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District moves to remove math workbook question after parent complaints; staff review process revised
Summary
After parent complaints about allegedly inappropriate language in a consumable math workbook, the district said the publisher will remove the offending items and staff have adjusted the curriculum review process to catch similar problems earlier.
Temecula Valley Unified School District officials said March 11 they are working with a publisher to remove specific questions from a consumable mathematics workbook after parents raised concerns about language some found age‑inappropriate.
Board member Emil Barham told the board the publisher agreed to remove the questions and the district has asked for problem‑by‑problem corrections. "These questions will be removed from the text as this particular workbook is consumable," Barham said during the meeting. District staff said they met with the publisher and are reviewing the rest of the adoption to ensure no similar items remain.
The district also told the board it had already adjusted the local curriculum-approval process to require that items be returned for additional review before coming to the board; district officials said that change began earlier in the semester, before the complaint emerged. Superintendent Gary Woods and other staff described the situation as a lapse in layered approvals: site teachers, curriculum teams and the board all had material but did not identify the disputed problems before teachers assigned them.
Board members emphasized procedure and next steps. Several trustees urged parents with concerns to use the district’s written complaint channels — the teacher, then the principal, then the district complaint process — and also noted an online “Let’s Talk” link for quick reporting. Lisa Brown, who oversees charter and compliance oversight for the district, confirmed the curriculum had been available per policy during the public review window.
Board member Joseph Komrovsky, who had posted about the matter on social media, said he took responsibility for drawing attention to the issue and asked for a follow-up post correcting any factual omissions about who approved the material. Komrovsky said the goal of public posts was to inform parents that a board member was tracking the issue.
Ending: District staff said they will continue working with the publisher to remove the disputed items, will present a brief report on the curriculum review process improvements at a future meeting and urged parents to begin concerns at the school site so principal-level review can proceed before escalation.
