Danny Gonzalez, one of three conservative members of the Temecula Valley Unified School Board, resigned Dec. 15, effective immediately.
Mr. Gonzalez said he is moving to Texas for his job, according to The Press-Enterprise.
“It was an honor and privilege to serve the Temecula community and it is with a heavy heart that [I am] leaving,” Mr. Gonzalez said in a statement. “[I] wish [the school district] and the entire valley well and appreciate the support we have received over this last year.”
The Press-Enterprise also reported that the school board has decided to move forward with appointing his replacement, rather than holding a special election.
The trustee’s resignation means the five-member school board will lose its conservative majority.
It gained statewide attention this summer when it twice rejected, then ultimately approved, an elementary social studies textbook that Board President Joseph Komrosky deemed inappropriate for its inclusion of LGBT activist Harvey Milk, whom the board president called a “pedophile” due to reports that Mr. Milk had a sexual relationship with a minor as an adult.
Mr. Komrosky’s comment gained attention from Gov. Gavin Newsom, who threatened to send copies of the contested “Social Studies Alive” book to Temecula students and to enact legislation that would fine the district $1.5 million if the board didn’t approve the textbook.
Ultimately, the board voted to approve the curriculum, with the recommendation that teachers swap the material that includes Mr. Milk with something more “age appropriate.”
Mr. Komrosky said the vote was not in response to Mr. Newsom’s threats, but to avoid a costly lawsuit for the district.
Even with the board’s about-face on the issue, the governor called for a civil rights investigation into the district in July.
Last December, the three trustees also voted to ban critical race theory in the district shortly after they were elected to office.
The signatures are currently being verified by the county’s registrar of voters.
