GARDEN GROVE, Calif. – Concerned parents, teachers, and educators filled the Garden Grove Unified School District’s board meeting on Tuesday evening.

Even though The meeting’s agenda did not originally include an item to discuss the video that surfaced this week showing 10 water polo players from Pacifica High School engaging in the Sieg Heil salute while singing a Nazi anthem called “Erika,” the board welcomed public comments from the attendees.

“I am aware that the school board has indicated that they were not aware of this event when it happened and I understand in your press release that you’re going to work on getting to the bottom of this and I appreciate that,” said Robin Gurien, a parent and Pacifica High School graduate.

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However, Gurien and other parents voiced their concerns about being kept in the dark while acts of violence from radicalized individuals occurred in several parts of the country.

The school district says it has reached out to several groups, like the Anti-Defamation League in Orange County and Long Beach, to bring an anti-bias programs to the campus. Rabbi Peter Levi, the regional director of ADL, says so far there has only been a conversation, but nothing has been set into stone.

However, there was a former Pacifica High School teacher who born in Germany and escaped the country with her family to Canada, who offered free services to the district.

“I am offering my services, free, pro bono, to teach a series of seminars for sensitivity training, historical training, cultural training for students and faculty at Pacifica,” said Flo Martin.

A group of teachers from Pacifica High School also attended the meeting. They told the public that they were also kept in the dark and had no idea about what happened until the video and story was first published on The Daily Beast’s website. One teacher said she is afraid what was shown in the short video was not an isolated incident. Another teacher said she loves her students and that her classroom is safe for all students.

After the public comment section was over, Steve Osborne, the principal of Pacifica High School, took to the podium to apologize about the video and wanted to make sure that people understand that the actions shown in the video does not accurately reflect the school’s views and standing.

“Although an investigation and consequences did occur when the administration first learned of the video in March, we did a disservice to the entire school community by limiting our actions to the small group of students involved.  We are sorry that our investigation and our transparency with the Pacifica community fell drastically short,” said Principal Osborne.

The district promised to work with the Garden Grove Police Department to investigate the incident again and look into the death threats that have been made towards students and faculty members.

Before the meeting took place, the school district issued a new press release detailing the Garden Grove Unified School District Board of Education’s investigation into hate speech.

"The video was created in November 2018 in an unsupervised room of a banquet facility prior to the start of a school event involving larger groups of students, parents and staff who were unaware of the activity. When Pacifica High School administrators first learned of this offensive video four months afterwards, the investigation included disparate accounts and lacked details that have since emerged. School administrators addressed the situation with the students shown in the video and their families but did not involve the larger school or district community in addressing the issue.”

The release goes on to state that students engaging in hate speech will be disciplined in accordance with California Education Code. The district is working closely with the Garden Grove Police Department, for the ongoing investigation of hate crimes and the reported death threats made against several students. 

Garden Grove’s plan of action stated in the press release includes:

• Enacting a Human Relations Taskforce to address school-based hate and bias and provide recommendations to the district
• Utilizing the Teaching Tolerance manual, Responding to Hate and Bias at School, to ensure an appropriate, consistent and inclusive response to hate and bias
• Working with community partners to implement anti-bias campaigns at school campuses

Ensuring all stakeholders understand their role in speaking out about hate and bias at schools, including utilizing existing anonymous reporting platforms for students and staff and ensuring consistent administrative practices across all schools.