Conservative school board president reacts to kicking out state official from meeting
Soja Shaw, a Chino Unified School District board of education member describes repeated interruptions from a state official at a meeting.
A newly elected school board member at California's Chino Valley Unified School District says she kicked out an acolyte of Gov. Gavin Newsom from her meeting for what she believed were his attempts to hijack the meeting for political campaigning.
"Our test scores are one of the lowest in the nation... But instead, he focused on a soft launch for his laughable campaign for governor to use our board meeting," Sonja Shaw said in an interview with Fox News Digital. "His focus needs to change, and then he will get the respect. But right now, parents honestly see him as a threat to their children."
She added that Thurmond repeatedly interrupted the meeting – asking for a point of order before it was his turn to speak. He also refused to leave the podium after the public comment portion, leading to him getting the boot.
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Sonja Shaw speaks out about kicking a state superintendent out of her board of education meeting in California.
"He would call out point of order from his seat and everyone would be looking at him like, 'what in the world are you doing?… You don't get to yell out from your seat.' It's actually considered a disturbance in a board meeting… Like you have to behave appropriately," Shaw said.
The Chino Valley Unified School District policy, which ultimately passed, stipulated that parents must be informed if their child expresses a desire to be identified or treated as a gender different from their biological sex.
Thurmond objected to the policy, warning it "may fall outside of the laws."
Shaw responded to Thurmond, accusing him of supporting an agenda that would "pervert children."
She told Fox News Digital that Newsom, a Democrat, was steering clear of making a statement on the topic, but that Thurmond and Newsom are conjoined with the same agenda in education.
"Gavin Newsom didn't put out a statement… If he verbally out loud tells everybody he's against parental rights, he knows it's game over. So he's doing everything he can in his own power to not ruin his presidency. This is my opinion," Shaw said.
Gender identity unicorn used in school districts around the country illustrates gender and sex on a spectrum. (YouTube/screenshot)
Shaw told Thurmond at the meeting, "I appreciate you being here tremendously. But here's the problem. We're here because of people like you. You're in Sacramento proposing things that pervert children."
When Thurmond returned to the mic and asked for a "point of order to respond," he was told, "This is not your meeting."
"You may have a seat," said Shaw. "You're not going to blackmail us. You already sent us a blackmailing letter on the previous point of order. You'll not bully us here in Chino."
Tony Thurmond, the Superintendent of Public Instruction. (Photo By Liz Hafalia/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
Thurmond then was escorted out by security, after he refused to leave the public comment section after his time had expired.
The superintendent responded to being kicked out in a statement, claiming he was "verbally attacked" and "thrown out by extremists."
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"I went to a school board meeting to stand up for LGBTQ+ students who invited me to join them as they spoke out against a radical new policy that threatens their safety. When done speaking, the board president verbally attacked me and instructed the police to remove me," he said. "I don’t mind being thrown out of a board meeting by extremists. I can take the heat — it’s part of the job. What I can’t accept is the mistreatment of vulnerable students whose privacy is being taken away."
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