Make Temecula Boring Again?
It’s a catchy phrase, isn’t it? "Make Temecula Boring Again." But let’s dig into what that really means.
As I’ve been meeting with parents, students, and community members throughout our district, I keep hearing the same sentiment: People want stability. They want to return to the days when our school board meetings weren’t filled with political drama, when education was focused on students, and when our community wasn’t the subject of national headlines for all the wrong reasons. I understand this feeling, and I get why it resonates. But here’s the thing—our schools were never perfect, and a return to "boring" isn't the answer.
Before the current turmoil, there were already cracks in our system. Racism, bullying, absenteeism, and mental health concerns were all present but often went unaddressed. Marginalized students were slipping through the cracks, and the real challenges our kids were facing weren’t given the attention they needed. If we go back to the way things were, we risk returning to a time when these problems were not addressed openly.
Instead of making Temecula "boring" again, we should aim to make it better. A place where we acknowledge the deep-rooted challenges in our schools and work tirelessly to solve them. I’m running for school board because I believe that all students, regardless of their background, deserve a safe, inclusive, and supportive environment where they can thrive. That means addressing the hard issues—bullying, substance abuse, mental health, and racism—not sweeping them under the rug for the sake of avoiding controversy. We must be brave enough to have the hard and uncomfortable conversations, because you have to name it to tame it.
Our schools are evolving, our students face modern challenges, and our board needs forward-thinking leadership that can handle these realities. I’ve been working with students every day for the past 16 years, and I know firsthand how education has changed in the wake of the pandemic. We need school board members who understand these changes and are prepared to tackle them head-on, not those who want to maintain the status quo and bring us back to a time that never truly existed.
If you want a return to “boring,” first ask yourself when was it boring, and for whom?
One of the hardest things to admit, especially for those who have been here for a long time, is that the Temecula Valley Unified School System was never perfect, and we have some real deep and systemic issues we need to address. If anything, the past few years have exposed the need for change, not a retreat back into complacency.
Another, perhaps more unpopular, truth is that fixing the issues caused by our previous board majority is not going to be a quiet and peaceful process. It is going to be hard. It is going to get contentious. Making a mess is easy, cleaning it up is hard. But the work must be done if we are going to heal as a community and build trust once again in our school system.
I am ready to take on that fight and advocate for our students, teachers, parents, and classrooms.
So let’s not make Temecula boring again. Let’s get to work and make our schools better than they have ever been. A place where ALL students feel welcomed, safe, seen, heard, and prepared for the future.
Donate to my campaign, and make sure to vote for Angela Talarzyk for School Board!
