San Francisco-area school board members get recalled after banning Pride flags

Two members of a school board near San Francisco have lost their recall votes after approving a policy that banned LGBTQ+ Pride flags at schools.

Parents voted last week to oust Ryan Jergensen and Linda Hurley of the Sunol Glen Unified School District after they approved last year a policy forbidding banners at public schools other than the California and United States flags. Both candidates each lost their recall by less than 40 votes, with 254 to 218 voting against Jergensen and 249 to 223 against Hurley.

The vote came shortly after superintendent and principal of Sunol Glen School, Molleen Barnes, decided to fly the Progress Pride flag on the campus. Jergensen and Hurley voted in favor, with the third member, Ted Romo, voting in opposition, accusing his fellow officials of "censorship." Romo is now the only member to have kept their seat.

Chris Bobertz, a local parent, ran against Hurley for her seat several years ago, losing by just 26 votes. He has now assisted on the successful recall effort against her, telling CBS News Bay Area that the close margin is "not like the definitive outcome that I guess we were looking forward to, but we are hopeful."

"Above all we're looking forward to getting past this and moving to a more boring way of life, the way that things were before all this," Bobertz said.

Once the results of the election are certified, the Alameda County Board of Education must appoint temporary replacements for the school board seats until a new election can be held, most likely in November. Matt Sylvester, the Sunol Glen parent who led the recall campaign, told the San Francisco Chronicle that “as long as the people who have supported us go out and vote, statistically speaking, we should be sound.”

“They pulled a fast one on us with the flag ban resolution,” Sylvester said. “It was sneaky behavior, and then they pushed it through without listening to people. There’s been no compromise. This recall is about making a point that we will not stand for this.”