MassResistance Helps CA Candidate Get Elected to Norwalk-La Mirada School Board!

 

MassResistance helps elect parent – and bring conservative majority – to School Board in deep blue liberal Southern California.

Latest victory after removal of toxic “wellbeing center” from the high school.

Ready to move forward to change the culture in the schools!

She was definitely not the local political establishment’s favorite.

November 18, 2024

 In Aug. 2023, Becky rebuked the School Board for ignoring the "wellbeing center" agreement regarding informed consent, no Planned Parenthood involvement, and other outrages. Now she can take action!

Becky Langenwalter is a long-time conservative activist in Southern California. She has worked on a number of issues, including school choice and recall initiatives to get rid of Soros-like left-wing politicians. She has also been an articulate activist for pro-family causes. Her recent election to the Norwalk-La Mirada School Board tips the scales and will have a huge impact.

Norwalk and La Mirada are adjoining suburbs of Los Angeles. The Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District (NLMUSD) serves largely minority families. Unfortunately, the school board has long been overwhelmingly leftist. And the minority citizens especially, who tend to be more conservative, have felt shut out and helpless.

Shutting down the toxic “wellbeing center” at the high school

In particular, the parents were very upset over the “wellbeing center” at the local high school. It was staffed by people trained by Planned Parenthood. Students were given access to a range of birth control methods (by so-called “trusted adults”), and were referred to abortion providers and transgender sex-change clinics. There was “mental health” counseling by people with questionable credentials – including by students who were recruited and paid to “counsel” other students. Parental consent was not required for any of that.

In May 2023, a local parent reached out to MassResistance for help. We organized a large group of minority parents there to fight back. They came to every school board meeting with strong testimony, and also canvassed the town with information. It was a nasty struggle. The school board members were arrogant in their support for the center. And the school officials were dishonest about what was really happening there.

But in June 2024, the School Board basically surrendered and did not renew the contract to keep the center going. It was shut down. The parents had won!

 Parents and grandparents filled the room at the August 24 School Board meeting.

 The parents made sure that their school officials - and the public - got the message!

Becky Langenwalter also joined the battle

During the battle to stop the wellbeing center, Becky Langenwalter, who lives in La Mirada, came and testified at school board meetings at least twice. She experienced how duplicitous, arrogant, and self-serving these “public servants” were toward the parents.

Her testimony at the Sept. 11, 2024 meeting (though limited to three minutes) was calm but powerful. (See video below.)

Becky made several points about the center and the school board’s dishonesty about it: Most parents didn’t know that it even existed. Those who did had difficulty finding information about it. Even though it was described as an “important resource,” it was virtually impossible to find on the school website. The “survey” the School Board published to show “support” was not a representative sampling. It included a very small number of respondents, and excluded many who were critical of it. The school’s “fact sheet” about the center was confusing, blatantly inaccurate, and outright untrue. And the center had just one source of information for students: Planned Parenthood.

VIDEO: Becky's strong testimony at Sept 2023 School Board meeting (3 min 4 sec)

It’s refreshing to have a school committee member who’s experienced this first-hand!

Getting elected

Becky had run for school board in 2022, and almost made it. That gave her name recognition in the district. But she was actively opposed by the left-leaning local political establishment. And she was running against a Democrat. So it was an uphill battle.

MassResistance volunteers assisted her, and walked the precincts door to door for her. On election night, she pulled off the win!

A new conservative majority

The seven-member Norwalk-La Mirada School Board had been divided 5-2, leftists vs. conservatives. Another conservative parent also won on election day. So Becky’s win tipped the scales for a new 4-3 conservative majority!

This is a big deal in that deep-blue part of California!

Final thoughts

The minority parents and other conservatives throughout the district are hoping that there will be big changes in the current “woke,” pro-LGBT, and aggressively anti-Christian culture in the district schools. California MassResistance will be there to help make that happen. We’ll keep you informed.

   

Please help us continue to do our uncompromising work!

Our successes depend on people like you.

Donate to MassResistance

Your support will make the difference!

CA MassResistance HUGE VICTORY in Norwalk, CA!

 

After a year of activism: CA school district shuts down high school “Wellbeing” Center with Planned Parenthood-trained staff.

Parents were fiercely opposed by leftist media, pro-LGBT activists, and School Board.

Not giving up yields big results!

July 3, 2024

 The parents made sure that their school officials - and the public - got the message!

Norwalk and La Mirada are adjoining suburbs of Los Angeles. The Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District (NLMUSD) serves largely minority families.

A horrible “wellbeing” center at the high school

In July 2021, the School Board signed a three-year agreement with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to have a “Wellbeing” Center at the district’s John Glenn High School, funded by federal grant money. The agreement went until June 2024, at which time it would need to be re-approved by the School Board – or the center would close.

 John Glenn High School in Norwalk, CA, was the center of attention.

The push for "Wellbeing Centers" is part of a larger, leftist federal agenda to turn schools into community and mental health centers, while cutting out parents.

Local parents began to discover that these “wellbeing” centers are a nightmare. They were staffed by people trained by Planned Parenthood. Students were given access to a range of birth control (by so-called “trusted adults”), and referred to abortion providers and transgender sex-change clinics. There was “mental health” counseling by people with questionable credentials – including by students who were recruited and paid to “counsel” other students. Parental consent was not required for any of this.

The School Board members were open about their personal support for the Wellbeing Center. The Board Chairman at that time was particularly passionate about it, saying that he could see how it might help even his own children.

This was extremely upsetting to parents whose children were being affected. And the school district was purposely dishonest about the true nature of these clinics, so most of the community had no idea what was happening. Parents felt helpless.

Parents begin fighting back

In May 2023, local parents reached out to MassResistance. Our national field director, Arthur Schaper (who lives in Los Angeles County) helped them organize and spread the word. The local Norwalk-La Mirada MassResistance team began protesting relentlessly at the School Board meetings! The School Board members were not pleased because the parents kept coming and refused to quit.

 This mother described how one girl recorded the wellbeing staff referring her to Planned Parenthood for the 'Plan B' pill. "What about the side effects?" the mother asked the board.

 These parents and grandparents filled the room at the August 24 School Board meeting.

Leftist forces attack the parents (and MassResistance)

The leftists in the area were infuriated that parents were standing up to their Wellbeing Center and began campaigns to intimidate them and demonize them in the community.

The hostile press. The local newspapers smeared and defamed our activists. They published numerous slanted articles portraying the parents as misinformed and accused them of lying to the School Board and the public. They claimed that the Wellbeing Center was just about providing services for troubled teens. One liberal newspaper even described Arthur Schaper as a “white supremacist.”

 The left-wing media tried its best to smear the parents and MassResistance. But it didn't work. Most people just ignored that.

Pro-LGBT PTA leader. The president of the local Parent Teachers Association (PTA) – who proudly has a “transgender” daughter – was featured in a prominent newspaper article saying that the Wellbeing Center is strongly needed as a “safe space” for children like hers.

School Board attempted to silence testimony on the Wellbeing Center. The School Board announced that only testimony on “current business” would be allowed and no signs could be brought in – and brought the school district’s attorney and police to the meeting to enforce that. But Arthur came and cited state law to the contrary, the parents refused to be silent, and the school officials were forced to back down.

 The School Board's attorney at the doorway telling parents what they couldn't talk about.

Phony School Board survey. The School Board tried to quell outrage by conducting a survey of parents and students about the Wellbeing Center. The survey “miraculously” showed that there was great approval for it!  But the survey was shamefully unscientific. It did not include any reference to parents’ complaints. And suspiciously, the surveys given to the students could not be seen by the public (or by parents).

Misleading “Fact Sheet” by the School Board. The School Board members attempted to answer parents’ complaints with a “Fact Sheet” about the Wellbeing Center which they published earlier in the year.  But the Fact Sheet was misleading and dishonest. For example, it correctly said that the Wellbeing Center does not “perform abortions,” but it failed to mention they did (as parents have seen) refer girls to abortion clinics. The Fact Sheet said that the School Board had rejected the requirement that Planned Parenthood be at the school. But the Wellbeing Center staffers were trained by Planned Parenthood.

Nevertheless, strong community support for parents as the word got out!

None of the leftist attempts to attack parents or discredit their position on the Wellbeing Center had much effect in the Norwalk-La Mirada community. In fact, as the word got out, the opposition to the Wellbeing Center increased substantially as the parents pushed forward.

Churches jumped on board. In early December 2023, a few Catholic Churches – St. Linus and St. John of God in Norwalk, and St. Paul of the Cross Church in La Mirada – offered to spread the word about the student Wellbeing Center and our activists’ ongoing protests. One of the pastors even made announcements from the pulpit.

Local custodians’ union admitted we were being effective. Early in 2024, one of the local school custodian union reps told us that, in her opinion, we had been so effective getting the word out about the student “wellbeing” center, that parents were pulling their children out of the district’s schools.

Neighborhood outreach. During spring and early summer of 2024, our activists also canvassed in the neighborhoods around John Glenn High School. They urged residents to contact the school district officials and urge them to shut down the Wellbeing Center. The reception we received was very positive. Many residents were completely unaware of the Wellbeing Center and were grateful for MassResistance’s outreach.

 Canvassing near the high school.

 Our team of canvassing activists!

 At the June 10, 2024 meeting this mother told the Board, "I'm here to speak out and say that we want that center out! We want it out!

The pressure on the School Board continued unceasingly!

Success – the School Board doesn’t renew the agreement!

All that pressure on the reluctant school officials finally paid off. The Wellbeing Center is closing!

In mid-June, the Principal of John Glenn High School sent an email to the staff that the Wellbeing Center agreement would not be renewed. And sure enough, during the two School Board meetings in June there was no action to renew the agreement. On June 30 it officially expired. School officials have privately admitted they had no interest in continuing this fight.

 From the email that the John Glenn HS Principal sent to the staff.

Final Thoughts

The two key elements in pro-family battles like this are perseverance and intelligent tactics. Unfortunately, most conservative groups give up too soon, and do not use effective tactics and strategy.

The Left can seem immovable and throws obstructions, roadblocks, and intimidation at you. But if you do the right things, you can find a way to win!

   

Please help us continue to do our uncompromising work!

Our successes depend on people like you.

Donate to MassResistance

Your support will make the difference!

California MassResistance parents defy School Board attempts to stop them from testifying on critical topics.

 

School Board’s attorney gives flawed interpretation of state law to silence parents. But MassResistance corrects him and parents speak!

January 22, 2024

 This is the message that arrogant school officials don't want to hear from parents. But they're going to hear it!

Around the country, school officials have been reacting to outraged parents speaking out during the public comment sections of school board meetings by devising ways to silence them. But MassResistance helps parents circumvent that!

As we recently reported, in Norwalk and La Mirada, suburbs of Los Angeles, parents have been complaining bitterly for the past year about a toxic “well-being center” in their local high school staffed with Planned Parenthood-trained people. According to parents, students are being referred to abortion clinics and transgender clinics.

The parents organized a California MassResistance chapter to demand that the Norwalk-La Miranda School Board shut down the “well-being” center. At meeting after meeting, parents came to persuade the board to act. The board reacted arrogantly and dismissed their complaints. But the parents are refusing to give up.

 Part of our core group poses outside before the school board meeting.

 ... And here are parents with their signs!

Then at the September 25, 2023 school board meeting, the school officials took action to silence them. Most of the parents are working-class minority citizens who are not well-versed in how California law (and the First Amendment) protects them. Luckily, our National Field Director, Arthur Schaper, was there to support them!

Officials attempt to ban signs in the meeting

At the entrance to the building where the school board was meeting, police officers confronted parents who were bringing in posters. The police told them that they could not take the posters into the building.

 Police officer tried to stop parents with signs from entering.

Arthur stepped up and firmly informed the officers that it was a First Amendment right – and that parents have always been allowed to bring signs and posters into these meetings. The police backed down and let the parents proceed.

 "Don't do this to our kids!"

Officials try to ban discussion about the well-being centers during public comment

But that was just the beginning. As parents were entering the meeting room, the school attorney was standing at the doorway. He told everyone as they came in that they could only talk about “school district business” during the public comment session. They could not talk about the well-being center or issues related to it such as abortion, or gender-reassignment surgeries – because those topics were not school district business, he said.

 The school board's attorney at the doorway telling parents what they couldn't talk about.

But Arthur countered the attorney’s claim with the well-known California law (the “Brown Act”) that allows members of the public to discuss any issue falling within the jurisdiction of the specific governing board – whether or not it’s “school district business” or on the agenda.

54954.3. (a) Every agenda for regular meetings shall provide an opportunity for members of the public to directly address the legislative body on any item of interest to the public, before or during the legislative body’s consideration of the item, that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body, provided that no action shall be taken on any item not appearing on the agenda unless the action is otherwise authorized by subdivision (b) of Section 54954.2.

The high school’s well-being center and the issues it addresses with students are unquestionably in the school board’s jurisdiction. But the attorney insisted that he was right and that parents “do not have a right” to discuss issues that are not current “school district business.”

Arthur made sure that the parents were not intimidated by the school attorney’s warning.

Just before the public comment session began, the school attorney again spoke to the entire room. He reiterated his warning to the parents that they could not discuss topics that weren’t on that meeting’s agenda. He said:

There's no agenda item on the well-being center. There's no agenda item on abortion. There's no agenda item on gender-affirming surgery or gender-affirming therapy. Those are not on the agenda. So we need to keep our discussion to district business.

 The school board's attorney addressing the room just before the public comment session was to begin.

It was shocking that a school attorney would make such a statement.

The parents speak out!

Thanks to Arthur (and despite the efforts of the school board and their attorney) the parents were not intimidated! When they got up to speak, they made it clear that they were going to exercise their rights under California state law and the First Amendment. The parents continued voicing their outrage and demanding that the well-being center be shut down.

The attorney just sat there and said nothing because neither he nor any other official had the authority to stop them.

 This mother described how one girl recorded the well-being staff referring her to Planned Parenthood for the 'Plan B' pill. "What about the side effects?" the mother asked the board.

 This mother described how the school gave the students a horribly unscientific "sex survey" and introduced all of them to the "services" of the well-being center.

 The room was full of outraged parents that day!

Final thoughts

Now more than ever, dishonest public officials are trying to harass and intimidate parents with legal disinformation and phony threats. MassResistance is dedicated to making sure parents know their rights – and exercise them boldly.

We hope that this encourages everyone to keep speaking the truth and standing up fearlessly for children and parents.

   

Please help us continue to do our uncompromising work!

Our successes depend on people like you.

Donate to MassResistance

Your support will make the difference!