Temecula’s divided school board ends special meeting before it begins

A special meeting of the Temecula Valley Unified School Board was never called to order Wednesday night after a majority of the school board members voted not to approve the agenda, which called for a closed session on personnel matters.

Hundreds packed the room after word of the meeting led to speculation that the newly-elected conservative majority on the board was attempting to fire Superintendent Jodi McClay.

Board clerk Jennifer Wiersma told the crowd that the meeting was to hire an outside attorney to advise the board about matters such as the recent student walkout at district high schools.

Hundreds of students walked out of classrooms last week to protest the boards recent ban on critical race theory. A district spokesman has said that district doesn’t teach critical race theory, which examines how laws and government practices perpetuate racial injustice. The theory is generally taught at the university level.

Board members expressed concern that board President Joseph Komrosky called a special board meeting to hire outside counsel, which allows only 24-hour notice, instead of waiting until the next regularly noticed school board meeting.