The president of the Temecula Valley school board can no longer eject people from meetings merely because he disagrees with them.
That’s according to a settlement of a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Southern California against the district.
Last year, school board president Joseph Komrosky started using a system of yellow and red cards to control meetings.
He said he’s a soccer fan and like during a game— yellow meant warning and red meant out.
Julie Geary is one of the people who got kicked out with a red card.
She says the settlement is a win for free speech.
“It's important that our rights to petition the government and air grievances shall not be infringed by a school board president on a power trip,” said Geary.
The lawsuit alleged Komrosky violated free speech and California's public meeting laws.
Under the settlement, Komrosky can only use verbal warnings, not cards.
And he can only throw out people who are actually being disruptive.
In response to the settlement Komroksy said in an email the district celebrates the community’s first amendment rights.
The district must pay $75 thousand to cover the plaintiff’s legal costs.