Politico reports:

Three Southern California school board members backed by a far-right pastor narrowly won election last fall in campaigns fueled by pandemic rage.

Then they banned critical race theory and rejected social studies materials that included LGBTQ rights hero Harvey Milk.

Now, they’re fighting for their political lives.

After just six months in office, those officials face a recall effort on top of a civil rights investigation launched by the state’s Democratic-led education department. Students have held protests, and irate parents and teachers are swarming the board’s meetings, feeling that their town — the fast-growing, politically diverse suburb of Temecula in Riverside County — has become consumed by partisan warfare.

“We don’t want culture wars. We don’t want Fox News appearances,” Alex Douvas, a parent of two kids in the district who previously worked for two Republican congressmembers in Orange County, told the board recently. “Our schools are not ideological battlegrounds. They’re not platforms for religious evangelism. These are institutions for learning and growth.” [Continue reading…]