. The stakes in November could not be higher, and I will work hard to make sure Richard has the support he needs to win.”

(This is why we pay particular attention to “non-partisan” races. These are the openings where the book banners and worse sneak into public office.)

From his website:

“Richard Barrera’s track record of achieving student success is unmatched. That’s why I asked him to join us at the California Department of Education — to share San Diego Unified’s accomplishments throughout the state. And that’s why I support him in this election.”

– Tony Thurmond, Current California Superintendent of Public Instruction

Excerpts from Candidate Statement in the Voter Guide: As President of San Diego Unified School District, we’ve achieved success by cutting waste and bureaucracy, and investing directly in our students, families and educators. I successfully asked voters 4 times to replace 60-year-old buildings with state-of-the-art, environmentally sustainable schools. We increased educator salaries by 40%, provided full family healthcare and created thousands of affordable homes for our families and educators. I’ve fought to protect students from the heartless Trump administration: keeping ICE out of our schools, standing up for LGBTQ students, and testifying before Congress against Trump’s drastic cuts to education.

• San Diego County School Board Member of the Year – San Diego County School Boards Association
• Service Humanitarian Award – Barrio Station
• Executive Director’s Award – San Diego Education Association
• Labor Leader of the Year – San Diego Building and Construction Trades Council
• Harvey Milk Leadership Award – San Diego LGBT Center
• Visionary Leader Award – Center on Policy Initiatives
• Legislative Champion Award – California Association of International Baccalaureate World Schools
• Legislator of the Year – San Diego County Democratic Party

Priorities from Website: invest in and support teachers, expand early childhood education, increase funding for schools and hold schools accountable for spending, help communities organize to pass school bonds, make housing affordable for educators, protect students from bullying, support non-college vocational training, prioritize mental health

(From SoCal Extremism Watch) “The movement to weaken California schools has reached a crescendo in Chino Valley Unified School District these last few months, and Chino Valley Board President Sonja Shaw is spearheading this action with resolutions and policy adoptions that challenge California law, with help from Chino Valley MAGA Pastor Jack Hibbs , and large conservative Christian nationalist think tanks with deep pockets.

When you are hell bent on creating culture war controversy, chaos, and litigation in the district you are supposed to serve, it’s a hard sell to appear as an advocate for the families of that district, but this is exactly what Shaw has done. Under the guise of fighting for parent rights, Shaw and her board are gearing up to challenge California law, and push for a SCOTUS case. This is not the first time CVUSD has battled in court: With the help of Pastor Hibbs the district was left with over $300,000 in legal fees. Now the far-right Christian nationalist board majority is looking to sacrifice the education and safety of students in CVUSD to grandstand extremist views and potentially cost the district thousands in legal fees. The consequences of Shaw’s media tour are already negatively affecting the district, as they are facing the largest staffing shortage in 20 years. For more information on the history of CVUSD, please visit our Chino Valley USDpage.

Harnessing the irrational fear conservative Americans have towards the LGBTQAI+ community, the CVUSD has weaponized the current anti-transgender culture war to whip up controversy around student rights in California schools, more specifically, a student’s right to the privacy and protection of their individuality while on campus. Failed California bill AB-1314 was written to end the confidentiality of California students’ chosen gender expression at school, which would have eliminated a child’s chance of having a supportive environment if they are not supported at home. Hibbs has a history of demonizing the LGBTQAI+ community, and declared he would ensure the language of this bill would be adopted by school boards across the state, starting with his local district, and his success has been made possible by his most ardent supporter, CVUSD board president, Sonja Shaw.

CVUSD School Board meetings that took place on June 15th and July 20th addressed this topic, and an AB-1314 copycat resolution was adopted by the board. These meetings were also in attendance by the same traveling circus of extremists that attend school board meetings across Southern California, parading as concerned parents, although a majority of them do not have children in the school district. For a comprehensive list of these extremists, visit SoCal Far-Right School Board Agitators.

Shaw’s ties to far-right, conservative Christian nationalist organizations are overwhelming. The situation in CVUSD has been advertised and aided by the California Policy Center (CPC), which advertised the new CVUSD resolution on their website, sent two representatives to attend the June/July CVUSD meetings, and even featured a support letter from their Vice President , Lance Christensen, to the CVUSD board. The CPC is a right-wing pressure group based in California, and an arm of the far-right think tank the State Policy Network. These organizations work to drive right-wing agenda in statehouses nationwide, and now it’s apparent that they are working to do so in local politics as well through people like Shaw. Shaw is also being boosted by the Family Research council (FRC), which is a conservative Christian organization that has a long history of dehumanizing LGBTQAI+ while working to suppress their progress towards a more accepting society.

Shaw appeared twice on Washington Watch With Tony Perkins, the head of the FRC who has falsely claimed that pedophilia is “a homosexual problem,” said that gay people “recruit” children. Gina Gleason, the executive director of Jack Hibbs ministry outreach program ‘Real Impact’ also appeared on Washington Watch along with Shaw. Real Impact is a program specifically designed to engage Christians in their local school boards and teach pastors to “contend for the public square” which has become a dogwhistle term for Christian nationalist action.

Shaw is also (suspiciously) close, to Greg Abdouch. Abdouch is an avid TPUSA advocate, and has started many TPUSA chapters in local schools with his children while also stating he can neither confirm or deny that he is being paid by TPUSA. He also organizes revival events with NAR pastors (New Apostolic Reformation, a Christian movement that seeks conquer the world for God by takimg hold of 7 societal mountains including Politics, government and education), and does press with the California Family Council (CFC), a copycat clone of the FRC that promotes biblical values and anti-LGBTQAI+ policy in California law and creates “watchlists” of bills in the California state legislature. The CFC deceptively claims it fights for religious freedom while promoting Christian nationalist policy and is also involved with CVUSD’s new parent notification resolution.

I know what you’re thinking… CPC, FRC, CFC, TPUSA, NAR… acronym exhaustion is real, but it’s important to define each group. These organizations are either directly or indirectly linked to the Council for National Policy (CNP), a highly secretive group of religious extremists and petro-chemical corporate barons that network to institute a Christian nationalist power structure that replaces democracy. 

All of these groups are trying to insert Christian nationalist ideology into law, a clear violation of what the constitution offers us all, freedom of religion by promising freedom FROM religion. These organizations are all working together and Chino Valley USD is the culmination of their ultra far-right conservative blood, sweat, and tears. The bills and resolutions that they support, craft, and financially sponsor have focused on dehumanizing the LGBTQ community and eroding their rights as Americans because it has proved to be a useful tactic. The end goal is to weaponize any movement that gains traction to take control of school boards, city councils, and local government positions and advance Christian dominionism over the nation. 

As of now, Sonja Shaw is still on her media tour garnering support for the parental notification resolution that passed in Chino. The resolution is also being flirted with for discussion in any school board meeting that will hear it, including 4 confirmed SoCal school districts, with the intention to gain publicity for future school board races where it is possible to pit conservatives against liberals. Currently, Murrieta Valley Unified School District has voted to adopt this policy, and it is has just been passed at Temecula Valley Unified as well, two school districts that are heavily influenced by local MAGA Pastor Tim Thompson of 412 Church. 

As the politics of Christian nationalism are at play, the mental health of real children are being sacrificed for conservative gratification. Teachers and staff in the districts that adopt this new policy will no longer be trusted adults to gender-queer students. Transgender youth face high levels of bullying, harassment, and yes, family rejection. Having at least one accepting adult results in a  40% reduced suicide attempt rateamong transgender youth, and in California, this adult could be a school staff member without fear of being exposed in an unsafe environment.

The adoption of this policy does not present a balance of benefits and drawbacks to supporting transgender youth and affirming preferred pronouns, and it also has zero effect on students that do not fit the category of gender-queer. It is not far fetched to suggest that the elimination of LGBTQAI+ supportive environments will only have negative impacts, and so it can also be reasoned that the Chino Board Of Education has become a destructive force to children’s well being in California schools.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has officially announced a civil rights investigation into Chino Valley Unified School District’s Parental Notification policy.“Students should never fear going to school for simply being who they are,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Chino Valley Unified forced outing policy threatens the safety and well-being of LGBTQ+ students vulnerable to harassment and potential abuse from peers and family members unaccepting of their gender identity.” For now, one can only hope that Californians see this policy for what it really is, dangerous political theater with a fame hungry soccer mom in the middle of a larger Christian nationalist power grab at local politics.”

Election Forum/Craig Huey Questionnaire for School Board

• Endorsed…Giving you a 3 to 5 star rating
• Not endorsed…Giving you a 1 to 2-star rating
• Refused to disclose position…Usually a 1 to 2-star rating

I look forward to hearing from you and hopefully giving you our endorsement.

1. What is your name and what office are you running for?
2. What are the three (3) most pressing issues facing the school district? Please
   prioritize them. What, if anything, do you plan to do about them if you are
   elected to the position of governing board member? What specific promises
   will you make to the voters in order to be elected?
   (1)
   (2)
   (3)
3. Do you support or oppose the Transgender Bathrooms? Why or Why not?
4. Do you support or oppose the law that allows the school not to notify parents
   of pronouns or transition deception of their child?
5. There a drop out problem in our schools. What can we do about it?
6. Do you believe the local school district should allow parents to review
   curriculum and books in the school library?
7. Do you favor or oppose the expansion of charter schools within the school
   district? Why or why not? Do you favor or oppose the use of voucher system
   or school choice? Why or Why not?
8. Local control: As California is increasingly overriding local decision-making,
   would you be willing to stand up to the state in opposition? If so, why and
   how?
9. Do you believe there is a place for celebrations of religious holidays and
   singing religious music in holiday programs? What would you support and
   allow and what should be excluded from the school?
10. When teaching science, should alternatives to evolution (such as Intelligent
    Design) be taught in public schools? Should individual instructors be given
    leeway to teach both points of view? Or should only the accepted theories of
    evolution be taught without mentioning the scientific objections to the theory?
11. Do you favor or oppose new taxes, fees, or bonds?
12. Will you support or oppose those choosing homeschooling?
13. What national politician do you admire the most and why?
14. What does Critical Race Theory mean to you and what are your thoughts
    about the teaching of Critical Race Theory in public school?
15. What are your thoughts about transgender boys playing in girls’ sports and
    dressing in girls’ locker rooms?
16. Should teachers be teaching values to students, and should they be telling
    students what to believe and what to think, or should they merely be teaching
    the subject matter?
17. Who should have final control over the content of a child’s education, including
    the books they read?
18. Do you believe in absolute truth? Why or why not?  If you believe in absolute
    truth, what is the source of absolute truth?  If you do not believe in absolute
    truth, how do you determine what is true?