State Official Says He Was Kicked Out of School Board Meeting by 'Extremists,' Video Shows Something Else Entirely
Uh, oh. It’s no longer just irate parents engaged in the federally-defined “domestic terrorism” of protecting children.
Now a California school board has joined others in getting into the act.
The Chino Valley Unified School District recently considered mandating that if a child voices transgender identification, the school district must notify parents.
But Tony Thurmond, state superintendent of public instruction, objected. And he appeared at the Chino school board meeting to tell them so.
When he ran a few seconds over the one minute allotted for him to speak, School Board President Sonja Shaw shut him down.
And when he wouldn’t stop talking, he was removed from the meeting.
What’s this? A school board pushing back on a misdirected bureaucrat? In California, no less.
Wow.
To their credit, the school board voted 4-1 requiring parental notification if a child expresses transgender identification, is involved in violence, or talks of suicide.
[firefly_poll]
After all, the responsibility is ultimately that of the parents, not the state schools. Thurmond’s objections centered on privacy and that some parents can’t be trusted.
The proposed school board ruling, according to Thurmond, “not only may fall outside of the laws that respect privacy and safety for our students, but may put our students at risk because they may not be in homes where they can be safe.”
At that point, in a video contained in a tweet by Politico’s Christopher Cadelago, it appeared Thurmond’s microphone was cut off and a voice, apparently of Shaw, repeatedly called “time,” while Thurmond could be seen continuing to briefly speak, then walk away from the podium.
California’s schools chief went before a conservative school board tonite to oppose their plan to notify district parents if their child is transgender.
Tony Thurmond got heckled, admonished by a local official and then was escorted from the meeting. pic.twitter.com/fIIkDlFUqm
— Christopher Cadelago (@ccadelago) July 21, 2023
Shaw could then be heard expressing appreciation for Thurmond attending, “But here’s the problem,” she explained. “We’re here because of people like you.
“You’re in [the state capitol of] Sacramento proposing things that pervert children!” Shaw said as many in the crowded meeting room cheered.
Shaw criticized Thurmond for not coming to meet with her apparently in private and for meeting with another individual, apparently an election opponent of Shaw’s.
Responding to Shaw’s criticism, Thurmond then returned to the podium and called for a point of order presumably to allow him to continue speaking, but Shaw refused.
“This is not your meeting!” she declared. “You may have a seat! Because if I did that to you in Sacramento you would not accept it!”
“Can I get a point of order?” Thurmond asked.
“You’re not gonna blackmail us!” Shaw responded. “You already sent us a blackmailing letter on previous [unintelligible]. You will not bully us here in Chino!”
As the crowd chanted “Leave our kids alone!” Shaw called for a brief break and a security person could be seen approaching Thurman. He was escorted from the building, KTVU reported.
Shaw later told the outlet, “We think he is a danger to our students.
“He continues to push things that pervert children, and he continues to push out parents and bring in policies that create division between families.”
In a tweet following the incident, Thurman said “the board president verbally attacked me an[d] instructed the police to remove me.”
Tonight I went to a school board meeting to stand up for LGBTQ+ students who invited me to join them as they spoke out against a radical new policy that threatens their safety. When done speaking,the board president verbally attacked me an instructed the police to remove me.(1/5)
— Tony Thurmond (@TonyThurmond) July 21, 2023
In a separate tweet, Thurman said: “I don’t mind being thrown out of a board meeting by extremists.
“I can take the heat,” he said. “It’s part of the job. What I can’t accept is the mistreatment of vulnerable students whose privacy is being taken away.”
I don’t mind being thrown out of a board meeting by extremists. I can take the heat — it’s part of the job. What I can’t accept is the mistreatment of vulnerable students whose privacy is being taken away.(2/5) Thread
— Tony Thurmond (@TonyThurmond) July 21, 2023
But follow what Thurman is saying: He really wants students’ privacy to be taken away from parents and transferred to school districts.
Think of that.
But it’s not going to happen in Chino, California.
Good job, President Shaw and those who voted for parental involvement.
To the rest — leave our kids alone!
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
