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By Jessyka Heredia
June 22, 2023 (El Cajon) –
Last Tuesday, staff and parents with opposing views came to the Cajon Valley School Board meeting to be heard. With well over 200 people in attendance the Cajon Valley boardroom was overflowing with outrage and passion. LGBTQ rights were at the forefront of the debate.
At first glance, there was nothing on the agenda that would normally stand out for this end-of-the-year school board meeting. But renewal of the YMCA as a provider for sixth grade camp for several Cajon Valley schools in the next school year proved controversial.
The YMCA has been under scrutiny in East County for an incident earlier this year when a 17-year-old female said she witnessed a transgender woman near the showers in the Cameron Family YMCA in Santee. It was later revealed that the transgender person had already undergone gender-change surgery. To ease concerns, the YMCA agreed to remodel its locker rooms to provide private dressing and shower areas.
Despite this, some community members who spoke at the meeting claimed they didn’t want the YMCA to get the sixth-grade camp contract for next year. They indicated that some kids returned from camp with complaints this past school year, although nobody clarified what those complaints were about.
Trustee Karen Mejia motioned to accept the renewal of the YMCA camp contract with Trustee Jo Alegria seconding the motion. When the vote came up for discussion, Trustee Anthony Carnevale said, “We ask that when we renew this contract with the YMCA that parents be given prior written notification of camp policies as they pertain to their children and names of the camp counselors who will be spending the night with children to the parents.”
Carnevale asked the Superintendent, Dr. David Miyashiro, what his response was to his concerns. Dr. Miyashiro responded, “I met with the CEO of the YMCA and staff, and we discussed their procedures to make sure that our kids felt safe and comfortable. We discussed keeping a separate drop box so that as teachers receive students at the end of a hike, that if students have concerns, they can drop them anonymously to teachers.”
Dr. Miyashiro reminded the board that the cabinet “has been choosing the YMCA sixth grade camp as the preferred choice based on options, activities and the high quality of care.” He added, “The teachers at Cajon Valley school, Crest school, Los Coches Creek school, Montgomery school and Naranca have the trust of the board and cabinet to take care and provide educational services and ensure the safety of our students.”
A portion of the crowd made up of teachers, staff, students and parents cheered in support.
Board member Anthony Carnevale was still insistent that he wanted all camp counselors’ names given to parents before camp and again asked Dr. Miyashiro for clarification. Dr. Miyashiro responded, “The executive board overseeing but not the camp counselors---no, that’s not their practice.”
Carnevale kept pressing, stating, “Last year we had nine children come back from sixth grade camp describing traumatic experiences.”
The parents and community members in opposition to the YMCA clapped for Carnevale’s statement, with one community member shouting out, “The kids should matter.”
Board President James P. Miller, Jr. told the audience, “Anthony and I agree on a lot of what was just stated concerning the YMCA camp, and what happened last year, or the most recent academic year, is concerning. We had a very, very in-depth evaluation and investigation conducted both by staff as well as the YMCA. A lot of concerns were addressed. Some were legit and some were not. Staff could have selected a different camp, but did not.”
Miller explained that the staff is who selects the camp. He assured the audience that he believes “the YMCA under the current atmosphere in the current environment is going to dot every i and cross every t and make sure that they do the job right and report back to us.” Miller assured, “If anything happens again, there’s gonna be an issue.”
Miller agreed with Carnevale about wanting camp counselor names before children went to camp. Alegria said parents should “to take into consideration that the teachers are also there, so that is a precursor of for understanding who their students are and are that extra measure to buffer safety, and these are the teachers that know them best. So, giving these five schools the autonomy to choose what camp they go to, they don’t have to choose Camp Marston and you don’t have to send your kids to camp.”
Once the public comments began, tensions rose in the audience. The crowd was loud and passionate on both sides. Since 31 speaker slips were submitted, the board gave each speaker one minute each instead of the usual three minutes to save on time, but allow each speaker to be heard.
Marci from Taxpayers Oversight was the first speaker, She said, “First off, Trustee Carnevale is a champion for the kids. As a taxpayer I love how he analyzes the programs and where the money comes from. You are a treasure to the schools. To transgender kids, as a mom and also a member of Gays Against Groomers, forgive me for being crude. But when someone pushes a lifestyle like religious fanatics, it’s created division and death. Today we are divided. Reel in your supporters and fly American and California flags only and tone it down.”
Another community, member, Stephen Nissou, said, “I’m from the St. Peter’s Catholic Chaldean Diocese, which represents four churches in East County and a major population here in El Cajon. I’d like to start off by saying we love all people, and we respect all people and that is what being Christian is all about. We accept all, no matter what color you are. I take what my kids are taught very seriously, and we want our voices to be heard with regards to how our schools have become so open and our curriculum so open. I teach purity, chastity, and abstinence to all my students.”
An emotional and impactful moment came when a young child named Annie got up to speak to the board. Annie said, “Seven out of nine members of my family are LGBTQ and the other two definitely support it. I fully support LGBTQ and think it’s okay to use pronouns like they/them or she/them or he/them. Schools need to take care of all students, not just straight students, or cisgender students. I want my family to feel safe and protected and for all students, too.” Annie paused and appeared to have lost her place reading from the paper she had written, when an audience member shouted, “You see, she doesn’t know how to read.” That prompted others in the audience to gasp in shock. The crowd cheered as the woman from the audience was removed from the room.
Annie’s family member, Grayson Beacon, who was by her side in support, grabbed the microphone to finish Annie’s public comment once the heckler had left and the audience quieted. Beacon said, “I want my family to feel respected, safe, and for the school district to act responsibly. Please listen and support LGBTQ. Thank you.” The crowd again cheered on Annie and Grayson as they left the podium.
The board voted 3-2 to approve the YMCA camp contract, with the board’s newest trustees, Jolyana Jirjees and Anthony Carnevale, voting no.
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Cajon Valley School Board