June 16, 2009
School Administrator Alleges County Health Department Used Explicit HIV Info
A Brawley High school administrator told Imperial County supervisors on Tuesday that a pamphlet from the Imperial County Department of Public Health containing sexually explicit terms, gutter language, and graphic illustrations regarding the use of a condom was allegedly distributed to students at Brawley High School during a health fair last month.
“The reason that I'm here today is that I want to make sure that our tax dollars are not going to purchasing these materials for anyone.” - Bonnie Munguia, Deputy Principal, Brawley High School
Bonnie Munguia, a deputy principal at Brawley High School, gave supervisors a copy of the pamphlet she said was given out at the health fair at Brawley High School on May 27. The pamphlet, “Safe Sex - Pride, Respect, Integrity” is stamped with the words “Office of AIDS Support, Education and Prevention Program, Imperial County Public Health Department.” It also lists the department's address and phone number.
The pamphlet contains sexually explicit terms for sexual activity, graphic illustrations on the application and use of a condom, and gutter language to describe intercourse and masturbation
Munguia said she was opposed to public funds being used for the purchase of such materials.
“The reason that I'm here today is that I want to make sure that our tax dollars are not going to purchasing these materials for anyone,” Munguia said. “That's why I was here, not on behalf of Brawley High School.”
She said the county health department was one of many organizations that contributed to the health fair.
“We had hospitals, we had county public health, we had some of our ROP programs they were all there with information on wellness,” Munguia said. “We had blood pressure readings, glucose readings. It was actually really great and informational for the students on well-being.”
She said the county health department asked if information on HIV testing could be made available.
“They had asked if they could leave a brochure that gave information on how to go about getting a free HIV test, and so we said that was OK,” Munguia said.
Munguia said she had spoken to a couple of students who said they had seen the pamphlets, and described their reaction as “shocked.”
She declined to say if parents had complained to school officials.
“We are going to look into this, and if there is any accountability and punishment that needs to be issued, we will; but bottom line, it was a poor choice of material to be provided to the students.” - Victor Carrillo, Imperial County SupervisorImperial County health officials strongly denied that the pamphlets were distributed to students. However, they did acknowledge that such materials were used in outreach efforts to high-risk populations in the county.
“That pamphlet was not handed out by the Public Health Department at the event at the high school. In fact, we would never be handing that material out at a local high school,” said Maria Peinado , public information officer for the Imperial County department of Public Health. "But we do have these types of materials and these pamphlets for our high-risk adult populations, such as IV drug users in our area.”
Peinado speculated that copies of the pamphlet were somehow included in materials that were sent to the health fair.
“We were contacted by Brawley high school about a student that had this inappropriate pamphlet. We know that we did not hand this material out," said Peinado. “We do not know how it got to the high school student. May be it was in a box that was kept behind the the table and somebody took it out of that box. Or our resources are also shared with other agencies, so its possible that another agency had it, and that's how they got it. Right now it is unknown how that pamphlet got out to the student.”
County supervisors were clearly shocked at the material in the pamphlet, and vowed to look into how the material got to the school.
“I was appalled as to as to how that was slipped in to the educational material that was provided to the students at Brawley that they were receiving during this health fair,” said Supervisor Victor Carrillo “If it was a joke, it was a rotten joke and it was very inappropriate. I, as an elected official, didn't find it to be appropriate, nor would I have supported something like that. As a parent and as an educator, I was appalled that something like that would be presented.”
Peinado said county public health officials have already conducted an investigation into the matter, but have not yet determined what exactly happened.
“After all the investigation that was done, we don't have a clear answer about how they got hold of the material,” Peinado said. “What we can tell you for sure is that we did not put these pamphlets out on the table for students to take, because it was not the right population for that.”
Carrillo said the investigation may not be over yet.
“We are going to look into this, and if there is any accountability and punishment that needs to be issued , we will; but bottom line it was a poor choice of material to be provided to the students,” said Carrillo
“The reason that I'm here today is that I want to make sure that our tax dollars are not going to purchasing these materials for anyone.” - Bonnie Munguia, Deputy Principal, Brawley High School
Bonnie Munguia, a deputy principal at Brawley High School, gave supervisors a copy of the pamphlet she said was given out at the health fair at Brawley High School on May 27. The pamphlet, “Safe Sex - Pride, Respect, Integrity” is stamped with the words “Office of AIDS Support, Education and Prevention Program, Imperial County Public Health Department.” It also lists the department's address and phone number.
The pamphlet contains sexually explicit terms for sexual activity, graphic illustrations on the application and use of a condom, and gutter language to describe intercourse and masturbation
Munguia said she was opposed to public funds being used for the purchase of such materials.
“The reason that I'm here today is that I want to make sure that our tax dollars are not going to purchasing these materials for anyone,” Munguia said. “That's why I was here, not on behalf of Brawley High School.”
She said the county health department was one of many organizations that contributed to the health fair.
“We had hospitals, we had county public health, we had some of our ROP programs they were all there with information on wellness,” Munguia said. “We had blood pressure readings, glucose readings. It was actually really great and informational for the students on well-being.”
She said the county health department asked if information on HIV testing could be made available.
“They had asked if they could leave a brochure that gave information on how to go about getting a free HIV test, and so we said that was OK,” Munguia said.
Munguia said she had spoken to a couple of students who said they had seen the pamphlets, and described their reaction as “shocked.”
She declined to say if parents had complained to school officials.
“We are going to look into this, and if there is any accountability and punishment that needs to be issued, we will; but bottom line, it was a poor choice of material to be provided to the students.” - Victor Carrillo, Imperial County SupervisorImperial County health officials strongly denied that the pamphlets were distributed to students. However, they did acknowledge that such materials were used in outreach efforts to high-risk populations in the county.
“That pamphlet was not handed out by the Public Health Department at the event at the high school. In fact, we would never be handing that material out at a local high school,” said Maria Peinado , public information officer for the Imperial County department of Public Health. "But we do have these types of materials and these pamphlets for our high-risk adult populations, such as IV drug users in our area.”
Peinado speculated that copies of the pamphlet were somehow included in materials that were sent to the health fair.
“We were contacted by Brawley high school about a student that had this inappropriate pamphlet. We know that we did not hand this material out," said Peinado. “We do not know how it got to the high school student. May be it was in a box that was kept behind the the table and somebody took it out of that box. Or our resources are also shared with other agencies, so its possible that another agency had it, and that's how they got it. Right now it is unknown how that pamphlet got out to the student.”
County supervisors were clearly shocked at the material in the pamphlet, and vowed to look into how the material got to the school.
“I was appalled as to as to how that was slipped in to the educational material that was provided to the students at Brawley that they were receiving during this health fair,” said Supervisor Victor Carrillo “If it was a joke, it was a rotten joke and it was very inappropriate. I, as an elected official, didn't find it to be appropriate, nor would I have supported something like that. As a parent and as an educator, I was appalled that something like that would be presented.”
Peinado said county public health officials have already conducted an investigation into the matter, but have not yet determined what exactly happened.
“After all the investigation that was done, we don't have a clear answer about how they got hold of the material,” Peinado said. “What we can tell you for sure is that we did not put these pamphlets out on the table for students to take, because it was not the right population for that.”
Carrillo said the investigation may not be over yet.
“We are going to look into this, and if there is any accountability and punishment that needs to be issued , we will; but bottom line it was a poor choice of material to be provided to the students,” said Carrillo