The Palo Alto school board will be asked Tuesday to strip a board member Rowena Chiu of her committee assignments because she reposted a social media comment that allegedly caused a school administrator to be harassed.
Chiu reposted a message from an account called Asians Against Wokeness on Jan. 27 that called out Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction Danae Reynolds.
Because of the post, Reynolds was subject to “racist comments and threats” against Reynolds, according to a resolution written by school board president Shana Segal. Chiu told the Post yesterday that the reposting was a “lapse in judgment” and she would have never intentionally put another woman of color at risk.
Segal on Tuesday will ask the rest of the board to approve a resolution that urges Chiu to meet with district employees through their unions and remove her from vamous committee assignments. Segal says in her resolution that the committee reassignments are to “safeguard Trustee Chiu from involuntary interactions with teachers or administrators that may exacerbate her safety concerns.”
Punishment
“The resolution makes it sound like this is for my protection,” Chiu said. “But I think we understand that it’s punitive.”
Board members are commonly assigned to meet with various committees and serve as liaisons in many instances. Chiu said that as a new member, she hasn’t even met with some of these committees yet. Chiu was elected in November along with Josh Salcman and Alison Kahmi.
Segal’s resolution is aimed at restoring “trust in board governance,” and reiterates past statements the board has made condemning racism against both black and Asian people.
The X post
Chiu’s post on X, formerly Twitter, came after a five-hour meeting on Jan. 23 over whether all freshmen should be required to take ethnic studies. At the meeting, members of the crowd jeered and laughed when Chiu asked a question about offering ethnic studies as an elective. Teacher Benjamin Bolanos interrupted to say Chiu was getting it wrong.
Chiu said three times she felt unsafe in the meeting. “I am attempting to maintain an open mindset, but the feedback that I’ve had from the community so far has made me feel very unsafe,” she said.
Samantha Fan, a student board representative from Gunn High School, asked Chiu 45 minutes later what she was afraid of regarding ethnic studies. Chiu said it’s complicated, and she was sticking her neck out by answering Fan’s question on behalf of other community members.
“I think that the fear is based on an ideological framework around oppressor-oppressed that will make some students in this school district feel unsafe,” Chiu said.
That’s when Reynolds jumped in to suggest that Chiu was uncomfortable, but not unsafe.
“I worry about the word ‘safe’ as a person who has to worry about my husband driving and coming home if he gets pulled over,” Reynolds said. “I know that we have members in our community who may be worried about the terms ‘oppressor’ or ‘oppressed.’ I completely understand that. But as a person who comes from a community that has and continues to be oppressed, I have to live with that every day. And our students of color in our district live with that every day.”
The X post by Asians Against Wokeness said Reynolds “lectured (Chiu) about how the word ‘unsafe’ is essentially inappropriate for people of Asian background because Asians are not truly oppressed.”
Chiu reposted the post from Asians Against Wokeness invoking her history as a Harvey Weinstein survivor.
“In 1998, Weinstein told me, as he attempted to rape me, that he ‘liked Chinese girls, because they’re discreet.’ In 2025, as an elected official, I spoke up about Asian oppression, and I was suppressed yet again,” Chiu wrote.
Dauber gets involved
A group of 14 former school board members, led by Ken Dauber, said in a letter that Chiu “villainized” Reynolds by her repost.
Both of the major PAUSD unions have denounced Chiu’s post. The Palo Alto Management Association union, which includes Reynolds, 35 principals and assistant principals, called on Chiu to resign.
I’m sure this next board meeting will be as much as a sham as the last one. The anti-Asian crowd will get all of the seats, the speakers will be decided in advance. Each will have their little script. The administrators will lecture any board members who get out of line. Meanwhile, Ken and Michelle Dauber will be above the board, pulling on their strings. None of the puppets will fight their master. Especially Josh, who almost went against the puppet masters last time but became afraid and got back in line to save himself. Can’t have independent thinking on this board! If there’s anything you learn in PAUSD, it’s conformity. No wonder our test scores crashed last year.
The hearing on ethnic studies was a painful and divisive matter. Sometimes issues where strongly held views clash create such feelings.
For Segal to now go forward with this censure motion because her supporters have been urging this on is inexplicable. Can anyone with common sense possibly agree that this follow up action will “restore trust in board governance”? Or that she wants to remove Chu from interaction with faculty and staff is being done for Chu’s sake?
The community is already divided. Segal seems to think that out of the frying pan, into the fire is her way to solve things.
The purpose of Ethnic Studies is to get kids to believe they’re victims and they should be protesting. Whitey is the oppressor and the rest of the kids are the oppressed.