My name is Jasmine Werry, I am 16 years old, and a junior at Canyon Crest Academy. I, along with my friends Ashley Jabro and Daniel Bruce, created Policy Informers California (PICA) earlier this year.Our intent was simple: present factual and unbiased information on local politics. However this simple mission statement launched all three of us into a sea of hostility from particular members in our very own community, sitting in on three hour board meetings where adults scream over each other, and even the threat of legal action due to content on PICA. What initially drew our attention was a mounting effort to recall SDUHSD board member Joyce Dalessandro, a dedicated public servant for over two decades. We went and spoke at the board meeting on May 10th, 2018, announcing the launch of this website. We stated that information about the recall process, general school board policies, and a document with the annotated minutes of Joyce Dalessandro's voting record would be available.
When we first starting going to these school board meetings I thought they would be procedural, mundane, unexciting: this was not the case.
That first board meeting was full of shouting and screaming, jeers, direct insults, blatant hypocrisy, and more. We noticed that it was often the same group of militant parents, community members, and even candidates who would speak on various agenda items—about how the board has failed students, implying deep conspiracies exist between board members and unions, and advancing the claim that 3 of the 5 board members (Dalessandro, Herman, and Hergesheimer) are solely responsible for an absolute financial implosion.
This isn’t to say the board is infallible and can do without reform. In fact, I agree with many issues that are brought up during board meetings. We should always strive for more, always continue to improve. The claims brought before the board alone are not the issue. The issue is the complete degradation of civility and basic respect for each other. When people scream, shout, and call each other names it poisons meaningful discussion and severs the chances of compromise and actually accomplishing things that could help students. Isn’t that what the purpose of a school board boils down to—to help and support students? And moreover, isn’t that what each candidate in District 5 (the district that CCA is in) has campaigned on?
I keep hearing “put students first!” but how can this be fully accomplished when board meetings are filled to the brim with insults, screaming, and incivility? When Nextdoor is used to spread rumors, incite anger, and sow discord in the community?
Simply, it can’t.
And it’s not just students who are noticing this. Marsha Sutton from the Del Mar Times describes the board meetings as “... frequently [becoming] chaotic and acrimonious, but that has more to do with audience behavior than the statements or actions of board members. What has given the impression that the board is dysfunctional has been the inability of the board presidents and staff to control their meetings and admonish or even eject violators of proper protocol” in her article: “ Education Matters: The definition of dysfunctional”
So what is the next course of action? Be civil and respectful to each other. It is too difficult to enact impactful change for students when people who should be united in their cause (helping students) are busy fighting amongst themselves. This point may seem silly or axiomatic, however this is at the root of many of the problems we are facing as a community. Further, the understanding that most people who attend the board meetings truly want to put students first is imperative, and those who try to convince you otherwise may have interests that supersede their scruples.