Comments on the KVUSD Meeting May 2024 (v2)
Alan Fletcher, July 12, 2024, in support of changing "Kelseyville" to "Konocti".A printable version is at kvusd-response-print.php
Cover Letter to the BGN (7/11/24 version)
Jul 11, 2024, 11:04 PM
to GS-N-MAC, cacgn, info
Lorna Sides has previously commented on the "Scare Mongering" tactics used by "Save The Name", and their spokesperson Mark Borghesani, in particular.
The meeting was in order to consider a Land Acknowledgement proposal.
I have analyzed the transcript of the KVUSD meeting of May 7, 2024, together with a leaked email, and show conclusively that it was "Save The Name" who politicized the event because the Land Acknowledgement resolution would be detrimental to our Save Kelseyville cause."
Many Natives spoke, including the Chairman of the Big Valley Rancheria, and the Vice-Chair of Scotts Valley.
A senior was compelled to note (regretfully rather late in the proceedings) that "you were able to speak if you wish instead of heckling from the sidelines hatefully and with disrespect. " So an attempt to right historical wrongs was turned into a contemporary insult.
I hope that you take the credibility of your witnesses into account when you evaluate this case.
Kelseyville Unified School District (KVUSD) Meeting
Kelseyville Unified hears from community about land acknowledgement, Indigenous peoples resolution
https://lakeconews.com/news/78608-kelseyville-unified-hears-from-community-about-land-acknowledgement-indigenous-peoples-resolution
This is, generally, a fair report of the Kelseyville Unified School Board meeting, and most of the quotes are taken from a youtube video transcript. Unfortunately, there are some glitches, and sections are dropped.
As background, a KUSD board member, Gilbert Rangel submitted a "Land Acknowledgement" proposal to the school board. This was first discussed at a meeting on April 23, 2024 - but more people attended than could fit in their regular office, and it was rescheduled to a special meeting on May 7, 2024.
The initial version included a suggestion for a name change : "FURTHER, let it be recognized that this district will not be able to fully and truly honor the citizens of these nations and their ancestors who lived here for generations for as long as it bears a name that for those citizens and their ancestors represents a painful past." but this was withdrawn before the May meeting (and the revised version was not published, with only a few copies distributed in the middle of the meeting).
https://youtu.be/3fVR1XOWps0?si=0TrrcYDeEzRmvroz&t=2059
An edited transcript is quoted: Punctuation has been inserted, and timestamps have been moved to the start of the paragraph.
A secondary video, on facebook, starts part-way into Marc B's talk, but is then complete. It has no transcript.
The meeting started with a long talk by Gilbert Rangel, followed by a statement by two seniors (with which I have many issues, but I'll let that pass). Everyone there was offered a 3-minute slot.
Talk by Mark Borghesani
Chairman, Save the Name subcommittee of the Kelseyville Business Association, who did not introduce himself.34:40 So, I would like to thank the Kelseyville Unified School District Board of Trustees for having this second meeting. Those trustees that have taken their time to have conversations with us, you know, the community members, some trustees responded to the fact that there were misunderstandings and misinformation, as Gilbert stated, that was received by the public. I agree with that.
35:04 In the past two weeks, though, the process has become more clearly defined, and we thank you for that. Also, I also believe there is a misunderstanding between this board and its community.
35:17 What happened, from the community's perspective, it appeared that the KBUSD board was aligning itself with the Citizens for Healing group, the group that is trying to change the name of Kelseyville to Konocti.
One of our members, who lives in Kelseyville, was informed by a Native mother of children at KVUSD, who was going to the April meeting to support it. A handful of C4H members attended. The majority were Natives and "Save The Name" people.
So where did all the "Save The Name" people hear about it? By an urgent email sent to their mailing list (and forwarded to one of us).
From: Save Kelseyville <savekelseyville@send.mailchimpapp.com>
Date: Fri, Apr 5, 2024 at 1:36 PM
URGENT - CALL TO ACTION
Kelseyville Unified School District Governing Board
This proclamation will be on the April 23, 2024 School Board Agenda. It would be detrimental to our Save Kelseyville cause if the proclamation is approved and adopted.
Not to support the School district, or the right of the seniors to specify their own graduation -- but to save their POLITICAL campaign!
For the May meeting they repeated this on their facebook page, urged their supporters to wear orange shirts (which many did), and even ran a misleading event announcement which gave the impression that "Save The Name" was supported by the school board.
We did get the proposed MAC name changed from "Kelseyville" to "Big Valley", as that better represents the wide-spread communities.
In my talk (mainly spent rebutting this one), I did suggest that the School District itself should also change its name to represent the whole area.
Many people refuse to say the K-name, and refer to it as "K-ville. I confess that I have used the form "Kelsey-Vile" --- but STN seem to be unable to distinguish between "Town named after an Evil Person" and an "Evil Town named after some nice person".
Kelseyville is a fine little town ... with an Evil name.
If you peruse our internal emails on c4h@groups.io -- which is open to all -- you may well find accusations of racism. But many of these are by people who have been on a local "Neighborhood Watch" and/or STN's private Facebook page. One user had NW posts removed by the moderators for racism. C4H has published no accusations of racism.
An elected elder of Scotts Valley subsequently described the meeting as "Pretty Racist" -- particularly an encounter with an orange-shirted man who ostentatiously displayed three "K" pins in the Save Kelseyville (high school colors) : "K.. K.. K".
The "Hitlerville" comment deserves special mention.
I have heard this used only in the context of "is there any name so offensive that even you would want to remove it?"
In a letter from one of our supporters to the BGN:
BGN response, datestamp - Date: March 12, 2024 at 5:44:31 AM PDT
My grandmother came from a small village whose population during WWll was murdered by the Nazis. I think, ‘how would I feel if there was a town on the other side of the Lake named Hitlerville ‘? I would be reminded of the terrible things that happened every time I saw road signs with that name on it. I would be forced to relive the pictures from concentration camps that I saw growing up. I would live in constant PTSD. This I assume is how many of our neighbor’s feel, only perhaps worse.
Absolutely right! As I said in my talk: How would anyone in their right mind, support these names:
Mother-Torturer Elementary School
Child-Rapist Middle School and
Child-Murderer High School Bus
36:35 Much of that is because of the Save the Name issue. We also agree that the KBUSD board should not take sides or be political. But things are different now because of the proposed name change by C4H and the current political climate surrounding this resolution and the name change issue.
37:19 Based on all of the above, in closing, I feel it's important for this school board to build and maintain trust with its community. That said, it's important to not take an action one way or the other that would benefit one side or the other with the Save the Name issue.
But they are quite right.
Citizens for Healing is running an educational campaign, on a moral issue.
And for those in authority who wish to sit on the fence on a moral issue: A certain Biblical figure "Washed his hands before the multitude" (in his case, "finding no fault", but yielding to the majority). History has not treated him well.
Save The Name is running a commercial, political campaign.
Interestingly, it's rather hard for the KVUSD to distance themselves from the political campaign when "Save the Name " have appropriated their school colors and font for their garish "Save Kelseyville" signs.
38:00 [Applause]
Others commented on all sides.
The Chairman of the Big Valley Rancheria, and the Vice-Chair of Scotts Valley were among them, together with numerous native students. Truth and Healing might be interested in extracting these for their "testimony gathering".
A High Schhol Senior (near the end):
Good evening, my name is .. and I'm a Kville high school senior. I do not have much to say except that I ask that we treat each other with respect tonight, especially the Native American tribal members here who simply wish to speak their mind. Myself and other KVUSD students are the youngest here, yet I feel that we are being the most respectful. I would like to remind everyone that you were able to speak if you wish instead of heckling from the sidelines hatefully and with disrespect. 1:59:05 I find it inspiring to hear our community's opinions and I wish to continue to hear them. I further ask that we do not overcomplicate this topic that we are meant to be discussing tonight. I seek to remind you that we are discussing a land acknowledgment, not a name change.
1:59:20 Please allow each other to speak freely and keep your decorum. Thank you.