Just one year after the Grossmont Union High School District eliminated all librarians, citing a funding concerns, it has approved a cash infusion to its athletics department. The move comes amid a renewed moral panic about counseling for LGBTQ+ and questioning children.

Moral panic

Nearly three years after his public comment prompted the Grossmont Union High School District board to drop its longtime mental healthcare provider, Anthony Carnevale was back in attendance.

The right-wing activist delivered another public comment, this time praising the board for its foresight in ending the contract against San Diego Youth Services and leveling more accusations of “grooming” at the agency for its LGBTQ+ youth counseling services.

“Thank you, guys, namely Trustee Shields, Dr. Gary Woods, and Trustee Kelly, for in 2023 standing taller and seeing further than most boards in this state,” Carnevale said. “San Diego Youth Services was engaged in wholesale grooming of students.”

Crowded public comment

This time, Carnevale only had 90 seconds, not three minutes, of public comment since so many people wanted to speak. He was interrupted by loud booing for restating the anti-LGBTQ+ moral panic about grooming children.

That chapter of board controversy is back thanks to a San Diego County Grand Jury report. It slammed the board for leaving students without mental health services and anti-bullying programs for four months while a new contractor was put in place.

The report says that the decision was entirely based on Carnevale’s comment, which contained false information about San Diego Youth Services gender-affirming therapy that was not part of the district’s contract.

Carnevale doubled down on his comments that San Diego Youth Service is “grooming” children, a baseless accusation that is part of an anti-LGBTQ+ moral panic.

Another comment similarly attacked trans youth and trans-affirming educators, but most of the dozens of commenters were present to speak about a $1,785,558 infusion to athletics.

$1.7 million to athletics

Board member Scott Eckert proposed the motion, which saw several revisions before reaching the board. Eckert said that a football player at Monte Vista High School in 2013 suffered a brain injury that went undiagnosed until the student was found curled up on the bathroom. He supported having certified physical trainers on each campus.

“That’s a safety concern,” Eckert said. “All the teams are suffering.”

Coaches and athletic trainers spoke in favor of the funding, especially as athletics can entice parents to send their students to public schools amid declining enrollment. Coaches talked about the struggles to fundraise to pay for referees, coaching staff and athletic trainers that protect student safety and promote campus culture after 20 years of underfunding.

“This money would be a massive, massive gain,” said Jeremy Hersch, ASB advisor at Grossmont High School.

However, the funding boost does not come in a vacuum. In 2025, the same board eliminated all librarians. At the time, the conservative board members said it was necessary to improve the district’s fiscal health for years to come amid projected deficits.

Not all on board with boost

Some teachers, laid off librarians and community members expressed support for investing in athletics, although others had reservations or outright criticisms of the board for not boosting spending to a similar degree in the classroom — or libraries.

 “This all to try to stop our attempt to make athletics great in Grossmont district,” shot back trustee Jim Kelly. “A lot of kids, a lot of minority kids, need this.”

Trustee Chris Fite unsuccessfully proposed an amendment to spend the same $1.7 million in libraries in addition to $1.7 million on athletics. Later, he tried to pare down the funding.

“We can do both. This is about priorities,” said Fite, a dissenter on the motion.

Robert Shield also contested the number of changes to the motion since its original agenda item, including two revisions sent on the same day of the meeting. Shields wanted more information about what amounted to around seven percent of the district’s discretionary spending.

“There’s sufficient confusion on the issue. I consider it a grave mistake,” Shield said. “I don’t think it’s ready for prime time. I’m not opposed to the concept. I’m just not persuaded this is ready to fly… That’s a lot of money in our budget.”

With Fite and Shield dissenting, the motion passed.

New tune on Superintendent Vital Brulte

From Carnevale to union reps, many of the comments echoed past concerns and controversies. But some of the critics of the board had changed their tune on one person: Superintendent Kirsten Vital Brulte.

Vital Brulte has stabilized and improved other school districts in the state facing significant challenges.

When she arrived at Grossmont Union School District last year and conducted a listening tour, Vital Brulte asked teachers, staff, students and parents to withhold their initial judgements and instead judge her based on her actions.

The community was hesitant to embrace the board-appointed official.

But a year later, teachers and community members are now offering cautious support of the new superintendent. Some said hiring Vital Brulte was the best board decision in three years.

Fite, the lone Democrat on the board, summarized their comments by saying the years-long complaint that he has heard from community members about the board is that they don’t feel heard. Fite praised Vital Brulte for intentionally listening to the community.

 “Our superintendent made the effort to listen to all the stakeholders. That effort alone is an incredible testament to what she’s trying to do,” Fite said.