KHSD board appoints trustee to fill open spot
Feb. 6—A packed Kern High School District board room with people wanting to talk about a variety of concerns served as the backdrop for the board's opening task of interviewing five finalists for the open Trustee Area 2 seat Monday night.
Steve Rodrigue, a retired Coast Guard lieutenant and current Bakersfield code enforcement supervisor, emerged at the top of the five finalists, was sworn in and immediately began his term.
He had a large audience. The board room was filled to capacity at 340 people and many more were turned away at the door and advised to watch the livestream. Others waited in the overflow room, hoping to be among the multitude of people to comment before the board.
At least 100 people filled out cards so they could be included in the public comment part of the meeting.
At The Californian's print deadline, it was clear many people wanted to comment on the issue of gender identity.
That topic was featured in a recent New York Times article and included comments from Del Oro High School teacher Olivia Garrison, who did not attend Monday's board meeting.
Board President Bryan Batey addressed the article and said the district has the parents' concerns as its type of priority.
The public comments included a call for Garrison, who is nonbinary, to be suspended or terminated for her quote in the Times article.
"My job, which is a public service, is to protect kids... Sometimes, they need protection from their own parents," Garrison told The Times.
Others spoke in support of Garrison.
No action was taken on this topic by The Californian's deadline, nor could it be since this topic wasn't on the agenda.
Earlier in the meeting, the board made sure to keep the first comments directed on the topic of trustee finalists.
The finalists included Rodrigue, Manuel Ramirez, Alberto Llamas, Lee Vasquez and Jennifer Gonzales.
The quintet went through interviews during the open session of the KHSD board meeting. The vacancy of the Trustee Area 2 seat was created by the resignation of former Trustee Jeff Flores, who left to assume the position to which he was elected on the Kern County Board of Supervisors. Rodrigue is to serve the remainder of Flores' 2020-2024 term, with the next regularly scheduled election for trustees being in November 2024.
Rodrigue, who is also a youth soccer coach, has worked for the city of Bakersfield for 16 years.
"I moved to Bakersfield in 2006 because I felt it would be a wonderful place to raise my family," Rodrigue said in an email before the meeting. "My wife and I have four children, a son and three daughters, all of whom graduated from or are currently attending public school.
"Having coached youth soccer for the past 15 years with the past three years at the high school level, I felt this was an amazing opportunity to give back to my community by serving and supporting the kids as a Kern High School District trustee."
Rodrigue said his military background and city service give him a set of skills that will be valuable for the position.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to state Olivia Garrison did not attend the meeting.
