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My father was denied two teaching positions in California because of his religion about 70 years ago. I never imagined that in progressive Santa Cruz County someone would be publicly denied a position because of their faith. That is exactly what briefly happened at the Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) board meeting on Jan. 15. A young woman attending an Iowa-based college requested an internship at a Watsonville elementary school to satisfy credential requirements. This is normally a routine request, and since it would not cost the district any money and the supervising teacher was on board it should have been approved without debate.
However, because the student attends a Christian college, trustee Gabriel Medina objected because more than 200 years ago Christian missionaries imposed Catholicism on the Indigenous population. How this relates to an internship for a second grade class is a mystery, but the board’s newly elected members went along with Medina’s thinking. In doing this, PVUSD opened itself up to a lawsuit, as well losing any credibility for being inclusive and diverse.
Medina and those who voted with him claim to have been elected because of their support for liberated ethnic studies and his comments seem compatible with that anti-Western ideology. Medina without evidence fears a second grade student teacher indoctrinating students with Christianity, but he has no qualms with teachers using the classroom to promote a radical political agenda. At least he is open about his bigotry.
Fortunately, after meeting with an attorney, the PVUSD board reversed the earlier decision in a special meeting on Jan. 23, but Medina’s comments regarding Christianity and his lack of understanding of the First Amendment remain.
Gil Stein
Aptos