Kelseyville Unified Board postpones discussion on Indigenous peoples proclamation
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. — A planned discussion about a proclamation about Indigenous peoples at Tuesday evening’s Kelseyville Unified School District meeting was postponed after an overflow crowd showed up for the item.
The board was set to consider approving the proclamation, written by Clerk Gilbert Rangel, that has a stated purpose of honoring Indigenous peoples and pledging to begin the practice of land acknowledgements at major events.
However, an earlier version of the proclamation appeared to suggest support for changing the name of Kelseyville, and as a result it has led to pushback from a group of community members opposed to the name change process that’s now before the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.
The result was that at 7 p.m., after the board emerged from a closed session, more than 100 people crammed into the district office boardroom, which has a capacity of 35 people. As many as 30 more people were standing outside of the building.
Rob Brown, a well-known local businessman and former District 5 member of the Lake County Board of Supervisors, asked school Board President Rick Winer to table the proclamation discussion and reschedule it for a special meeting in a larger facility.
“This is not legal,” Brown said of the big group crowded into the small boardroom.
His request drew a round of applause from the group.
“I’ve never been in a situation like this,” Winer said.
Brown said it’s unfortunate that there aren’t crowds that big showing up for things that affect children.
It took several minutes for the board to decide how to handle the matter. Brown advised that they vote to approve the agenda while tabling the discussion, which they ultimately did.
Businessman Mark Borghesani, whose family owns Kelseyville Lumber, said he had emailed the district last week to ask that the meeting be moved from the district office to a larger space at the high school across the street. “And obviously nobody listened to us.”
District officials indicated they didn’t yet have a date for the special meeting.
The board then took a brief recess before continuing with the rest of its business on Tuesday evening.
Outside of the room, several loud and spirited discussions — and, in some cases, arguments — were taking place between proponents and opponents of the name change.
Batsulwin Brown, a member of the Elem Colony of Pomo and a county planning commissioner, said Holocaust survivors got to tell their stories.
In another discussion nearby, Kelseyville resident Wayne Myers said people needed to stop holding on to the hate.
“As long as you hold onto the hate, it will stay here,” he said.
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