Trustee’s Stance on Gender Law Targets Her for Ouster

For months, Helena Rutkowski, Judy Ahrens and Blossie Marquez stood together. At meeting after meeting, the three Westminster School District trustees sat stone-faced and unmoved as they endured a seemingly endless barrage of anger hurled by parents and teachers infuriated over their stance against a state antidiscrimination law.

Tension mounted as the three fired the district’s longtime lawyer in order to hire one aligned with their conservative beliefs, and all but dared state officials to withhold millions in funding. And even when, at the last minute, the three backed down, the saga did not end.

Led by a core of parents and the district’s well-organized teachers, critics have accused the three of bigotry and risking school funding for the sake of their personal beliefs. Few in the community have publicly supported the trustees.

Angry parents and teachers launched a recall petition drive against Ahrens and Marquez. They ignored Rutkowski, because her term was coming to a close this year.

The petition drive failed. And now, opponents of that board majority say the only way to break it up is to unseat Rutkowski, who is running for reelection.

The Westminster district, which serves 10,000 students from kindergarten through sixth grade, erupted in turmoil last winter when the three trustees refused to rewrite district policies to adhere to the state law that protects gays, transsexuals and others from discrimination on campuses. Citing Christian beliefs, the three said the law’s wording immorally allowed people to define their own gender and would open the door to cross-dressing teachers and Peeping Tom students. The three eventually relented but still plan to sue the state over the gender definition.

While parents led the charge in organizing the recall campaign, the Westminster Teachers Assn. has assumed control of efforts to banish Rutkowski, who in previous elections had enjoyed the union’s financial support and endorsements.

The allies became enemies during the gender debate, when Rutkowski repeatedly lashed out at teachers and referred to their union as a “communist group” that is “against any mention of God.”

As political payback, the teachers association and a second union representing other district employees have abandoned Rutkowski and thrown their support behind another incumbent, Jo-Ann Purcell, and Michael Verrengia, a reserve police officer who is trying to reclaim a trustee seat after losing to Ahrens in the last election.

“We are very serious about getting these two elected,” said association president Janet Brubaker. “They are interested in the children’s welfare and not a personal agenda. [Rutkowski] has shifted away from what teachers stand for.”

Also running for the two school board seats are Sergio Contreras, a city commissioner, and Peter Nguyen, a business consultant.

The teachers union, Brubaker said, has spent more than $20,000 on lawn signs and campaign literature, running phone banks and canvassing neighborhoods on behalf of Verrengia and Purcell.

Rutkowski did not return repeated calls for comment.

Ahrens criticized the union for its heavy involvement. “They feel that [Rutkowski] has shown disloyalty,” Ahrens said. “And so they’ll try to put people on the board that will abide by whatever is their agenda.”

After a recall effort aimed at discrediting Ahrens and Marquez, Louise MacIntyre, a parent who led the recall campaign, said parents and teachers had made the decision to promote Verrengia and Purcell rather than attack Rutkowski.

“There was a lot of talk about actively going after Rutkowski,” MacIntyre said. “But we stepped back and decided that every time we mention her name, it’s free publicity for her.”

Without union support, Ahrens said, Rutkowski is struggling to raise funds and manage what has become a relatively small-scale campaign operation.

“Its amazing how the tables can turn over one issue, one vote,” Ahrens said.