Amidst California’s $58 billion deficit, soaring crime and homelessness, and the exodus of money and talent that our elected leaders swear isn’t happening, our state legislature is looking at a bill targeting one school board alone in the entire state. Why? Because union bosses can’t get their people elected there.
Rather than trying to win the hearts and minds of voters with sound policy and a commitment to their students, these special interests are trying to change the rules.
Number one, it’s a direct attack on local control of education. As a charter county, Orange County already has the authority to change the makeup of its board of trustees without interference from the state. It would have made the changes if Orange County felt like a change was needed. It does not need a new law—especially one drafted by Orange County state senators who only represent a small fraction of the county—forcing a change where it isn’t needed.
In the bill’s first hearing on March 20, Education Committee Vice Chair Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R-Yucaipa) called it an example of “government overreach” and asked why the state sought to override the will of Orange County voters. It’s a great question.
Third, it weakens the very idea of democracy. Despite the authors’ claims that usurping local control improves democracy, the reality is much different. The Orange County Board of Education has an outstanding representation of its constituents, demonstrated by a lack of evidence to the contrary.
Fifth, SB 907 burdens taxpayers with additional and unnecessary costs. The cost to change Orange County’s election procedures would be hundreds of thousands of dollars. That’s money that, based on all the reasons above, needn’t be spent. Add to that the direct stipend and health insurance costs of two more trustees, and this whole idea is just adding insult to injury.
Sixth, SB 907 challenges parental rights. The Orange County Board of Education has consistently supported the rights of parents, school choice, and charter school development—three ideas abhorred by the union bosses. Worse yet, the bill allows a liberal unelected county committee power to reorganize the county school board, and it is expected they will change the current majority that advances charter schools, “back-to-basics” and conservative governance philosophy, to have left-leaning ideologues and union-endorsed allies as the new majority. If SB 907 becomes law, it will directly conflict with the will of the voters and install a left-leaning board of trustees that does the bidding of anti-school choice interests rather than parents. Tell us again how that’s democratic.
Lastly, in the 2001, 2011, and 2021 public redistricting process, the county board of education held the required three to four public meetings and received public input by constituents and many organizations about the number of trustees and district boundaries. In the public process, never once did any any person or organization request an increase in the number of trustees to the board. There was never any map submitted for consideration that expanded the board members, and no one ever brought up the subject.
Recently in the 2021 redistricting process, again not one person or organization wanted to change the current five trustees, including the county reorganization committee which drew their own maps with five trustees. The 2021 redistricting process allowed the people of Orange County to have a voice in the number of trustees to the board. Unlike Mr. Min and Mr. Newman’s legislation, it is clear the people of Orange County have spoken, and they established that five trustees is just sufficient.
At best, SB 907 is a solution in search of a problem. At worst, it’s a textbook example of political gamesmanship that puts the interests of a special group or a party ahead of the people they’re supposed to represent. It’s not just a bad bill, it’s a disgrace.
