There is a clear and present danger to the Grossmont Union High School District community that will be exacerbated if the board majority takes one or both of the open seats in the upcoming election. If you believe in an education system that makes all students central and trusts teachers, it is paramount that we re-elect Chris Fite and elect Jay Steiger to the GUHSD governing board.
After 28 years in the Grossmont Union High School District, I said goodbye in June after my position was among the 25-plus district office positions eliminated. While I am no longer an employee of GUHSD, my ties are deep — I graduated from Valhalla, my two sons went to West Hills, my daughter is a student at Grossmont, and my wife is a teacher in the district. I spent 18 years as a teacher at West Hills and for the last 11, I served the students, staff, and community as the director of instructional technology and then director of learning and innovation.
The current board majority has infected GUHSD with a sickness that dates back 15-plus years. In the last year, their behind the scenes actions have advanced a partisan agenda that does not support or represent the vast majority of students, families and staff. They ignored the educational mission of this organization and have cultivated a culture of fear and mistrust across the district.
In the last year alone, they cut ties with San Diego Youth Services, conducted secret investigations, hired personal friends as outside investigators, scapegoated and removed veteran administrators, pocket-vetoed books, marginalized LGBTQ+ staff and students, gave a third party digital forensics company access to all staff email and documents and purged Ed Services of all staff who supported the educational program as part of a fake budget crisis.
And that’s just the beginning. They will become bolder if they gain a super majority.
I saw and felt it in the tone of board meetings, policies they dictated and their clear abuse of power. So much of what they have done over the years is hidden in closed session board meetings and behind attorney-client privilege. As the director of learning and innovation, I witnessed that fear firsthand in August 2023 when I planned a district-wide professional learning event called Learning Launch for all teachers, counselors and administrators. It included a national keynote speaker and 66 staff-led sessions.
The previous superintendent canceled the staff-led sessions six days before the event because she was afraid of what the board would do if they found out two of the 66 sessions had LGBTQ+ themes that focused on creating and maintaining safe classrooms for our students. I was in the room. The unnamed logistical issues claimed as the reason for the cancellation were a smokescreen.
If one or both of the seats go to their candidates, GUHSD will have six or more years of turmoil and a focus on policies that fit a partisan agenda that will continue to distract the dedicated GUHSD staff from focusing on the educational needs of all 15,500 students.
At the start of my career in the late 1990s and early 2000s, GUHSD faced a similar threat from an extremist board. They went after administrators, searched our email and challenged our teaching community. As a new teacher, it was daunting — I just wanted to teach. But I joined the efforts to elect education-friendly candidates then and over the next few years. I walked neighborhoods for candidates, I held signs at board meetings, put signs in my yard, phone banked and stood in front of grocery stores.
If you believe public education in East County should be in service to all students, it’s time to get involved again. Spread the word to your friends and family, and help Fite and Steiger win.
It is time to save the Grossmont Union High School District from extremists. Again.
Dan McDowell is a former teacher and staff member in the Grossmont Union High School District. He was named Teacher of the Year in 2008.
