Chino Valley Unified Board of Education, special meeting, September 8, 2025

President Sonja Shaw called the special meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. with John Cervantes, Andrew Cruz, James Na and Shaw present; Superintendent Norm Enfield attended 1. The board had one action item: filling the Trustee Area 4 seat, and the board roles that went with it 2. By the 7:14 p.m. adjournment, Shaun Smith had been sworn in as the provisional trustee for Area 4 and John Cervantes had been chosen as vice president 3 1.

🪑 Why the seat was open

Jonathan Monroe, then the board's vice president, resigned effective August 15, 2025 4. Board Bylaw 9223 provides that, for a vacancy outside certain statutory windows, the board has 60 days to either order an election or make a provisional appointment 5. On August 5 the board chose a provisional appointment and selected Sonja Shaw and John Cervantes as a committee of less than a quorum to work with the superintendent or designated staff 6. On September 3 it announced the eligible candidates and approved the set of interview questions 7. Monroe's departure also left open the vice presidency, the liaison seat to the Chino Valley Independent Fire District, the representative seat on the Chino Hills Parks and Recreation Commission, and the alternate seat for the Baldy View Regional Occupational Program 2. The appointee holds office until the next regularly scheduled election, in November 2026 2.

⚖️ Closed session: an amicus brief on girls' athletics

The board met in closed session from 4:30 p.m. to 4:43 p.m. on one case of existing litigation. On reconvening at 5:00 p.m. it reported that it had approved participation in an amicus curiae brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J., addressing questions under Title IX about fairness and inclusion in girls' athletics. Shaw noted for the record that there is no cost to the district 1 8. The agenda listed Advocates for Faith and Freedom beside the closed-session item 9.

Valley News reported that the Murrieta-based firm had invited districts with Title IX resolutions to join the brief, which was due September 18 10. A certificate dated September 19, 2025 on the Supreme Court docket lists Chino Valley Unified among the amici on a brief supporting the petitioners in West Virginia v. B.P.J. 11.

🗣️ Public comment, and a cleared room

The minutes list twelve speakers: Natalie Cooney, Frank Ed Gerdine III, Tom Mackessy, Danielle Mohlman, Kristi Hirst, Kristal B, Misty S., Lauren Daniel, "mama Shaw", David Bolog, Oscar, and Damon Trentus 1. The minutes do not record what each person said, so the comments below carry no names and are grouped by theme, not speaking order.

Most of the criticism was aimed at the interview questions. One speaker asked who had actually written them, since the August 5 minutes had named a committee to work with staff 12. Another said the questions singled out LGBTQ students and educators 13. One told the board it was disconnected from students 14, and another faulted the superintendent for signing off on questions that did not ask about education or experience 15.

On the other side, one speaker praised the board's parental-notification policy and urged an appointee who would honor the voters who elected the departing member 16 16. Another called them legitimate policy questions, since the legal qualifications for the seat are set by statute 17, and another said the board was trying to keep politics out of classrooms 17.

The break came when a speaker began reading aloud online comments attributed to a resident who was not on the agenda 18. From the dais the speaker was told that community members who are not on the agenda may not be attacked 18, and a five-minute break was called with the room to be cleared 18. The minutes record that the meeting was recessed and the room cleared at 5:18 p.m. due to public disruption, and that Shaw reconvened at 5:32 p.m. 1.

🎤 Thirteen questions

Seven eligible candidates had been announced on September 3 7. The minutes of this meeting note that Tom Mackessy and David Schrodetzki withdrew their applications and Laura Weijland was not present, which left four. On a motion by Na, seconded by Cruz, the board proceeded to interview the qualified candidates 1. Each candidate had up to 30 minutes for the same set of prepared questions 19. The Champion Newspapers also reported four finalists 20.

The Champion Newspapers printed the 13 questions after the board approved them 21. They covered transgender athletes in girls' sports, framed as federal Title IX against California law; restroom and locker-room use; personal and political flags in classrooms; record changes requested without parental knowledge; parents' authority; whether schools should keep information from parents; sexually explicit library books; mandatory ideological training for staff; community school grants; teachers unions; and the California School Boards Association 21. Before the library question, explicit passages from The Bluest Eye and Identical were read aloud from the dais 22 23.

This page does not summarize the candidates' answers, because the minutes do not pair any candidate with an answer.

✅ Appointment and new roles

According to the minutes, Shaw nominated Anthony Ingegneri, Cruz nominated Mary Joy Volinski, and Cervantes nominated Shaun Smith. The nominations were voted in the order received: Ingegneri's and Volinski's failed, and Smith's carried. Smith was selected to fill the provisional vacancy under Education Code 5091, and Superintendent Enfield administered the oath of office 1 24.

After the oath, Na nominated Cervantes for vice president. There were no other nominations and Cervantes was selected. Cervantes then nominated Smith as liaison to the Chino Valley Independent Fire District and as representative to the Chino Hills Parks and Recreation Commission, and Smith was selected for both. Shaw nominated Cervantes as alternate to the Baldy View Regional Occupational Program, and he was selected 1 1.

📰 Coverage

The Daily Bulletin reported the appointment, citing a district news release. It said Smith will hold office until the November 2026 election 25. The same story said the board interviewed five candidates and named David Schrodetzki among the others. The minutes record that he withdrew 1. The Champion Newspapers' account ran under the headline "Contentious meeting concludes with selection of Shaun Smith" 20.