Board opposes Harvey Milk Day

The Orange County Board of Education voted unanimously last week to oppose a state bill that would declare May 22 as Harvey Milk Day to honor the assassinated gay-rights activist and San Francisco councilman annually on his birthday.

“This bill would provide that the governor proclaim May 22 of each year as Harvey Milk Day, and would designate that date as having special significance in public schools and educational institutions and would encourage those entities to conduct suitable commemorative exercises on that date,” reads an excerpt from state Senate Bill 572.

“If you want that lifestyle, don’t make my tax dollars pay for it, and don’t make me teach it to my children,” county Board of Education President Alexandria Coronado, who represents portions of Costa Mesa and other cities, told the Daily Pilot on Wednesday.

She added that she has gay friends who have contributed a lot to society, but she doesn’t believe that government should promote their sexual preference.

The county Board of Education voted 5 to 0 at its Sept. 17 meeting to oppose the bill.

At last week’s meeting, the board cited a reduction of instructional time that would be required to participate in commemorative exercises as its chief reason for opposing the bill. The county board partners with 28 school districts in Orange County, including Newport-Mesa Unified schools.

Representatives from the Newport-Mesa Unified School District School Board declined to comment.

The county board said that adding Harvey Milk Day to California’s education code would represent another unfunded state mandate, with local districts having to cover related costs.

When asked to comment on this Wednesday, Costa Mesa resident and longtime county Board of Education member Elizabeth “Liz” Dorn Parker said the board’s decision had nothing do with Milk’s homosexuality. The two aforementioned reasons were the only ones discussed before the five members voted, she said.

“The state is asking us to grab a day or time out of the curriculum,” Parker said, stressing that schools are “under the gun” to follow mandates like No Child Left Behind. Parker represents Newport and parts of Costa Mesa, among other cities.

“It truly represents a disingenuous effort on all sides of the issue,” she said. “It has nothing to do with who this gentleman is, or what he did.”