School boards are prodded to take a stance in gay marriage debate

By Jessica Garrison - Los Angeles Times
Monday, August 18, 2008 - Web Link
Send this news item to a Friend
Sign-up for Daily News Updates

August 18, 2008

When it comes to political views, Jim Gibson of Vista and Mike Katz-Lacabe of San Leandro are at opposite ends of the spectrum.

Gibson, 54, a father of four, is a conservative and an evangelical Christian; Katz-Lacabe, 40, describes his politics as "hippie-liberal-granola."

But the two men have a bond: Both are school board members in small California districts who have proposed that their boards wade into the debate on Proposition 8, the initiative that would amend the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriage in California.

The initiative is the most hotly contested social issue on the ballot this fall, and although the boards' actions would have little effect in the classroom, both men said they thought it was important for their school boards to take a public position.

The deliberations in Vista, San Leandro and other communities reflect deep-seated divides in California culture and politics. They also have provoked debate about the role school boards should take in the political process.

Gibson serves on the board of the Vista Unified School District in conservative northern San Diego County. The school board made news in the 1990s when it passed a resolution to encourage the inclusion of creationism in the curriculum. That conservative majority is no longer on the board, but even so, Gibson said he planned to ask his colleagues at their next meeting to endorse the anti-marriage proposition.

"This is an important issue for our culture," said Gibson, who owns a telecommunications company. "The most stable unit in society right now is the family, and that is based on a marriage between a man and a woman. It has been that way for thousands and thousands of years. . . . It's the best way to raise kids. It's that simple."