SAN BERNARDINO, CA — Stunned Board members and attendees watched as a costumed seal going by the name “Identity Sealed” was escorted to the podium for public comment during a September 2026 meeting of the San Bernardino County Board of Education.
The smiling gray seal, with an oversized head and flippers, held up signs criticizing the Board’s handling of taxpayer funds, public records and Brown Act complaints, while a “translator” solemnly read the messages into the record.
“Identity Sealed” was also printed across the back of the seal’s shirt — a reference to a controversy that had unfolded over the previous year.
Private citizens questioning the Board of Education had repeatedly been photographed at and around Board meetings, with their identifiable photographs subsequently posted on social media. Those posts and related discussions included accusations of racism and racial targeting and were associated with imagery involving the KKK, white supremacists and angry white mobs protesting Black children attending school.
One example, with the poster’s identifying information redacted, displayed historical imagery surrounding Ruby Bridges integrating a New Orleans elementary school. The accompanying post expressly connected the image to San Bernardino County Board of Education meetings, saying the Superintendent, Board and staff had been “strategically targeted” by “MAGA-types who seek to promote the Project 2025 agenda.”
Some of the same individuals participating in the online discussions had previously criticized the citizens during public comment at Board meetings. Board President Gwen Dowdy-Rodgers presided as speakers directed personal and racial accusations at private citizens who had been questioning government conduct, including the handling of public matters by Dowdy-Rodgers herself.
Many of those participating in the criticism also held positions with the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools or other San Bernardino County public agencies. Others had close family ties to County education leadership, including Dowdy-Rodgers’s sister and County Superintendent Ted Alejandre’s wife, both former SBCSS employees.
Against that backdrop, the anonymous seal changed the dynamic. With the speaker’s identity — and race — completely concealed, the Board was confronted only with the messages displayed on the signs:
“UNSEAL THE RECORDS”
“NO DICTATORS”
“8TH IPC BROWN ACT”
“THE TRUTH WILL BE UNSEALED”
The unusual appearance comes amid broader controversies surrounding Dowdy-Rodgers’s Board presidency, including eight IPC-related Brown Act complaints, an ACLU cease-and-desist letter concerning anonymous public comment, questions about matters that did not reach the full elected Board, the discovery of a little-known 40-year-old Joint Powers Agreement establishing the Inland Personnel Council (IPC), and an FPPC investigation involving disclosures filed by Dowdy-Rodgers’s campaign committee.
See the video:
“Identity Sealed” at the Board meeting
Full backstory and additional documentation:
https://www.edwatch.net/post/gwen-dowdy-rodgers-faces-fppc-investigation-as-county-board-controversies-mount
