Sunol school board meeting devolves into chaos, audience thrown out as Pride flag banned

A meeting in the tiny district of Sunol, a small unincorporated community south of Pleasanton, descended into chaos Tuesday night as the entire audience was thrown out shortly before the three-person school board passed a resolution that will prevent the district from flying the Pride flag.

The board meeting, which packed over 100 people from both sides of the issue into a small cafeteria covered in student posters and walk-a-thon posters, frequently turned into a volley of shouts and insults. Hecklers shouted abuse at board members and each other. Board members engaged in intense, semi-civil debates. During the course of the evening, the board president, Ryan Jurgensen, demanded on multiple occasions that sheriff’s deputies physically remove “disruptive” attendees from the meeting.

In the end, prior to a final vote, all attendees were thrown out of the room as the cafeteria devolved into complete anarchy. They were not allowed to return.

Tensions were high the entire evening. Board member Ted Romo, who opposed the flag resolution, was frequently in conflict with `Jurgensen and board member Linda Hurley, who supported it. Romo accused Jurgensen of censorship, then was himself accused by an attendee of acting “above the law”. In another tense moment, Jurgensen tried to prevent the district’s superintendent, Molleen Barnes, from discussing the flag resolution during her report or bringing Sunol Glen’s teachers up to address it.

As individual arguments broke out within the crowd, Jurgensen repeatedly hit the table, saying “this is the board’s meeting” in an attempt to call order.

After the audience was kicked out of the meeting, some supporters of the resolution said they were physically attacked.

During public comment, attendees said that the board was “betraying the public trust” and creating a “potential economic crisis.”

“Gay people don’t have an agenda other than to grow up, have friends, get married, get a job,” said Laura Oka at the meeting. “The pride flag is not a special interest flag, gay people are not as special interest group.”

In the end, the resolution passed, even as shouts and disorder could still be heard outside the meeting room.

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