Rocklin’s far-right school board tarnishes city’s reputation, lowers property values | Opinion

A real estate friend told me new listings are down in Rocklin. Interest rates are too high, and home insurance companies are running scared. But he said most buyers are Bay Area retirees.

That makes sense. They can sell that three bedroom/two bath house for $1.5 to $2 million and buy something in quieter Rocklin without a loan and stash cash for repairs.

Why Rocklin? Money Magazine cited Rocklin as one of the best 100 cities in America. We have a highly educated population. Our park acreage-per-thousand-residents exceeds most cities. We’re close to both Sacramento and Tahoe. We’re at the elbow of two highways. And Rocklin schools are among the top public school districts in the Sacramento region.

Retirees know good schools bolster property values. Rocklin has earned a good reputation — if we don’t blow it up now.

More bad publicity will hurt home values for everyone in Rocklin. Typical retirees from the Bay Area are likely not caught up in Christian nationalism and other far-right causes. They can buy elsewhere.

The Rocklin Unified school board’s recent 4-1 vote on parental notifications regarding gender issues puts Rocklin in a league with other communities viewed with amusement. The school board appointed a subcommittee of two trustees to study the issue of parental notification and propose a resolution. Hmm. Didn’t they already know how the four proponents for this policy would vote on that issue?

Even before this policy passed, the Rocklin Unified school board made statewide headlines when Board President Julie Hupp used her public official Facebook account to invite “Christ-centered” parents to join committees evaluating curriculum. I did not see a call for “Mohammed-centered” parents or “Abraham-centered parents,” “Hindu-centered parents” or “atheist-centered” parents to volunteer. I can only imagine the reaction of the four trustees if someone appeared at a board meeting and proselytized that idea. But Rocklin has many such parents and kids with diverse beliefs and backgrounds — some are my granddaughters’ good friends and neighbors.

What we need on parent committees are individuals who prioritize and value critical thinking, diversity and academic success — regardless of their personal religious beliefs.

A critical component of a good school system is a stable teacher force. Fewer graduates are choosing teaching. Many teachers are retiring early due to ridiculous book banning policies and resolutions such as the one recently passed in Rocklin. Being between a rock and a hard place is frustrating. Teachers just want to teach. Without a strong, dedicated teaching staff, students face bigger class sizes, extracurricular program reductions and frustrated, burnt out teachers who give less homework to avoid evening and weekend work.

I recently retired from part-time teaching in an independent study program to get away from rumor-mongering leftist teachers and tattling religious zealots on staff. Teacher retirement paid better.

The greater the frustrations among teachers, the higher the likelihood of a strike. I am no fan of unions. I refused to join the union at my school, and I fought the union when my two kids were in the Rocklin schools decades ago. But I will join Rocklin teachers on the picket line if they choose a work stoppage due to religious and right-wing zealots. I have two grandchildren in the district. We taught them during COVID, and we can do it again if it comes to that.

Here’s a prediction: Some parents who support the four zealot trustees will prompt their kids to be, well, plants. Yes, go ask your teacher to support your gender change and let’s see if that teacher notifies the kid’s parent. Just watch.

If Rocklin schools further tarnish Rocklin’s reputation, keep checking your property values as Bay Area retirees go to Lincoln or Roseville.

The irony is that these zealots’ home values will decrease along with the rest of us. But they don’t care. It’s God’s will, right?

This story was originally published September 12, 2023 at 6:00 AM.