Gateway school district election could change direction of board racked by controversy

The November election to pick a new trustee for the Gateway Unified School District could usher in a new board majority the district has lacked for the past nine months.

With a four-member board, trustees have been unable to move forward on some important issues because of 2-2 votes.

Indeed, the reason school district residents will vote for a new Area 2 trustee on Nov. 7 springs from trustees' inability to agree on who will replace former board President Cherill Clifford, who resigned in February during a hullabaloo over the board's firing of Superintendent Jim Harrell.

The board interviewed numerous candidates to replace Clifford. But each time they voted on an applicant, the issue ended in a 2-2 draw, which meant the proposal to appoint a replacement failed.

So, voters living in the district's Area 2 will decide who replaces Clifford, who was elected last year but served less than two months of her term.

Whoever receives the most votes — Casey Bowden or Camille King — will get the opportunity to break the board's decision-making logjam.

The Gateway school district covers a large geographic area stretching from north Redding to the Siskiyou County line and includes Lake Shasta and the community of Lakehead. The Area 2 district also covers the central portion of the district that includes much of central part of the city of Shasta Lake.

Candidate Bowden said he believes the controversy on the board this past year has put the district on shaky footing.

"It's really scary. I don't know if the district will survive it, honestly," Bowden said. "That's my concern, and keeping staff. Teachers leaving, good principals leaving because of the instability of it all, and what's going to happen, where's the future?" Bowden said.

Who is Camille King and what does she stand for?

King did not respond to requests for information, but her website included a short bio and information about why she wants to serve on the board. The website also includes links to podcasts of radio interviews where she laid out what she thinks are the issues facing the district.

She has been endorsed Authur Gorman, a conservative member of the Shasta County Board of Education. Kevin Crye, a member of the Shasta County Board of Supervisors who faces a recall vote next year, also praised her during an interview on one of his podcasts.

Gorman also said on his Facebook page that the Shasta County Republican Party also endorses King.

She has two children, has worked in retail management and she runs a small business from home, according to her website. She also has been involved in her children's education, volunteering in the classroom and in other programs, such as sports and Girl Scouts activities.

But her outlook toward public schools changed when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

"I saw many unhealthy things happening in schools, like masking, required Covid tests (even by school staff), isolation, questionable curriculum, and more. I have known many parents, and have known of many more, who have left California due to bills being passed and worked on by the state legislators," she said on her website.

She said she is running for the school board to protect children, support parents' rights and increase parental involvement. She said she also wants to ensure that teachers and students "are being set up for successful futures."

She became so worried about her own children's education that she took them out of public schools.

She said she did not blame teachers or the Gateway district. Her decision to remove her kids from public schools means they will miss out on some opportunities, she said.

"If I don't feel like the system is safe for them, then I'm not going to feel comfortable putting them in those schools. And they're going to miss out on some of these opportunities. So for me, that was my drive. I want to make these schools safe, where I feel like my own kids can go there," she said.

Who is Casey Bowden and what does he stand for?

Bowden said he also has been involved in his son's activities. at Grand Oaks Elementary School, which is one of the district's campuses. He said he decided to seek a seat on the board when the controversy erupted after Harrell was fired in December 2022.

Asked how he could help bridge the divide on the board, he said in his job working for a financial institution in Shasta County, he successfully deals with people from many walks of life and points of view.

He said he is not registered to vote as either a Republican or Democrat.

"I feel like I'm not involved in any sort of politics, and I'm very neutral," Bowden said in a telephone interview.

Before her departure, Clifford was aligned on some key votes with board members Lindsi and Elias Haynes, who are married to each other. Since Clifford resignation, 2-2 votes have split with the Haynes voting together on some issues and trustees Dale Wallace and Phil Lewis disagreeing with the Hayneses.

After the Hayneses and Clifford voted to fire Harrell, they wanted to hire Bryan Caples of Redding to replace him. At the time, however, Caples' administrative credential had been suspended by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

The issue of whether to hire Caples did not come to a vote before Clifford resigned in early February.

More recently, the board considered a "Parental Notification Policy," which has been instituted and promoted by conservative groups at school districts in several other areas in the state.

The policy requires school officials to notify parents if a child wants to be identified by a gender other than the one on their official identification, such as a birth certificate. It would also require parental notification if a student wants to use restrooms, locker rooms or play on sports teams different from their birth gender.

Gateway district considers controversial parental notification policy

School officials would also need to notify parents if their child talks about suicide, gets in a fight at school or is bullied.

The policy has generated controversy in school districts where it has been proposed.

The California Attorney General's Office filed a lawsuit in August against the Chino Valley Unified School District, in Southern California, after the board of trustees there adopted the parental notification policy.

That same month, Attorney General Rob Bonta sent a letter admonishing to the Anderson Union High School board of trustees after the board adopted a policy similar to Chino Valley's. Bonta said the policy forcibly "outs" students who want to change their gender identity.

“My office stands against any actions that perpetuate discrimination, harassment, or exclusion within our educational institutions. We will remain committed to ensuring that school policies are designed to foster an environment of inclusivity, acceptance, and safety for all,” Bonta said.

In September, Gateway trustees split 2-2 on a proposed parental notification policy, with the Hayneses voting for it and Lewis and Wallace voting against it.

King did not address the issue in her campaign literature. Bowden said schools should let parents know about what is happening their children, but said he still opposed the policy. There is a danger that it could marginalize certain groups of students, he said.

"The groups that are associated with that (policy) are Moms for Liberty, and a bunch of other religious organizations too, that are heavily influenced by religious organizations. And I don't personally want any of that stuff attached to my public schools, or anything like that," Bowden said.

With the state attorney general taking a stand against the policy, adopting it could expose the district to expensive litigation it cannot afford, he said.

Bowden also said there are bigger problems facing the district, such as addressing the high student absentee rates in the district and continuing to improve academic test scores.

Reporter Damon Arthur welcomes story tips at 530-338-8834, by email at damon.arthur@redding.com and on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @damonarthur_RS. Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today!

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Will Gateway school district trustee election change board's direction?