by Mark McDermott
Two things happened that caused Christy Barnes to run for school board. The first was an experience her son had with his history teacher at Manhattan Beach Middle School.
“The teacher said the reason there is racism is because of the Republican Party. She said this in class,” Barnes said. “She was also really concerned with women. They were talking about the witch era, and she said how women are still abused, and they are afraid to speak out. She said men abuse their wives.”
Barnes said she had a long exchange of emails with the teacher, but things kept getting worse. “My son wasn’t just falling behind,” Barnes said. “He wasn’t learning.”
Barnes said other history teachers were teaching about the U.S. Constitution and past presidents, so she told her son to do the homework those teachers were assigning. Finally, Barnes said, an assignment came to write a paper about any group of people being “marginalized by white males.”
“My son is white,” Barnes said. “Like, ghostly white. I thank the Lord that we do family dinners four nights a week because we can sit and have a conversation, and we are able to tell our children what’s right, what’s wrong, and that you need to critically think for yourself.”
Barnes was eventually able to have her son moved to a different teacher, but by this time she’d begun to believe that what occurred was not an isolated incident within MBUSD.
“I think in the last couple of years, something’s gone astray,” Barnes said. “I don’t know if it was because of COVID that the parents started to really pay attention to what their kids were learning, or if we were just complacent before.”
Then came Measure A. From the time a citizen’s group formed to advocate for a new $1,095 parcel tax, Barnes was skeptical. But she said she reached out to one of the measure’s chief proponents, hoping to learn about the measure.
“We scheduled a call,” she said. “And then nothing. He never called me. And the next day, he served me with that FPPC investigation…That kind of really lit a fire on me to say, ‘Why are people being silenced?’”
The FPPC investigation was launched in May after a complaint was filed about the anonymously funded campaign flyers, signs, and advertisements against Measure A. Such materials and campaigns require financial disclosure by law.
“The FPPC allegations are unfounded,” Barnes said. “I never donated or spent a nickel on the opposition to Measure A, I just voiced my opinion.”
The investigation came six months after MBUSD attorneys MBUSD served cease and desist letters to at least three parents who were part of the WeTheParentsMB newsletter group, which is critical of MBUSD policies.
Barnes is originally from Big Bear. She and her husband, Dave, moved to town 16 years ago, and now have three kids, ages 10, 12, and 14.
“We walk to school every day,” she said. “I love the neighborhood feel. I like the fact that we know the crossing guard. My kids got their friends from walking to school, and 10 years later they are still best friends. It’s got a hometown feel when you go to public school, and we have a really good public school. I can hear the school bells from my kitchen. I love this community.”
Barnes has a business background. She earned her degree from Concordia University-Irvine and worked with several tech start-ups, including Paycom, Oxymoron, StereoD and Vault. She hopes to bring some of that experience to bear as a board trustee, both in terms of business planning and parent engagement.
“It seems so obvious that if we have such a large budget here [at MBUSD] that there’d be a business plan,” she said. “Those are two huge issues. The school district, right now, is not paying attention to the parents’ complaints. Tons of people I know have left, just because of situations where they just weren’t feeling heard…There is no engagement, and it’s always one-sided. If you do not agree with that side, you are truly silenced. You are ridiculed.”
Barnes’ pitch to voters is that voting for the slate of candidates that includes herself, John Urigostegui, and Mike Welsh will result in real change.
“If you are really happy with how the district and the school board is right now, we are probably not your candidates,” Barnes said. “If you don’t want change, we are not your candidates. But if you want the school district to be really focusing on academics, focusing on bringing back the children and families who have left, and really paying attention to what their needs are — not just exit interviews, but really communicate with them the first time — we are your candidates. We are very business savvy, we really care about your children, we are willing to have those ugly conversations, and we are not going to make parents feel ridiculed. We will listen.” ER
