Temecula Valley Unified’s CRT Workshop Was a Complete Dumpster Fire

Last week’s workshop on Critical Race Theory (CRT) at Temecula Valley Unified devolved into shouting, boos, and the forced removal of a Black man after he was allegedly told to get out of the country.

The cost of this clusterfark: $15,000. 

As CalSchoolNews has reported, TVUSD recently inked a costly contract with former Paso Robles school board member Christopher Arend, who will lecture parents, teachers and students about the perceived harms of CRT. The collegiate framework was banned at TVUSD schools in December, even though it was never being taught in the first place. 

The March 22 workshop and meeting was packed with activists on both sides of the issue. One public commenter – a Black man named Deon – excoriated the board for what he saw as race-bating political theater.

"Your continued blatant, willful ignorance of the Black experience in this country is not only shameful but also detrimental to the education and growth of our children,” he told trustees.

At that point, another member of the audience allegedly told Deon to leave the country, causing him to become visibly and audibly upset. 

“She told me to get out of the country,” he shouted. “My family has been here since August 16, 1619… We’ve been slaves for 400 years.”

Board President Joseph Komrosky warned Deon to be quiet. When Deon continued, Komrosky asked that he be escorted from the building. That enraged other members of the audience, who wondered why the woman who allegedly provoked Deon was not removed. 

Trustee Allison Barclay, who is part of the board’s minority, also objected. 

“If this woman said that to him, she needs to be excused,” she said.

The crowd began screaming and Komrosky was forced to call a 10-minute recess.

“How dare you!” someone could be heard shouting amid the jeers, hisses and yelling.

Members of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department then escorted Deon out of the building. And that raised another uncomfortable question: were RivCo deputies there to protect the public or to support the board?

A flyer for the event listed the Sheriff’s Department as a 'special guest' alongside Arend, Republican Senator Melissa Melendez, members of the conservative Temecula City Council and others. It was an odd choice of language, to say the least.  

Fights among attendees continued during the recess. Video posted to Twitter shows a white middle-aged male confronting a Black child at the event. The adult, who towers over the boy, becomes increasingly agitated and threatening before other adults step in. 

“That’s a child!” one man says.

“Shut up,” the white male responds. “What are you gonna do?”

Imagine paying for this kind of chaos.