California school board member 'personally offended' when speaker says 'homeless' instead of 'unhoused'

A California school board member became "personally offended" when a speaker said "homeless," saying she preferred the speaker say "unhoused" instead.

"I have a lot to say and I will speak plainly. And you may not like it. I am personally offended by what was presented. On so many different levels," Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board Vice President Joy Flynn said during a Jan. 14 meeting. 

The comments were made after Michael Berman, the assistant superintendent of educational services, presented a "Report on Student Achievement" which, at some point during the presentation, referred to a population of students as "homeless."

SCHOOL DISTRICT IN THE HOT SEAT AMID FRESH ALLEGATIONS OF HIDING STUDENTS' GENDER TRANSITION

A California school board member became "personally offended" when a speaker said "homeless" and preferred the speaker say "unhoused" instead. (Pajaro Valley Unified School District)

After a public comment period ended, Flynn made her remarks.

"One thing I would like to see updated is the word homeless to unhoused," Flynn said.

Another school board member interjected as Flynn spoke, saying that the term "homeless" is used in the state of California.

VIRGINIA SCHOOL BOARD BANS EMPLOYEES FROM FORCING STUDENTS, TEACHERS TO USE PREFERRED PRONOUNS

Another school board member interjected, saying that the term homeless is used in the state of California. (Pajaro Valley Unified School District)

"I'm not done," Flynn said to the school board member defending the staff member who used the word "homeless."

"I just don't want Mr. Berman [the staff member] to … for this to be on him," the board member said. "That's the way our state of California, that's the language that they use. And that's their reporting," the board member continued.

"That doesn't mean that's the language we have to use," Flynn said. She also took issue with the presentation when the staff member discussed Black students.

"I'm just making a statement, and I'd like to have my time to finish. I understand that. I recognize that you're using the information that was given to you, that you researched, and I'm asking that it be updated," Flynn said. Flynn explained further, "And it is just because that's the way that everybody else does it doesn't mean that's the way we need to do it. It's a respectful term to speak about our community."

Berman presented the "Report on Student Achievement" using the California School Dashboard to track progress across various demographics, including foster youth and students with disabilities. The data covered metrics such as graduation rates, chronic absenteeism, and suspension levels.

The report highlighted that Black students had the highest suspension rates, marked in red to indicate a "very high" status. Although the district is over 85% Hispanic and 13% White, Black students account for less than 1% of the population.

Michael Berman, the assistant superintendent of educational services, presented the "Report on Student Achievement" using the California School Dashboard to track progress across various demographics. (iStock)

"One thing I want to call out is we see only one group in red, and it's our Black and African-American students. This is a big problem. You may have noticed that this is the first time we've seen our Black students in any of these indicators," Berman said.

He explained that there were not enough Black students to register as "statistically significant" as a group to appear in the indicators under the other state measures such as the graduation rates and "college and career" categories.

COLORADO SCHOOL DISTRICT IN THE HOT SEAT FOR ALLEGEDLY FACTORING IN RACE FOR DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES

"We have a lot of work to do, and this data point is significant," Berman said.

In response, Flynn said that Blacks are "statistically enough" regardless of the number enrolled in the district. 

"I recognize that in this report that I think that something was said was there aren't enough Black students to have statistical significance. I'm personally offended by that. If we have one Black student, that student is statistically significant enough to be on the report."

Neither Flynn nor Pajaro Valley Unified School District responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

The North American Values Institute, which tracks education policy around the U.S., reacted to the comments made by Flynn.

"Changing language that functions to help us understand urgency and truth—in order to reduce stigma, cater to feelings, and be 'politically correct'—is a dangerous path. In the case of K-12, it could inadvertently lead to decisions that direct resources or interventions away from the students who need them most," a spokesperson said.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP