"Fireworks arrive early as school board looks at marriage"
By K. JorreyJune 30, 2005
Ninth-grade health textbooks in Conejo Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) will define marriage as an agreement of partners—not just a man and a woman—after action at Tuesday night’s board of education meeting.
Trustees listened to nearly three emotion-filled hours of passionate public debate on the issue of whether or not CVUSD should approve a new ninthgrade health textbook that doesn’t define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Board members decided to follow the original advice of the committee that reviewed the books.
Despite one final plea by board member Mike Dunn— who three times interrupted the board’s attempt to vote, asking for a new motion—trustees voted without comment, 4-0, to approve the disputed “Glencoe Health” ninth edition published by Glencoe/McGraw Hill. In protest, Dunn didn’t vote.
The debate spoke volumes about the controversy. Dunn, an outspoken advocate of family values, didn’t want an open interpretation, i.e. gay marriage, to be included in the definition.
Seats in the board room were filled nearly 30 minutes before the meeting started. Seats in the lobby in front of a TV were also full.
The two sides could easily be differentiated even before the meeting began. Some wore stickers and buttons, others carried books.
Board president Timothy Stephens threatened four times to clear the room because of outbursts from the crowd.
His pleas for order were mostly ignored.
Many praised Dunn for his position, while others blamed him for starting the controversy. Loud applause often accompanied each speaker’s comments.
Even after the board made its final vote, some voiced their displeasure with the decision.
It was after the vote that individual board members explained their positions.
“We are a public school, not a private school, and our job is to educate students to become productive members of our adult society, and that means they need to be aware of all the options that are available to them, not just a few,” said trustee Dorothy Beaubein.
“Religious and moral values are important—they’re very important—but the dispute about them does not belong in the public school. And Proposition 22 (the 2004 California law that recognizes marriage only as a union between a man and a woman) does not apply to these textbooks,” Beaubien said.
Board members noted that the Glencoe textbook had been approved not only by the state but also by a committee of district teachers using a long-accepted process.
“It is my responsibility to provide the best education I can for our 22,500 students with the resources we have to help them become well-rounded, analytical members of society,” said board member Dolores Didio. “And the evidence I have here says this textbook does that, and in way that is more engaging to students.”
After seeing his hopes dashed, Dunn didn’t waiver from his original position.
“Let me make it clear—I didn’t cause the problem in this room,” Dunn said. “The textbook manufacturer caused this problem when it recommended a very dramatic change in how we define marriage in our society. Don’t blame me, blame them.
“I don’t know one person in the Conejo Valley that would throw a rock at a homosexual,” Dunn said. “Nor do I know a parent in this district who tells their kid to throw rocks at homosexuals. But at the same time it’s clear to me that an overwhelming majority do not want homosexuality promoted in the public school system.”