School Violence in Sacramento,

Katie Valenzuela

Sacramento City Council.

In recent weeks, swastikas and anti-Semitic graffiti have appeared on multiple campuses in our region, including Del Dayo Elementary School in Carmichael. Last November, a known Proud Boy got 21% of the vote for a competitive school board seat in the region. 

 

And now, a school board member within the same district, Tanya Kravchuk, has rejected funding for anti-bias training. Her reason? She’s worried the state’s curriculum will create bias against people with “deeply held religious beliefs,” insisting that sections on gender do not “force teachers to violate their conscience.” 

 

These incidents all occurred at a school district right here in Sacramento County: the San Juan Unified School District. You might be wondering why a city council member from Sacramento is concerned about what happens at a school district outside her area. I know and care about a lot of people who work at, govern and attend San Juan schools. A lot of city of Sacramento residents attend and work at these campuses. More than that, though, is my concern about how schools — and our children — are becoming increased targets for political extremists

 

A recent series of articles from ProPublica, “Chaos at the School Board,” puts stories and photos to this scary trend. “Once considered tame, even boring, school board meetings have become culture-war battlegrounds in recent years,” the ProPublica series states. “On dozens of occasions, tensions have escalated into not just shouting matches and threats but also arrests and criminal charges.” 

 

What’s happening at San Juan is a warning bell for our region that we should all be taking very seriously. Influencing actions at school boards is not the end goal: The same Proud Boy who ran for school board at San Juan, Jeffrey Perrine, now routinely calls into Sacramento City Council meetings to spew anti-Semitic rhetoric and other hateful speech. He is not alone.

 

 Scholars have warned that people may be less likely to run for office if they fear for their safety. It’s just common sense. Intimidating qualified candidates from putting their names on the ballot is just one of many tactics currently being used to shift the politics of our elected bodies.

 

 As someone who has faced threats to my safety, I understand how real that dynamic is. While I decided to run for reelection, I have talked to many who haven’t — or who have decided to sit out an election entirely — due to fear for their personal safety and their families’ well-being. 

 

San Juan is only one of many targets, but we cannot allow our kids’ futures to be influenced by people who only seek to spread their harmful agendas. 

 

This will not stop until we loudly and clearly declare, in every space it appears, that hate is absolutely not welcome here. You have an opportunity to help. 

 

The San Juan Unified School District’s Board of Education has their next meeting on Tuesday, September 12 at 6:30 p.m. in the board room of the district office, located at 3738 Walnut Avenue, Carmichael. You can also email the board at boardmembers@sanjuan.edu. Please show up and speak up. We cannot allow hate and bigotry to go unanswered. Katie Valenzuela is a city council member in Sacramento.  Posted in opinion in the SACRAMENTO BEE. 

 

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Read more at: https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/article279022789.html#storylink=cpy