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Parents in the Sequoia Union High School District are seeking to recall three of its five board members after a botched effort to recall Trustee Rich Ginn in May. This time, parents were successful in collecting enough valid signatures to file a recall petition against the three board members whose seats are not up for reelection on the November ballot.
“We seek (this) recall to restore transparency, accountability and sound judgement to the Sequoia Union High School District board,” wrote proponents in a recall petition notice published in the June 26 issue of The Almanac.
The recall against Ginn, Mary Beth Thompson and Maria Cruz is driven by community members who are dissatisfied by the “board’s lack of accountability and transparency in their role of overseeing the work of Superintendent Crystal Leach,” according to a TIDE Rising press release.
TIDE Rising is a parent group that formed in November before the district voted to shut down TIDE Academy, a small STEM-based high school in Menlo Park. The petition notice cited that parents believe the board did not uphold its mandate to use taxpayer dollars to build TIDE’s $50 million campus for alternative education.
TIDE Academy closed in June after six years of operation. The fate of its campus on Jefferson Drive has yet to be disclosed.
The school, which enrolled about 200 students in grades 9-12, became a popular choice for neurodivergent students and students of color who often face social and academic challenges at larger schools.
Recall proponents also argue that litigation against the district increased under the purview of the current board members. Recently, the district settled two lawsuits, costing a total of over $500,000, and are currently facing allegations of staff discrimination and retaliation in other active cases.
In a filed response to the recall notice, Cruz said she believes she is being targeted for being “the only Latina on the board,” despite all five board members voting in support of TIDE’s closure.
Recall proponents clarified that all trustees who are not up for reelection this year were served with recall papers.
“This is my first term on the board and I came to this role with one clear purpose: to ensure that every student in our district has access to the resources, support and opportunities they deserve — equitably and without exception,” Cruz said.
Thompson wrote in her response, “Hard public decisions are not a failure of oversight. They are part of responsible governance.”
Ginn previously told The Almanac in May that while he understands the community’s frustration and the desire to pursue a recall, he believes that he is the right person to continue serving on the school board. He refuted claims made by recall proponents that the board did not comply with public deliberation laws and stood strongly behind the board’s decision to close TIDE, due to underenrollment.
Rebecca O’Brien, a TIDE parent, said the recall stems from the community’s disapproval of the way Leach and the board operate, alleging the district ignored proposals from TIDE staff and parents to make the school more cost-effective and hired a public relations consultant to plan the closure of TIDE months before it was proposed.
“They declined to do the work to communicate honestly with us and figure things out. This is not how any district constituent should be treated on any issue,” O’Brien said.
As required, the notice of intention to circulate a recall petition has been filed and accepted by the San Mateo County Elections Office and has been published in a local newspaper.
Now, parents will have to submit a petition to be approved for circulation in order to gather signatures from at least 20% of voters in each of the districts the three trustees represent. If there are enough valid signatures, all three board members will be up for recall vote in an upcoming election.
The district will foot the bill for funding the election if the recall moves forward. Thompson and Cruz said they are concerned about the use of district resources if the election needs to be held.
“Forcing this recall will cost SUHSD taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. That is money that belongs in our classrooms, not funding a political agenda,” said Cruz.
For their part, parents in TIDE Rising questioned why board members recently approved a salary increase for Leach when there are concerns about “wasting resources.” During the June 17 board meeting, Leach’s annual base salary was raised by $75,021 from $291,979 to $367,000.
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