Surveillance video from a Sept. 22 closed-session meeting of the Temecula Valley Unified School District board reportedly shows Trustee Melinda Anderson walking to the shared desk of fellow board members Emil Barham and Steven Schwartz, pulling out an electronic device, and attaching it underneath the table. Barham and Schwartz say they believe it was a listening device planted to spy on them. Anderson says she was carrying a small microphone to document threats she says were made against her. Now the Riverside County Sheriff's Department is investigating, and the mystery device sits at the center of both a police inquiry and a boardroom feud that has been building for months.
According to footage described by ABC7, additional surveillance recorded after the meeting shows Anderson crawling underneath the desk to retrieve the item. Trustee Jennifer Wiersma was reportedly nearby as Anderson handled the device. Barham told the station he was shocked after viewing the footage, while Schwartz said he was flabbergasted. Schwartz called the incident an invasion of privacy and said, per ABC7, that Anderson and Wiersma should resign immediately.
Anderson has offered a different explanation. Speaking to the Press-Enterprise, she said, “I did begin carrying a small microphone with me to document the threats being said to me.” She has accused Barham of repeatedly threatening and harassing her, an allegation he denies, maintaining he did nothing wrong. Schwartz, for his part, said he has never witnessed Barham threaten Anderson.
Sheriff's Deputies Called to District Offices
The Riverside County Sheriff's Department confirmed deputies were called to the 31000 block of Rancho Vista Road — the same block as the district's offices — at 12:25 p.m. on Sept. 26, after a report that someone had recorded surreptitiously at the location. The case was taken over by the Southwest Sheriff's Station Investigation Bureau. The sheriff's office said it is investigating and that no additional details were available, per the same Press-Enterprise report.
Authorities have not announced what the device was, whether it recorded any conversations, or whether any laws were violated. The district itself has acknowledged the video and the investigation but has declined to weigh in on whether a crime occurred, saying in a statement that its responsibility is to support students and staff and ensure the district's daily work continues with care and professionalism.
Anderson Says She Fears for Her Family
Anderson said concerns about her family pushed her toward leaving the board, telling reporters she feared something bad would happen to her children. “I did begin carrying a small microphone with me to document the threats being said to me,” she reiterated, adding that she should not have to carry a recording device just to document threats against her. She announced Thursday, Oct. 1, that she plans to resign, according to the Press-Enterprise. But in comments reported by Riverside Record, Anderson said, “this is not my formal resignation, and I am not announcing a resignation date today.” She said she is working with attorneys to determine when and how she will formally leave her position.
Trustee Joseph Komrosky, who is not implicated in the device allegation, called the controversy pure politics among trustees at the highest level and said questions about possible criminal conduct should be left to law enforcement.
A Board With a History of Turmoil
This is not the first time Barham has faced formal discipline from his colleagues. The board voted 3-2 in April 2026 to censure him over allegations of retaliatory and disruptive behavior, intimidation and harassment, as reported by the Press-Enterprise. The censure cited an allegation that a recording had captured Barham saying he would “go after” Anderson's husband, which Barham denied. Barham has maintained that authorities previously found no criminal conduct against him.
The friction is not new to this five-member board, which oversees a district serving roughly 28,000 students. As Patch reported, the board found itself in profound disagreement over the two years leading up to July 2025, when trustees voted 3-2 to request outside oversight from the State Superintendent and the Riverside County Office of Education regarding board governance and district-fund use. That same report noted nearly $40,000 in public funds had been spent responding to a sexual-harassment claim brought by Wiersma.
The latest flare-up arrives as the seats currently held by Barham, Wiersma and Komrosky are set to appear on the November ballot, with Wiersma not seeking reelection, according to Riverside Record. For now, the device recovered from beneath that shared desk remains unidentified, and the sheriff's investigation into what, if anything, it recorded is ongoing.
