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The Battle for Fiscal Responsibility: Defending Grossmont’s Conservative School Board Against a Union-Led Recall
In the Grossmont Union High School District (GUHSD), a conservative-majority school board—elected by the people of East County—has taken a bold stand to restore fiscal sanity amid a looming $2.4 million budget deficit. On February 27, 2025, the board voted 4-1 to cut 61 staff positions, including librarians, vice principals, and other roles, in a tough but necessary move to safeguard the district’s financial future. These cuts, carefully designed to minimize impact on student learning, reflect the board’s commitment to responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. Yet, this principled decision has unleashed a vicious backlash from the teachers’ union and its allies, who are now exploiting the cuts to fund a recall effort against board members Elva Jensen, Gary Woods, Jo Beth Preble, and Robert Yule. This is not just a political maneuver—it’s a hostile takeover attempt by a union that thrives on taxpayer money while pushing woke curricula and programs that have driven students away, exacerbating the very deficit they now weaponize. It’s time for the conservative community to rally, correct the lies, and defend our elected board from this assault on voter choice.
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Fiscal Responsibility in the Face of Crisis
The GUHSD board, led by its conservative majority, faced a stark reality: a $2.4 million deficit for the 2024–2025 school year, driven by declining enrollment and uncertain state funding. Enrollment in GUHSD has dropped 1.58% since 2017, a trend mirrored across California as families flee public schools for private, charter, or homeschool options. State funding, tied to attendance, has dwindled accordingly, and the end of federal COVID-19 relief funds in September 2024 has tightened the noose. Acting Superintendent Sandra Huezo emphasized that reserves, while substantial, are “one-time resources” unsuitable for ongoing expenses like salaries.
The board’s response was measured and strategic. The 61 cuts—49 certificated positions (e.g., librarians, vice principals) and 12 classified roles—were chosen to preserve core classroom instruction. No libraries are closing, and no teachers are being fired outright; the cuts target administrative and support roles where reallocation can maintain educational quality. Board member Robert Shield underscored the need to reallocate resources to meet evolving student needs, a forward-thinking approach to ensure long-term stability. This is fiscal responsibility in action: making hard choices to protect students and taxpayers, not kicking the can down the road.
The Union’s Political Exploitation
Enter the Grossmont Education Association (GEA), the teachers’ union, which has seized on these cuts to launch a recall effort against the four conservative board members. This is no grassroots movement. The recall, announced on April 25, 2025, at a chaotic board meeting, is a calculated power grab funded by union dues—money extracted from taxpayers via teacher salaries. The GEA, led by figures like James Messina, claims the cuts are “ridiculous” and unnecessary, pointing to the district’s reserves. But their narrative conveniently ignores the structural deficit and the unsustainability of dipping into one-time funds for recurring costs.
The recall’s de facto spokesperson, retired librarian Laura Preble, frames the effort as a defense of “public education.” Yet, the union’s real agenda is to unseat a conservative majority that threatens its influence. The targeted board members—Jensen, Woods, Preble, and Yule—were elected to prioritize fiscal discipline and East County values, not union-driven agendas. By contrast, the GEA has a history of accepting job and budget cuts without meaningful resistance, as seen in San Diego Unified’s layoffs. Their sudden outrage reeks of opportunism, exploiting community fears to regain control of the board.
The Union’s Role in the Deficit
The irony is galling: the GEA and its allies have contributed to the very crisis they now exploit. For years, public education in California, including GUHSD, has hemorrhaged students due to dissatisfaction with union-backed policies. Families have fled to private schools, charters, or homeschooling, driven away by what many conservatives see as “woke” curricula and programs that prioritize ideology over academics. In GUHSD, a 2023 lawsuit alleged that trustee Gary Woods referred to LGBTQ+ employees as part of a “coven,” reflecting tensions over the board’s rejection of San Diego Youth Services’ mental health programs, which some trustees felt misaligned with community values. Whether or not one agrees with Woods, the episode highlights a broader clash: a conservative community pushing back against progressive initiatives that don’t reflect East County’s priorities.
These union-supported programs, from expansive DEI initiatives to controversial sexual health curricula (as seen in nearby Cajon Valley’s clash with state mandates), have alienated families, shrinking enrollment and, by extension, state funding. The GEA’s refusal to acknowledge its role in this exodus is disingenuous. Instead, they vilify the board for addressing the fallout—a deficit that their policies helped create.
An Insult to Voters
The recall effort is a direct affront to the conservative voters who elected Jensen, Woods, Preble, and Yule to uphold fiscal responsibility and community values. These trustees won their seats because East County demanded change: an end to wasteful spending, a focus on core education, and a rejection of ideological overreach. The GEA’s attempt to oust them undermines the Republic’s will, using taxpayer-funded dues to subvert the very community that sustains the district.
Worse, the union’s tactics rely on misinformation and outside influence. At board meetings, droves of protesters—many bused in from beyond GUHSD boundaries—pack venues with signs and scripted talking points, drowning out local voices. Students, egged on by union-aligned teachers, have staged walkouts, with organizers like Maggie Kelly claiming the cuts harm all students, regardless of politics. But their rhetoric glosses over the district’s financial reality, peddling a false narrative that reserves can magically solve the deficit without consequences. Librarians like Angela Scott amplify the outrage, claiming their roles are indispensable, yet fail to address how their positions could be restructured to save costs without closing libraries.
The Call to Action
This is a pivotal moment for GUHSD’s conservative community. The teachers’ union is coming for your kids—not just through curricula you oppose, but by fighting to seize the board and undo your vote. Silence is surrender. It’s time to step up and fight.
Rally Behind the Board: Attend the May 15, 2025, board meeting (the final chance to influence layoff notices) and future sessions. Show up in force to counter the union’s bused-in crowds. Voice your support for fiscal responsibility and the board’s tough but necessary cuts.
Correct the Lies: Use social media, community forums, and conversations with neighbors to debunk the union’s false narratives. Share facts: the $2.4 million deficit is real, reserves aren’t a long-term fix, and no libraries are closing. Highlight the board’s commitment to student learning by preserving classroom instruction.
Hit the Pavement: Go door to door, neighbor to neighbor, to mobilize support. Explain why the recall is a union power grab, not a community uprising. Encourage voters to reject the signature-gathering effort, which needs 40,000 signatures to qualify.
Expose the Union’s Hypocrisy: Call out the GEA’s role in driving families away through woke programs, shrinking enrollment, and creating the deficit. Demand transparency on how union dues—your tax dollars—are funding this recall.
Defend Our Territory: This is East County’s fight. The conservative majority was elected to protect your values and your wallet. Circle the wagons and show the union that GUHSD won’t be bullied into submission.
The GEA’s recall effort is a desperate bid to reclaim power, dressed up as concern for students. Don’t let them rewrite the narrative. The conservative board is doing what you elected them to do: making hard choices to secure GUHSD’s future. It’s up to us to stand with them, fight the union’s hostile takeover, and preserve the will of the voters. The time to act is now—because if we don’t, the union will reshape our schools in their image, and our kids will pay the price.
Get on Instagram and Social Media and use ‘@DefendGUHSD’ and ‘@NoRecallGUHSD’ in your posts!
Post 1: East County, the teachers’ union is trying to OVERTURN your vote with a recall of OUR conservative GUHSD board! They’re lying about cuts to scare you. Defend fiscal responsibility & our kids’ future! #DefendGUHSD #NoRecallGUHSD
Post 2: The union claims GUHSD is “closing libraries” to push their recall of our conservative board. LIE! No libraries are closing—cuts are to balance a $2.4M deficit. Don’t let their scare tactics fool you! Share the truth! #DefendGUHSD #NoRecallGUHSD
Post 3: YOU elected Jensen, Woods, Preble, & Yule to fix GUHSD’s budget & reject woke agendas. Now the union wants to RECALL them with YOUR tax dollars! Defy their takeover—defend OUR board! #DefendGUHSD #NoRecallGUHSD
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