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On Aug. 29, the Sequoia Union High School District sent a 14-day “stay away order” to public commenter and retired police officer Dan Molieri after he made what administrators deemed as threatening comments during the school board meeting on Aug. 21. Molieri accused specific district administrators of creating a harmful learning environment for students, specifically pointing at Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Todd Beal during his comment.
“You have actually promoted a discriminatory [and] retaliatory environment by Todd Beal and the rest of the administration,” said Molieri to the school board.
Molieri’s comments followed questions from Menlo-Atherton High School boys basketball players asking why their coach, Mike Molieri, had been placed on administrative leave. Dan is Mike’s brother and is also the lead investigator for the Oakland-based Law Offices of John Burris who is representing the lawsuit involving the alleged excessive force and unreasonable arrest of two M-A students in April 2023.
In Dan’s comments, he named Beal, M-A principal Karl Loosekoot, SUHSD Wellness Coordinator Stephen Emmi and former M-A Administrative Vice Principal Nick Muys accusing them of “hurting children” and creating a “dictatorship” within the school district.
“Todd Beal and many administrators should be terminated, they have violated so many federal regulations,” said Dan Molieri.
The letter to Dan writes “To the district’s Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, Todd Beal, you stated ‘Beal, you’re next.’ You made this statement as you were in the audience, leaving the district board meeting.”
The district also noted in the letter that Dan told Beal “Run, Beal. You better run” and states that he followed him out of the board room to the hallway and told him, “Beal, run!”
Dan clarified to this news organization that he said “Beal, you’re next” as in “he’s next in a lawsuit.” He also said the description of the incident is inaccurate and denies telling Beal to “run.”
He adds that he did not follow Beal, but was walking out of the board room toward the restroom which coincidentally was after Beal left the room. Dan claims that there were three witnesses who saw him walking to the bathroom and not after Beal.
“A police report was filed due to multiple threatening statements Mr. Molieri made against me,” said Beal in a statement to this news organization.
Redwood City Police Department Captain Ashley Osborne confirmed that it took “a report regarding a threats incident at the Aug. 21 school board meeting” and currently do not have any information to share on the investigation as of Aug. 30.
“There is no threat,” said Dan, who argues that the police report would be false. “Telling someone to run is not a threat.”
According to state law, making a false police report, while knowing the report is not true, can be considered as a misdemeanor. Dan said he the Redwood City Police Department has not contacted him about the report.
A hearing was requested by Dan on the stay away order which the district has scheduled for Sept. 10 over Zoom with district Superintendent Crystal Leach. Dan will be represented by Burlingame-based criminal defense attorney Paula Canny.
Although a hearing has been scheduled, Dan explains that under penal code section 626.4, the district is obligated to provide him or Canny with the policy, procedure and protocols for the hearing as well as the place. Dan has requested that the meeting be in-person and argues that Zoom should not be considered “a place.”
