In the ongoing debate over the Roseville Joint Union High School District's (RJUHSD) priorities, the clash between supporting parents and appeasing the LGBTQ activists and their allies has taken a dramatic turn.
As California schools grapple with groups pushing to expand the goals of education to include exposure to LGBTQ sexual distinctions, Roseville has found itself in the spotlight. Last year, parents and Project Veritas shed light on a program that encouraged high school boys to dance on stage dressed as burlesque women, for cash tips to raise money to go to a camp – and the goal of the drag show was to have the boys perfect their sexual identity.
(Note: Publicly, dancing on stage, in a sexy outfit- for money, does not perfect your sexual identity- it objectifies you)
Pastor Casey Tinnin of the Loomis Basin Congregational United Church of Christ shared his goals for his work with 10 high schools in 3 Placer County schools districts with Project Veritas. URL sharing video of some of his important goals here:
Wake Up Placer was so concerned about how national, regional and local media covered the Placer County Youth Drag show issue that we created a review of the issues that were not shared by traditional media. You can see a review of the issues here:
https://wakeupplacer.com/kids/h-s-boys-who-dance-on-stage-dont-dance-to-the-sound-of-freedom/
The reach of the “boys dance on stage for money fundraiser” (youth drag show program) that Pastor Tinnin and his church created was amazing. It included the following 10 Placer County High schools: West Park High School, Lincoln High School, Roseville High School, Del Oro High School, Placer High Placer High School, Oakmont High School, Adelante High School, Phoenix High School, Granite Bay HIgh School, Woodcreek High School. These 10 schools have about 15,000 total students.
Perhaps because of the access that the following Roseville Joint Union High School District Schools granted to Pastor Tinnin’s program (via their wellness centers) 2 RJUHSD board members chose to leave the RJUHSD Board in late 2023. RJUHSD schools that provided boys to dance on stage: Adelante High, Granite Bay High School, Oakmont High School, Roseville High School, West Park HIgh School and Woodcreek High School
The process to replace the RJUHSD board members was conducted over the the January 26, 2024 and February 6, 2024 meetings.
The board reviewed 8 candidates: 4 men and 4 women.
NOTE: Links to the RJUHSD meeting notes and video of the interviews can be found at the end of this article.
From the beginning of the process, Mr. James Jenkins was seen a top candidate to join the board.
A review of the notes and video create a issue that should be discussed by the Board and the community: How did a group of 3 white women and one white man not choose to pick a qualified male community member- who happens to be black?
The Board’s meeting notes and video suggest that two members: Trustee Tiffany Coleman and Trustee Marla Franz shared that Mr. Jenkins social media profile would be a distraction to his work on the board.
Specific questions from the Trustee’s taken from the Boards meeting minutes:
T.Coleman: Extremely concerned with the online social media and that it could become a distraction from the work of the Board and the schools.
M.Franz: How do we reconcile the social media?
The way that the RJUHSD has curated its meeting minutes prevents us from providing a direct link to the meeting minutes. Instead we have put them into a file that is accessible via the WUP web page.
Given the media coverage of the RJUHSD’s ‘boys dancing burlesque on stage for money event’ its understandable that the board would be concerned about distractions. However, for Trustees Coleman and Franz to publicly cite Mr. Jenkin’s social media account as a reason he is less fit to be a board member, without sharing examples of distracting posts, is wrong.
WUP reviewed Mr.Jenkins social media acccount and what was found was memes and videos that made fun of Democratic political candidates.
What you did not find on his social media were: foul words, sexual innuendoes or threats.
His posts, while political in nature, were not the type of posts that would make a mom blanch.
They were not unfit for prime time TV.
They did not ask high school kids to dance, dressed in sexy outfits, on stage for money, to perfect their sexual identity.
The lack of inappropriate posts begs the question: What is a distraction?
What, from Mr. Jenkins social media account, would make him a distraction to the work of the RJUHSD?
WUP staff have one thought that we think need to be made to the women of the RJUHSD: Is it ok for a black man to be an outspoken conservative?
President Joe Biden has shared his opinion on this issue.
What is the RJUHSD’s School Board’s position?
The idea that Mr. Jenkins could be disqualified for not being black enough may sound like an outlandish assertion, however, its important to note that ads for “the boys dance sexily for money show” were not seen as a distraction to the school board’s work.
Adverting for Loomis Basin Congregational United Church of Christ’s, Pastor Casey Tinnin’s “Youth Drag Show’ out reach program- brought to you via the school welleness centers at the following Rosville Union Joint High School District high schools: Adelante High, Granite Bay High School, Oakmont High School, Roseville High School, West Park HIgh School and Woodcreek High School.
If ads like this, at least to Trustee Franz who was on the RJUHSD at the time, would not be a distraction what would be considered a distraction?
That point is worth repeating: The idea that boys dancing on stage, for money, to perfect their sexuality , was not seen as a distraction. Objectification of boys – was not seen as a distraction. It should be.
RJUHSD Board Meeting notes:Tuesday, February 6, 2024
https://go.boarddocs.com/ca/rjuhsd/Board.nsf/Public
RJUHSD Board Meeting video: February 6, 2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5I1_WdTvrg
WUP welcomes comments – please email us at wakeupplacer@gmail.com