The Riverside County Board of Education earlier this month voted 4-1 to table a resolution to recognize the county’s commitment to provide all children with equal access to education.
“There’s just, you know, a tremendous amount of concern relative to the games that are going to be played all the way, probably to the Supreme Court, before a final decision on who rules the roost [is made],” Board Vice President Kim Cousins said at the Feb. 5 meeting. “So I just think it’s not the [time] for us to bring this forward.”
Cousins, who at first made a motion to deny adoption of the resolution, said that with all of the uncertainty surrounding K-12 federal funding, now was not the time to be at the forefront of what he said was a very heated political situation, especially when board policy “pretty clearly articulates our position relative to serving all children, regardless of status.”
Trustee Bruce Dennis agreed that waiting was the best move for the organization, but also suggested that the board instead update Board Policy 5145.13 Response to Immigration Enforcement to the latest version adopted by the California School Boards Association (CSBA).
“That policy will allow us to protect our children on campus, and that’s what we should be doing,” Dennis said. “So, if we update that, that should be our statement as to what we’re going to do for our students on campus.”
However, Board President Elizabeth Romero, who authored the resolution, said that she felt it was important to bring forward the resolution to reaffirm and communicate the board’s values to the community.
“There are populations in our county who feel at risk and feel fear, and this is not meant to put any target on our back, which is what a lot of people say,” she said. “This is really about reaffirming who we are as people.”
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Trustee Ray Curtis, who said there were some “puzzles to put together,” recommended instead tabling the resolution and bringing it back at a later date, an idea that Trustee Jamie Azpeitia-Sachs said she could get behind.
“Our kids do need to know that they are safe,” she said, noting that she was deeply concerned about what was happening at the federal level. “Our families need to know that they’re safe, and it’s unfortunate that that’s not something we can absolutely, with 100% certainty, guarantee, because everything is just so up in the air, and it’s baffling.”
With the motion to deny approval defeated, Cousins amended his motion to table the resolution with a recommendation that the organization get a legal opinion to ensure that it does not run afoul of any local, state or federal law that could impact funding.
“I welcome the legal review,” Romero said. “Although, this is not a legal review. There is no determining what will appease certain decision makers, so we could say one thing today, and it could change tomorrow.”
Ultimately, the board voted to table the resolution with Romero opposed. There were no public comments on the resolution.
The next Riverside County Board of Education meeting is scheduled for March 5.
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