Tony Thurmond

Tony Thurmond has faced several controversies during his tenure as California State Superintendent of Public Instruction and his time as a local school board member. In 2021, news reports highlighted the hiring of Daniel Lee as the Department of Education's superintendent of equity. The appointment was criticized because the position was not publicly posted, was funded through a private foundation grant before receiving taxpayer funding, and appeared to violate state residency requirements. Lee resigned in December 2021. Since 2019, Thurmond has faced scrutiny for holding part-time side jobs at Bay Area nonprofits while serving in his state role. While these roles are legal, observers have raised concerns about the potential for conflicts of interest, particularly as reports indicated he solicited donations for these nonprofits from individuals or companies with business before the state. In 2012, while serving on the West Contra Costa Unified School District board, Thurmond was named as a co-defendant in an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit regarding unsafe school facilities. Fact-checkers noted that the suit targeted the entire school board and district administration, not Thurmond individually, and he was not directly responsible for the specific building conditions. In 2023, Thurmond was escorted out of a Chino Valley school board meeting by security after speaking during public comment and refusing to yield the floor when his allotted time expired.