Education

School Board Denies Superintendent’s Claim He Was ‘Forcibly Removed’ From Meeting Over LGBT Comments

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The California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tony Thurmond, claimed he was kicked out of a Chino Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) meeting on July 20, but the school district and its security told the Daily Caller News Foundation this never happened.

CVUSD held a school board meeting Thursday to discuss new policies, among them a parental notification policy that would require school officials to inform parents within three days if their child has expressed a desire to identify with a different name, use different pronouns, use a bathroom that doesn’t match their biological sex or expressed suicidal intent. Thurmond gave a speech at the meeting criticizing the proposed policy, after which the President of the Chino Valley Unified School District School Board, Sonja Shaw, criticized Thurmond, and district security can be seen speaking with Thurmond, who leaves view of the camera.

“In a Tweet published on Superintendent Thurmond’s official Twitter page, Mr. Thurmond claimed that he was ‘forcibly removed from the meeting.’ At no time did President Shaw order his removal from the meeting, but rather requested that he to return to his seat,” a press release from CVUSD reads.

“As evidence by the board meeting recording, and confirmed by my security personnel who engaged with State Superintendent Thurmond, staff approached Mr. Thurmond at the podium to encourage him to rejoin the audience and take his seat after his allotted minute for public comment,” Whitney Fields, director of Risk Management & Human Resources Risk Management at CVUSD told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Thurmond claimed he was verbally attacked and forced to leave the meeting.

“Mr. Thurmond was not given a directive to leave the meeting, but rather selected to leave the proceedings under the escort of his team,” Fields told the DCNF.

Video of the meeting shows Shaw chastising Thurmond, telling him the reason for the new policy is his proposed policies in Sacramento. Thurmond then attempts to speak after being criticized, but speakers were only allotted 1 minute a piece to speak, and Shaw denies him a chance to rebut.

“Here’s the problem. We’re here because of people like you. You’re in Sacramento proposing things that pervert children,” Shaw said.

The proposed parental notification policy passed Thursday with a vote of 4-1 after about 80 speakers discussed the bill.

Thurmond did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.