Foothills Sentry - October 2023

Foothills Sentry Page 4 October 2023 JOHNSON MOTORCARS 34 Years of Specializing in the Service and Repair of Mercedes-Benz Gary Johnson 714-997-2567 982 N. Batavia # B13, Orange, CA 92867 gary@johnsonmotorcars.com @ ramblingroseoc Neighborhood watch Dear Editor: I know the Sentry has been writing about the strange goings on at the Orange Unified School Board meetings the last few months. I was taking my son to soccer practice Wednesday eve- ning, and as we passed Villa Park High, I noticed a few people standing on the sidewalk with signs that read "No Recall." The school parking lot was full, and I can only assume it was "Back to School Night." After I dropped him off, I returned home the some way. I noticed these people stop- ping parents to talk as they were exiting the property. I can only assume they were making a case why two board members should not be removed. I find it interest- ing that someone has organized a group to counter the efforts of the movement to remove these two board members. Were these peo- ple paid to be there? I think many in our community feel something bigger and more secretive is at work here. I can only assume this is happening at other high schools in the district. Derek Anderson Orange Dear Editor: As a former employee of one of the districts now requiring teach- ers to inform parents if they sus- pect their child is showing trans- gender behavior at school, I was elated to see that California’s At- torney General Rob Bonta is su- ing the Chino school district over the new policy. In the district where I taught, Orange Unified, this policy was also enacted recently by the right- leaning school board that has en- gaged in a number of other highly controversial measures. The ac- tion taken by Bonta, as well as the recall election taking place in Orange to replace two school board members, will hopefully rid the district of such extremist policies that are detrimental to the students and employees of the district. I tried to imagine myself as a teacher calling for a conference with parents to tell them that I suspected their child of transgen- der leanings. First of all, am not a school psychologist, and quali- fied to make such a judgement call. Secondly, I can’t imagine personally upsetting and violat- ing the privacy rights of both the child and the parent. I think that it also would violate my rights as an educator to be forced into an action that I feel is inhumane and more likely to increase the high suicide rate of transgender stu- dents, rather than to lower it. And finally, what if I am wrong? Lynn Lorenz OUSD retiree Dear Editor: OUSD is a district I have been proud to be a part of for more than 40 years. This is where I live, where my three children gradu- ated, where I taught for 23 years (and still volunteer), and it is the district that I proudly represented as California Teacher of the Year. But after the September school board meeting, I can no longer be proud. Appalled, dismayed, and horrified … but definitely not proud. OUSD School Board meet- ings have become unsafe spaces for the actual stakeholders of the district. Teachers have been called animals, liars, indoctrina- tors, groomers and pedophiles. Phones are knocked out of OUSD parents’ hands when they try to document the harassment. The fact that Trustee Miner and Trustee Ledesma are openly inviting outside agitators is a slap in the face to those of us who live in the OUSD community. Many teachers and parents stayed home from the September meeting, fearing the negative atmosphere that has permeated recent meet- ings. Before the closed session be- gan, I addressed the board regard- ing my safety concerns for that night. My speech was cut off by President Ledesma for being "off- topic." During the meeting, we could scarcely hear public comments due to the chanting and shouting by adversaries outside. The only thing they all had in common? They aren’t OUSD residents. It was disconcerting and intimidat- ing, as I am sure it was meant to be. Speakers who don’t even live in OUSD got into a shouting match, yelling into their microphones and bullhorns. Before security and OPD could oust the offenders, dozens of people rushed toward them, yelling and videoing them- selves for whatever social warped social media content they hoped to create. Trustee Erickson’s name was repeatedly yelled by the agi- tators. President Ledesma chose not to follow board protocols to immediately clear the room. The agitators continued to clamor around the chaos and en- croach upon the open space in front of the room. In an effort to seek support, I walked toward the dais, just as Trustees Erickson, Page and Yamasaki were being escorted to safety. Trustee Rum- sey left the room as well. When I asked Trustee Ortega to do some- thing, he did --- he videotaped the chaos that he helped to create. Trolls on social media have rid- iculed our comments about being fearful, but let me tell you, in a room of two “sides,” being some- one in the minority of less than 10 people in a room of almost 100 was scary. I ask President Ledesma now: was I still off-topic regarding the unsafe spaces you have created at our OUSD School Board Meet- ings? Linda Horist Anaheim Hills Dear Editor: I am appalled at how the Sept. 7 board meeting was conducted. Historically, boardroom seats were available on a first-come, first-served basis, with the door opening shortly before the meet- ing started. This meeting was different. Un- beknownst to parents like me, but somehow known to out-of-town agitators, the board used a new ticketed entry system. Individuals began standing in line to obtain a ticket at noon – for a meeting starting seven hours later. The tickets were gone before working parents even knew they were being distributed. The board could have described the new ticket system on the agenda. They could have sent an email. They could have posted on the web site. Instead, they kept parents in the dark. This had the chilling effect of excluding local parents from their district’s meeting. Few speakers identified themselves as parents of children attending an OUSD school, or even living within the district boundaries. The text of the policy that has caused such controversy was posted online a few days before the meeting. Surprisingly, a dif- ferent version was distributed to the in-person attendees shortly before the meeting began. Even as the policy was debated and voted on, few knew what the policy even said. Rick Ledesma and the board majority forced a vote on a policy parents had no way to read. It makes one won- der: if the board does not concern themselves with local parents, who are they working for? The chaos and disregard for transparency exhibited by Rick Ledesma, Madison Miner, and the board majority is shameful. Our community deserves better than this. Jon Sanks Anaheim Hills Dear Editor: I am a parent of two Orange Unified School District students. It's my right as a voter and stake- holder to attend the board meet- ings, but on Sept.7, I was denied entry and later had to flee the scene. A mob of nonresidents in- vaded, some arriving before noon that day, ready to take control. The board meeting staffers set up a seating system that they'd never used before, and that no resident would be aware of. The intruders were assigned seat num- bers beginning well before 3 p.m. without any public notice. I heard what was happening, and got there a little after 4 p.m. I discov- ered I was "too late" to gain a seat in the meeting room. We who are represented by our elected trustees were boxed out. Over 80 of the 90 available seats went to people who have no stake in our town or our schools. I joined the other overflow at- tendees in the atrium outside the room, listening to the meeting over amplified speakers. At first it was an unhappy but somewhat manageable circumstance. The ante was significantly upped dur- ing the closed session break. The mob gathered at the corner of Handy and Katella and staged a rally, yelling through bullhorns, chanting and riling themselves up. When they came marching back into the atrium and swal- lowed up all available space, I feared for my safety and had to leave. It was a stomach-churning, deeply unsettling experience. Parents and teachers have been voicing their concerns and partic- ipating in the process, but today, we'd been chased out of our own house. I am proud of Trustees Page, Erickson and Yamasaki for stay- ing as long as they did. I'm also glad that they were able to get home safely. The disgust I have for the board majority couldn't be higher. It is President Ledesma's job to main- tain order at meetings with assis- tance from security, and he did nothing. A gathering this unruly is not a place to conduct business. He should have shut the entire thing down. Later, both Ledesma and Miner stated how "disappointed" they were that the three trustees left. What a shameful abandonment of respect and security. These two need to be recalled for abusing their station, manipu- lating the system, and disenfran- chising their constituents. By inviting in a horde that has terror- ized district after district, Ledes- ma and Miner show that they care only about increasing their own power. Jennie Sloan Orange Dear Editor: I’ve attended every OUSD board meeting since Jan. 5, and I attend to hold my elected officials accountable. I have been asked to leave the podium, and I even had a trustee shout at me, because said trustee didn’t like that I was exercising my constitutionally protected right to point out that trustee’s hypocrisy. The current board majority had to be reminded by the First Amendment Coalition that they cannot legally remove or threaten a speaker from such public par- ticipation. But it looks like the board majority finally figured out how to stop parents that are criti- cal of their agenda – stoke fear, and make the meetings a danger- ous place for counter-viewpoints. On Sept. 7, the majority invited outsiders to the meeting, in an at- tempt to intimidate and scare ac- tual stakeholders from exercising their constitutionally-protected right to address their elected of- ficials. Name withheld by request Orange Dear Editor: Who will the new OUSD forced outing policy hurt? It will hurt my whole family. I’m married with two kids who are enrolled in OUSD schools. One of them is transgender. When my kid came out to me, I didn’t fully understand what it meant, and I’ve had to learn a lot. While educating myself, I learned about the high rate of suicide among trans kids. Because of that, it is important that I give my child the support they need, regardless of my confusion about it. Because no matter what they want to wear, or call themselves, they are still the child that I love uncondition- ally. I want them to thrive, and I want to be part of their life. When my child came out to me, they made one thing clear: they didn’t want their dad to know. Unfortunately, my husband is not as accepting of the LBGTQ+ community. Prejudice is a diffi- cult thing to root out. My child was terrified that they would lose his love for simply wanting to be who they are. Imag- ine how hard that is, knowing you could lose the love of your parent(s) because you want to use a different name, wear different clothes, and change pronouns. That’s what many LBGTQ+ kids face. Now, I’m facing the fact that at some point Dad will find out, whether it’s because my child tells him, or a careless word from a friend, or now that the trans policy has passed in OUSD, their school. Why hide the information from him? I’ll give you several good reasons. First, my child doesn’t feel emotionally equipped yet to deal Several letter writers asked that their names not be published out of concern for their personal safety and to avoid reprisals or harassment. The Sentry has never published unsigned letters, but is honoring those requests in this circumstance. Writers of unsigned letters have been verified as legit- imate OUSD constituents .