The controversy began in late April, when members of the Temecula Valley High School water polo team attended a baseball game between swim meets.

While cheering on their classmates, the boys, who had painted the letters B-E-A-R-S on their chests, dropped their pants to reveal school-colored brown and yellow swimwear.

A photo of the moment was posted on the baseball team’s Instagram account with the caption “Our fans > better than yours. GO BEARS,” The Press-Enterprise reported.

The post caught the attention of Temecula Valley Unified School District Board President Dr. Joseph Komrosky and board member Jennifer Wiersma, both part of the board’s conservative majority elected in late 2022.

“Speaking of dress code…are our teams now an ‘OnlyFans’ crew? Hats off to the kids that kept their pants on,” Wiersma wrote in an Instagram story that reposted the image, though with black covering the boys’ swimsuits.

Wiersma later apologized, saying that she hadn’t understood the circumstances of the swimsuit display.

Komrosky took to his own Instagram account, writing that if the water polo players wanted to support the baseball team, they should do so while looking like professionals.

“My concern is that I do not want them to look like they’re in a sexually provocative strip tease, looking like they’re one step close to the Chippendales,” he wrote. “We don’t need that in our school district, in our community.”

While some comments on his post agreed with the sentiment, Instagram user Stephanie Berry pushed back, writing, “If this is the jump, you shouldn’t be around kids. As a parent, it looks like swim boys being silly and supporting friends. I’ll pray for your deviant minds,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

Sharon Sardina, whose 17-year-old son was in the photo, said she was furious when she learned about the school board members’ comments. She and her husband, Brian Sardina, are now calling for the two board members to resign.

“It’s flat out sexual harassment no matter how you look at it,” Brian told KTLA’s Chris Wolfe. “What if those were females? This would be a totally different subject as well.”

Sharon said that if a teacher was to talk about a student in the way the board members did, they would be placed on a leave of absence until everything was investigated.

“I think sexualizing these minors is wrong in so many ways,” she told KTLA.

At a May 12 school board meeting, Sharon submitted a public comment calling for the resignations of Wiersma and Komrosky. She urged board members to recognize the seriousness of their remarks and said the incident underscored why many parents in the district feel they cannot trust the board’s leadership.

“For the last two weeks, I have watched son carry the weight of comments made by adults,” she told board members.

In a statement to KTLA about the incident, Komrosky said:

“A few young men from our TVHS Water Polo team were supporting their fellow baseball team and posed in a picture on a parent-sponsored page associated with TVHS. I thought it was inappropriate and that their attire didn’t align with the district’s dress code administrative regulation.  As a result, the site admin spoke with the students, removed the post, and reminded them of our current dress code. That said, in showing their team spirit to other students, I’m sure these are amazing kids and that they didn’t intend to cause harm with this post.  In the end, I would encourage them to “dress for success,” as they will be our future leaders when they leave TVUSD.”

Wiersma also provided KTLA with a statement, saying:

“I support the administration’s decision to remove the photo in question and stand behind our ongoing efforts to ensure all district-affiliated social media platforms remain aligned with TVUSD’s established policies and community standards.”

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Four seats are up for election in the TVUSD. A Christian conservative political action committee has backed two candidates in the hope of resetting a controversial agenda. The Inland Empire Family PAC has put forward candidates Jon Cobb in Trustee Area 5 and the familiar face of Dr. Joseph Komrosky in TA 4.

Komrosky previously served on the TVUSD board representing TA 4 after being elected to the seat in November 2022. He was appointed board president by his like-minded colleagues Danny Gonzalez and Jennifer Wiersma, who were also elected to the board in 2022. The three trustees were backed by the Inland Empire Family PAC. Pastor Tim Thompson of 412 Church Temecula Valley has been the PAC’s spokesperson.

However, ongoing concerns over the trio’s controversial decisions prompted a June 4 Special Recall Election that targeted Komrosky.

Critics, including national organizations, blasted Komrosky, Gonzalez and Wiersma over their critical race theory ban; their controversial critical race theory “panel” that many TVUSD teachers dubbed “indoctrination camp”; their censoring of instruction about California’s gay rights movement; their attempted defiance of state education code; their firing of the district superintendent; the hiring of their team of attorneys at taxpayers’ expense to defend against ongoing lawsuits over their actions; their ban on pride and other flags; and their mandate that educators report to parents about transgender students.

Ultimately, TA 4 voters gave Komrosky the boot and the seat has remained open. Gonzalez had already resigned his TA 2 seat one year into his four-year term; the vacancy has continued.

Wiersma’s TA 3 seat is not up for reelection until 2026. She has remained on the dais as the sole far-right voice. With Cobb and Komrosky on the ballot, the Inland Empire Family PAC is attempting to reclaim a majority on the TVUSD governing board.

The PAC’s website continues to make statements that align with politicians who support Christian Nationalism. For example, the site claims that “public schools across the nation have become a place of indoctrination into a woke ideology. … Conservative school board members who hold to a Judeo-Christian set of principles is this nation’s ticket back to American academic superiority on the world scene.”

This year’s races for the TVUSD board are well-watched. In TA 4, Komrosky faces David Sola. Despite being recalled, Komrosky successfully filed paperwork to run in the November election.

In TA 5, Cobb vies against incumbent Steven Schwartz.

Schwartz, along with Trustee Area 1’s Allison Barclay, frequently criticized Gonzalez, Komrosky and Wiersma for their policies. Barclay is up for reelection and is facing off against Melinda Anderson.

Also running in the TVUSD board races are three candidates looking to fill the TA 2 seat vacated by Gonzalez. Emil Roger Barham, Gary Oddi and Angela Talarzyk are vying for the open spot.

In addition to the TVUSD races, the Inland Empire Family PAC is attempting to influence other school districts across the IE. The PAC is backing candidates in the Redlands Unified School District and the Riverside Unified School District.

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