A woman has been arrested on suspicion of threatening violence against the president of the Chino Valley school board, which recently approved a polarizing policy to notify parents if a student identifies as transgender.
Berkeley resident Rebecca Morgan, 52, was arrested Tuesday, Aug. 1, on suspicion of threatening a public official after an investigation identified her as one of those who made threats against members of the Chino Valley Unified School District board, a city of Chino news release states.
The Chino Police Department learned of the first threat against the board Friday, July 21 — the day after the school board passed the policy in a lengthy and contentious meeting that saw state schools Superintendent Tony Thurmond leave the session after being told to sit down when his time at the podium was up.
The first threat was linked to an out-of-state resident and Chino police worked with local authorities on the case, the release states.
“Over the week, several other threatening messages, emails, and social media posts have been sent to members of the CVUSD Board,” the release states.
Andi Johnston, a spokesperson for the Chino Valley Unified School District, said Thursday, Aug. 3, that the district would not have a comment and directed questions to the Chino Police Department.
Police continue to investigate the threats, Sgt. Ted Olden said.
School board President Sonja Shaw said Thursday that she has received several threats over the phone and through email targeting her, her children and her pets.
She said the threats mainly targeted her, but a couple of days ago, board Vice President Jonathan Monroe also received a threat over the phone.
Monroe could not be reached Thursday afternoon.
Shaw said she could not elaborate on the nature of the threats.
She said the school district and Chino police have provided extra security to ensure her safety and that of her family.
San Bernardino County District Attorney’s office spokesperson Jacqueline Rodriguez said Thursday that prosecutors are reviewing the case and no charges have been filed.
Shaw told Thurmond to sit down during the Thursday, July 20, meeting after she said he continued to speak beyond his allotted one minute. Shaw was president of Parent Advocates Chino Valley, a group of Chino Valley parents that opposed mask mandates during the coronavirus pandemic, before her election.
In April, Shaw introduced a resolution in support of Assembly Bill 1314 from Riverside County Republican Assemblymember Bill Essayli. That proposal would have made public schools notify parents if their child was self-identifying with a gender that did not match their sex assigned at birth. The bill was later denied a hearing.
During the July 20 meeting, the board voted 4-1 to pass a policy that requires schools to notify parents in writing within three days if their child identifies as transgender, is involved in any violence or talks about suicide. Under the policy, schools would notify parents if their child seeks to change their name or pronouns or asks for access to gender-based sports, bathrooms or changing rooms that do not match their assigned gender at birth.
Shaw and Monroe were among the four to vote for the policy.
To read the board policy, see https://bit.ly/3OFWtFF.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify details about the exit of state Superintendent of Schools Tony Thurmond from the July 20 school board meeting.