Nikolas Cruz, the alleged shooter in the 2018 horrific shooting at Parkland High School in Florida is about to plead guilty to 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder. The 2018 school shooting created a new generation of teen anti-gun activists who have continued this work into the 2020s.
When I read the headline, my first thought was wondering what the reaction of the families and friends of those killed felt when the heard the news. And what about those who were wounded? Now that schools are in session around the country, there are still more shootings and they barely seem to register in the news.
And my next thought went to OC’s own Gina Clayton-Tarvin, a OVSD school board member, who in 2018 read a statement about her own experience as a teacher at Fedde Middle School where she talked about her heart pounding while lying on the floor of a darkened classroom while there was an active shooter on campus. Here’s our post about this: https://theliberaloc.com/2018/03/23/march-for-our-lives-is-there-a-hero-in-oc/
From that post:
Last month, I was sent a YouTube video from a reading in Huntington Beach. The video was an impromptu rally at a public park featuring comments from Gina Clayton-Tarvin, a Democrat who is on the OCUSD (editor’s note: I made a mistake here; it’s OVSD) school board. See the video here. (editor’s note: This video is no longer available). She also teaches in another district and in her public comments, offered a breathtaking account on protecting kids in her class during an active shooter event. My first thought is, “this woman is a hero; why don’t more people know about this?”
I reached out to Clayton-Tarvin, whom I do not know, and said I wanted to write about her. She made an unusual request that I publish her answers verbatim, which I agreed. Here is her response:
As a 22-year public school teacher in Los Angeles County and elected school board official in Orange County for the past 5 years; I know that gun violence on school campuses is becoming all too common in our nation. I was horrified to learn that yet another school shooting had occurred, this time in Parkland, Florida. This heinous act of mass murder has shaken the entire country to its core. I shudder at the thought of something like this occurring on one of our local campuses. We need to take precautions to safeguard students.
As a junior high school teacher in Hawaiian Gardens from 1995 to 2005, I experienced multiple occurrences that forced students and teachers to lie down on the floor and shelter in place during “lockdowns.” I have huddled on the floor holding my breath in silence, lights out, and heart pounding with 35 scared kids because of threats of a gunman on campus. Gang and other crime activity are all too real and common in Hawaiian Gardens. We locked down too many times due to suspects with loaded weapons on campus, and a shooting adjacent to our classrooms. The brave officers of the now closed Hawaiian Gardens Police Department were there to respond, protect, and secure the campus, safeguarding students and staff while apprehending suspects. Due to their bravery, students were protected. These incidents were not widely reported. However, just in the past several weeks since the shooting in Florida, multiple threat incidents have been reported to the LA County Sheriff’s Department and student arrests have occurred. Luckily, all of the threats have been deemed as non-credible but frightening nonetheless. In Huntington Beach, one threat was made to an OVSD school, but deemed non-credible after the fact by HBPD. Nevertheless, we must remain vigilant.
While I am a supporter of the Second Amendment, I can’t ignore the realities of today’s world. I am an ardent supporter of stricter gun laws that would prevent the sale of military type AR-15 weaponry and bump stock ammunition. In line with the California Education Code, I do not support teachers arming themselves or keeping guns in their classrooms. It is illegal for any firearm to be on school grounds.
Luckily in ABCUSD where I teach, and OVSD where I govern, we have multiple trainings per year on active shooter scenarios as well as participating in lockdown scenarios. In fact, in OVSD, “Run, Hide, Fight” training has been given by HBPD to all staff in our HB based schools. See this video for details on the program. https://www.sausd.us/Page/34190
The Westminster Police Department has trained our Westmont School Staff not only on active shooter scenarios, but also on what to do in the aftermath. See article for details of OVSD and WPD collaboration for school safety.
http://behindthebadgeoc.com/cities/wpd/active-shooter-ready-westminster-pd-trains-city-staff-local-teachers-first-care-providers
Wow, a school shooter in the nation’s second biggest media media pre-Columbine. That had to make news right? There is no coverage of active shooters at the Fedde Middle School ini Hawaiian Gardens. Per Clayton-Tarvin, the school district in Hawaiian Gardens doesn’t retain public records for more than two years and the Police Department is disbanded. She insisted I call teacher friends of her to collaborate her story but there is no newspaper coverage of any such incident or incidents. There are stories about stabbings and a body found in a public park near the school, not outside her classroom as she said on Twitter, but those incidents are out of alignment with Clayton-Tarvin’s time there.
Last May, I reached out to LASD for public records related to active school shooters or drills at Fedde Middle School. Clayton-Tarvin had mentioned the sheriff’s department had helicopter support to secure the campus. It’s been five months since my multiple requests and LASD has no records to verify any of these claims. Honestly, I really wanted her story to be true. But there’s nothing to support it. No police records. No newspaper stories. Dates don’t match up to stuff you could find.
The YouTube video, shot on a sunny and windy day after the Parkland shooting, is gone. Deleted. Which is curious. Clayton-Tarvin is very adept at getting herself on the news and quoted in stories. She’s almost the Democratic Party version of Todd Spitzer and the most dangerous place in America is between Spitzer and a TV camera.
Clayton-Tarvin’s YouTube channel is impressive and her most recent appearance on KCBS is about her thoughts on Governor Newsom’s vaccine mandate for younger school kids with Clayton-Tarvin coming out on the side of parental choice? So I have to ask, does this mean kids who aren’t vaccinated at all can come to school or is polio, measles, or whooping cough no longer a concern? I’m sure Tito Ortiz would be thrilled with her position on this issue. And it’s a position designed to align herself with the large anti-vaxxer voters in Huntington Beach where she is a candidate for City Council.
(editor’s note: there is a vaccination mandate forCA Prison Guards and California’s prisoner population has a higher vaccine mandate than the guards do)
My guess is the video is gone because claims made then and later in the format she requested aren’t backed up with actual records. You could almost say, Clayton-Tarvin can’t spell “media” without “me.”
She needs to be held accountable for these lies. NO WAY she gets HB City Council. Not after a story like this. Gina Clayton Tarvin is pure evil.
She is a sick and twisted pathological liar. No business being in politics, nor working with children in my opinion.
The video of her lies about an active shooter on her campus is still out there. As much of a media whore that Gina the hoax creator is, if this really happened, it would have made the news. Too many sane people have dismissed her story as true. There is no limit to how low she will go for her political career. Her lies will be her undoing.
We’ve been doing battle with her recently over her outrageous proposal for busses in the district and of course, she tries to intimidate/silence us. Not going to happen, lady. We are on to you and we are now working to make sure every person in the district knows how vicious and dishonest you are. This is really an outrageous story. Thank you for publishing it.
We took both of our children out of the district strictly because of her. An unbelievably toxic woman who seems to do nothing but attack people on Facebook. The OVSD is in horrible shape now, mostly because of her control over people. Can’t say it surprises me that she would make up a story like this.
Simply put… a mediocre self serving wannabe narcissistic politician. Not a 2-A supporter in any way!
My kids my choice period! You have shown your leftist ways Gina.
You can tell that this issue scares Tarvin because she’s not having her attack dogs defend her. She’s trapped with this one because she so clearly lied. And it’s not going away. She needs to answer for her lies if she wants to run for City Council and we will hold her accountable. We will confront her with this issue at every opportunity until she gives us some real answers. The voters deserve no less. She is such a liar. Where are your defenders now, Gina? Even they know that you made all of this up.
Wow, even for her it’s a new low and that is saying something.
Gina’s on social media claiming I’m harrassing her. Nope. I just want actual evidence that anything she says is actually true.
Harassing you? For simply quoting her and holding her accountable for her claims? Next will come calls to the police, like she does, and they will laugh at her, like they do. She is scary-crazy. The most hated person in Huntington Beach, by far.
And supposedly Gina can’t get anyone to endorse her already dying campaign, even democrats are aware of how toxic she is. Maybe she can get Victor, Oscar and Vern lol. Wait, I used the phrase “dying campaign.” That may trigger death-threat accusations from Gina if her past craziness is any guide.
Claiming harrassment after making up all of these horrible lies? We have pulled together voter lists in the OVSD and will be emailing everybody this article so they know not to vote for her. The public needs to be informed about such a dangerous politician. She is truly disgusting.
In HB we plan to BLANKET her at every turn. She’s not only shameful and disgusting, but truly Dellusional.
I have to wonder, how the “Team Gina” with 9 DUI’S (Granted, Vern contributed 5!) Assault and Meth charges.
My understanding is Victor is quickly losing favor with the more “industrious” members of the party (ie.the ones that actually have jobs). He has a GED, NEVER has earned more than $22k per year and at 40 lives with his Mom. This dude is giving Drunk Vern a run for his money (oh he has NONE either).
Great addition to GCT Quill.
Over at the “Public Assistance Blog”, the unemployed welfare kings are claiming this is NOT true. Drunk Vern’s reasoning: It was three and a half years ago. So it must not have happened. Using that logic, Fred Sigala insisting that Vern and Donna did not send sexually explicit messages to a Mother of a dying child, must NOT be true either. After all Poor Fred is the only one to have a sick family member and their off limits.
Maybe Verns repeated drunk drivings and Victors domestic violence must not of happened either.
All this aside GCT needs to own up. It’s going to be fun to watch DPOC members squirm when this is REPEATEDLY brought up.
Gina can claim “harassment” all she wants. What about when we start asking her colleagues about this.
Oh and then there’s this Vern.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMuklNiVxk4
Honestly, if things happened as Gina described it, there would be a news article about it. An active shooter on campus in metro LA is a story.
Vern is parsing her words, saying she never said “active shooter” but she said “gun man on Campus.” Not a single news article can be found that can verify this.
Gina has her sights set on higher office than HB City Council which is why this story scares her so much. Why she won’t comment, because she knows it’s a campaign killer. Dan thanks for holding her accountable, she is really a bad person.
Have you seen her on Facebook, Dan, crying that you have “defamed” and “libeled” her? What a crazy b*tch! Ever the victim, she seems to have lost her mind this time. Way to hold her accountable. No City Council for you, Gina!
She can sue me if she can prove I defamed her. Kinda hard to do with no actual records
Not my IP address; and posted while I was on a Zoom call. The IP address on this comment is now banned. Nice try. At least you spelled my name correctly.