School district investigated one of its own board members — investigation wasn’t publicly known

BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer

The Palo Alto Unified School District investigated board member Rowena Chiu for racism against an employee throughout most of last year, according to Chiu.

Chiu said she was vindicated by the investigation, and she wants to know how much money the district spent and why the results weren’t publicized.

“Not very many people were aware of this investigation,” Chiu said in an interview March 9. “I mentioned it recently to the other board members, and they also seemed surprised. This seems to have very much been an internal thing.”

The investigation looked at Chiu’s social media activity after a meeting on Jan. 23, 2025, about mandating Ethnic Studies.

Crowd members jeered and laughed at the meeting when Chiu asked about offering Ethnic Studies as an elective.

“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,” Chiu said.

During the same public meeting, Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction Danae Reynolds suggested 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. 

After the meeting, Chiu reposted a social media account, Asians Against Wokeness, that called out Reynolds. Reynolds was subject to racist comments underneath the post, and Chiu apologized and deleted it.

The fallout from the meeting lasted for months — with calls for Chiu’s resignation from former school board members led by Ken Dauber and from the union for principals and psychologists.

Chiu’s fellow board members voted to remove her committee assignments, and said she felt silenced.

Board members Shounak Dharap and Shana Segal tried to pass a resolution condemning Chiu’s social media activity, but board members Josh Salcman and Alison Kamhi said they were satisfied with Chiu’s apology and wanted to focus on students.

‘It’s always on my mind’

The district sent out a survey of its leadership team in February 2025 that asked if they felt supported by the board and whether the incident affected their ability to focus at work.

The vast majority said they were affected, and 34 out of 45 employees said they didn’t feel supported.

“It’s always on my mind,” one anonymous respondent said, according to documents reviewed by the Post.

After the survey, Assistant Superintendent of Equity and Student Affairs Yolanda Conaway sent board members a memo calling for them to hold Chiu accountable. Consway said the board should formally denounce Chiu, enact consequences for inappropriate online behavior and require anti-racism training for themselves.

Uphold leadership

“Leadership carries ethical responsibilities that must be upheld with integrity and accountability,” Conaway’s memo said. 

Chiu said acting Superintendent Trent Bahadursingh told her about the district’s investigation on May 7, when he was still working as deputy superintendent, and she sat down with the investigator on June 4.

Chiu said her understanding is that Reynolds filed a complaint, triggering the investigation.

Chiu said the investigator interviewed one of her supporters, and she doesn’t know how many district employees.

“I suspect it was quite a lot of people, because the investigation took a long time,” Chiu said.

What investigators found

Chiu said she received a final report on Oct. 6 with a finding that cleared her: “While Ms. Reynolds reasonably viewed the ways you expressed your concerns about her comments as demeaning and unprofessional, the evidence did not substantiate Ms. Reynolds’ allegation that your conduct was related to her race or vindictiveness stemming from your dislike of her comments.”

Chiu declined to talk more about the investigation because she was afraid her comments would be seen as retaliation, but she said she wants to release the full report. 

No comment

The district declined to comment yesterday.

“After consulting with the district’s legal team, and as this matter pertains to a confidential employee matter, we are unable to provide additional information at this time,” spokeswoman Lynette White said in an email.

Chiu was elected to the board in November 2024 on a platform of improving the district’s transparency and communication.

Former Superintendent Don Austin left the district after eight years on Feb. 20. He received $596,802 in exchange for his resignation, according to a settlement agreement obtained by the Post.

Chiu voted against replacing Austin with Bahadursingh on Feb. 23 because she said she wants a cultural reset.

“There are sections of our community — parents, students and teachers — that do feel really disenfranchised, that have felt that their opinions have been written over, and that their voices have been ignored,” Chiu said at the meeting.

Two of Chiu’s supporters, Leor Melamedov and Avery Wang, are running for the board in November.