SCOE Board Members Divide During Discussion of Online Conduct

According to its bylaws, the Shasta County Office of Education requires board members to “act with dignity, and understand the implications of demeanor and behavior.” But SCOE’s policy manual does not explicitly define “dignity,” nor does it articulate whether these bylaws apply only to education related activities, or to a board member’s general behavior in their personal life. Given that the SCOE’s “Governance Standards” are somewhat vague, the question of how free speech protections might butt up against the department’s policies is especially murky.  

This was the pretext of a conversation SCOE board members had during a regularly scheduled public meeting on June 25. Members specifically discussed the online conduct of board member Jessica French. On May 27, French posted a video on her Facebook in response to the dismissal of former Shasta County Assistant Registrar of Voters Joanna Francescut, criticizing county supervisors Kevin Crye, Corky Harmon, Chris Kelstrom, former supervisor Patrick Jones, and the recently appointed Registrar of Voters Clint Curtis. 

According to the meeting agenda, Mike Freeman, SCOE’s Superintendent, requested French’s use of social media be discussed by the board after feedback from an unnamed member of the public and unnamed trustees.  

The eight second video in question is still posted. It shows an animation of a hotdog superimposed next to French’s face, as she dances along to an audio clip that includes the words “that has got to be the smallest dick I’ve ever seen in my whole life, get the fuck out of here…” The video was captioned “what Shasta County thinks about Kevin Crye, Chris Kelstrom, Corky Harmon, Patrick Jones, and Clint Curtis.” 

On June 24, one day before the board discussed the post, French circulated a press release referring to the video as “satirical” and an act of “civil disobedience” intended to spark conversation. Responding to the board’s bylaws that reference dignity, she wrote in her statement that, “dignity doesn’t mean silence. Professionalism doesn’t mean complicity. Conduct guided by principle demands speaking out when those in power retaliate against public servants and undermine elections.” 

The board finally discussed French’s conduct Tuesday night after hours of other board business. Members did not consider censuring French by issuing a formal rebuke. Instead Superintendent Freeman said, the intent of placing the item on the board’s agenda was to make space to have a conversation. 

That conversation was tense at times, but board members fundamentally agreed that French has a right to express her political opinions on her personal social media. They divided over how she chose to do so, with board members Jackie LaBarbera and Laura Manuel both describing the video as inappropriate for an elected official to post. 

“You need to model integrity in the public square” Manuel said. “It’s not about stopping speech, you’re perfectly free to express your political opinions. But you don’t need to do that with profanity… It’s disappointing.”

French took issue with the video being characterized as “profane,” as well as with the feedback from some in the public that the post was “classless.” She framed her video as “activism” intended to be provocative in an effort to elicit conversation. French also expressed concerns about the board’s agenda not disclosing the names of both the community member and SCOE board trustee who brought the complaint. 

“There’s a lack of transparency about how this came to be,” French said. 

On the other end of the argument were board members Robert Brown, Authur Gorman, and Michael Orlicky. During their responses, both Orlicky and Gorman described themselves as “libertarians”. All three said they felt that personal Facebook posting is not something the SCOE board has any jurisdiction over. 

More than once, French brought up Gorman’s social media posts, which arguably violate some of the same behaviorally-related bylaws. In addition to requiring board members to act with dignity, SCOE’s rules state that members should “value, support and advocate for public education,” and “recognize and respect differences of perspective, style, and culture on the County Board and among staff, students, parents and the community.” 

In May of 2024, Gorman posted a political cartoon depicting so-called “brainwashing in US colleges” illustrated by a student with an American flag morphing into an Arab wearing a keffiyeh around his head, ostensibly at the behest of Qatari influence. Gorman’s caption for the post described the importance of “instilling patriotism” in the next generation of students, prefaced by his belief that “we all need Jesus!” He’s also shared an image of the evangelist Franklin Graham, paired with a quote claiming “in Islam, you have to die for Allah.” The post used Graham’s photo to encourage people to sign up for a “School Board Activism and Campaign Bootcamp” in Redding, organized by the Leadership Institute, a multimillion dollar nonprofit.

A month later, Gorman posted a graphic that explicitly refers to LGBT people as sinful. An avid user of Facebook, Gorman also reshares posts from others on a near daily basis, some of which have equated gender affirming care with “mutilation” or gone so far to claim that trans people do not exist. 

In May 2023, the SCOE Board considered censuring Gorman for statements he made to a transgender parent both online and during private comments at a SCOE meeting. During the board’s discussion of Gorman’s behavior in 2023, he continued to repeatedly misgender the parent. The board ultimately voted at that time not to formally rebuke Gorman with a censure but French was among the members of the public who supported the idea.

During the conversation about French’s video, fellow board members brought up her support of disciplinary action against Gorman in 2023. But French insisted that comparing Gorman’s conduct towards a parent during a school board meeting to the video she posted on her personal social media was a false equivalency.

“Authur, that was a different situation, that happened in this boardroom right here with a parent… Me posting something that has nothing to do with this board on Facebook should not be brought (up here),” she said. 

Freeman weighed in saying that he had no intent to infringe on constitutional rights but adding that “people’s behavior and demeanor have implications”.

One implication of French’s social media behavior could be angering the elected officials she spoke out against, some of whose support SCOE depends on for contracts. A possible implication of Gorman’s posts, which the board never discussed, would be the alienation of trans, gay and Muslim students and their parents.

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