It isn’t often that a local school board makes headlines.
Unfortunately, that’s what’s happened with the trustees on the Pajaro Valley Unified School District board with statements by some members, along with decisions on curriculum and transparency, that are both divisive and disturbing.
The latest in a series of embarrassing public meetings involving the PVUSD board took place Wednesday evening, when by a 4-2 vote the board decided not to publicly censure newly elected member Gabriel Medina.
Before we get into Medina and some of his pronouncements, it should be noted that the district board has a history of acting against the best interests of the school community. A previous board, for instance, voted to fire the district’s superintendent at the time, Michelle Rodriguez, a move that backfired and led to her reinstatement after a public outcry. Then-Trustee Georgia Acosta was admonished for missing more than a year’s worth of meetings and sharing confidential documents ahead of a decision to fire Rodriguez.
Rodriguez eventually moved on to another post and was replaced by current Superintendent Heather Contreras.
We wonder how long Contreras will stay if she has to deal with trustees such as Medina and where another member has made clearly antisemitic statements, and where the board violates the state’s open meetings law.
What happened at the board’s April 16 meeting brought on a letter from county Superintendent of Schools Faris Sabbah that detailed his concerns over comments he said appeared to “invoke antisemitic tropes” and about potential violations of the laws and policies regulating the board’s meetings.
And if you ever wondered where MAGA fury (much less the election and policies of the Trump administration) over “woke” excesses comes from, consider that, in deciding to bring back a controversial ethnic studies program that has brought forth condemnation from Jewish organizations and some legislators, Medina and Trustee Joy Flynn crossed over the line, with Flynn’s comments perpetuating tropes around money and the economic power of Jewish people.
In addition, Medina attempted to censure former PVUSD Trustee and current Santa Cruz County Supervisor Kim De Serpa for her role in the Community Responsive Education contract not being renewed in 2023, but this motion was defeated 4-3. De Serpa later said she was grateful the local Jewish community and Sabbah have stood up to “hate.”
The same day Sabbah’s letter was sent, Medina posted a public response on the blogging platform Substack and said the county superintendent’s “vague accusations” chilled free speech and that, “I will not remain silent while justice is redefined as decorum, or while trustees who fight for their communities are asked to ‘recommit’ to respect, rather than being respected in return.”
As for Sabbah’s recommendations, Medina wrote that, “Calls for conflict resolution and training are often used as tools to neutralize transformative leadership, especially when that leadership comes from people of color.”
In a public Facebook post, Trustee Misty Navarro, however, called Medina’s behavior since joining the board “reprehensible,” citing attacks on her reputation as well as mistreatment of district staff.
“Let me be clear: this censure is politically motivated,” Medina wrote on a social media post. “It’s not about conduct, but about content — about the positions I’ve taken and the truths I’ve spoken. … I’ve been transparent in my commitment to equity, justice, and accountability.”
For the record, Trustees Olivia Flores and Navarro supported the censure of Medina, while trustees Carol Turley, Flynn, Jessica Carrasco and, of course, Medina rejected it. He had earlier written that Flores and Navarro were pressuring him to resign. Trustee Daniel Dodge Jr., curiously, was absent from the vote.
The PVUSD faces major challenges including budget issues and falling enrollment. These recent events are not only distracting, but raise legitimate questions about how the school community can feel confident on the direction of the county’s largest school district.