Read the settlement.
BY ADRIANA HERNANDEZ
Daily Post Staff Writer
Sequoia Union High School District has settled a lawsuit filed by six families who claimed teachers and administrators at Woodside and Menlo-Atherton high schools failed to address a rise in antisemitism.
The settlement agreement includes:
- Over the next three years, teachers must clear any materials related to the conflict in Gaza with an independent reviewer who will be agreed upon by the district and the parents,
- Upping its process for investigating complaints of antisemitism, which will include hiring an outside investigator,
- Changing district policy to name and define antisemitism as a prohibited form of discrimination,
- Mandatory annual antisemitism training for all district employees who work with students,
- A payment from the district of $325,000, which includes attorney’s fees, to the families,
- An outside investigator will be hired to oversee the district’s compliance with the settlement over the next three years, and will conduct a formal investigation into the district’s handling of antisemitism complaints in 2024 and write a public report about if the district followed state and federal law.
“We believe this represents the most comprehensive, legally binding set of anti-antisemitism reforms ever adopted by a public school district in the United States,” attorney Ryan Weinstein, who represented the parents, said in a statement.
Antisemitism at schools escalated after the Oct 7, 2023, Israel-Hamas conflict, according to the lawsuit.
“Jewish students faced a barrage of taunts, slurs, and hateful remarks, culminating in the appearance of two giant swastikas on campus grounds,” the suit said.
Jewish students were advised by teachers to hide their religious identity to avoid becoming targets, according to the suit.
The suit named Woodside High Principal Karen Van Putten and vice principals Charles Velschow and Wendy Porter. Five of the students attend Woodside. The suit also names Menlo-Atherton High School Principal Karl Losekoot, Sequoia Union Superintendent Crystal Leach, Associate Superintendent of HR Bonnie Hansen, former Assistant of HR Todd Beal and all five district board members. Also named is Gregory S. Gruszynski, a history teacher at Woodside High and a former head of the teachers’ union.
The parents who filed the suit are Sam and Andrea Kasle, Igor and Marina Bershteyn, Margarette Kesselman, Scott and Lori Lyle, Daniel and Jennifer Reif and Lisa Joy Rosner.
The lawsuit highlighted several alleged incidents that support its claim. In December 2022, the president of M-A’s Jewish Student Union was called a slur for Jews by a student for wearing a Star of David necklace. The school failed to take any action, according to the suit. In September 2023, a substitute biology teacher at M-A started making jokes about the Holocaust after learning one of her students was Jewish. Principal Losekoot said the teacher, Zoe Wilson, could either apologize or the student could transfer to another biology class. Wilson apologized, but the student felt the apology was insincere.
On Nov. 1, 2023, two swastikas were found etched on the pavement at Woodside High School. The perpetrator was caught but claimed the swastikas were “spiritual symbol(s) from Japanese Buddhism known as Manji popularized by anime.” Van Putten told parents she contacted the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office about the swastikas, but there was no record of the report, the suit said.
The lawsuit also claimed Woodside history teacher Gruszynski of spreading “pro-Hamas propaganda under the guise of teaching 10th-grade World History.” He mocked the beliefs of the only openly Jewish student in class and “coerced her into endorsing his biased and ahistorical views to achieve satisfactory grades on exams,” the suit said.
“The girl repeatedly returned home in tears after suffering through Gruszynski’s classes,” the suit said.
The school board heard from parents on Jan. 17, but no concrete measures were taken to address the hostile environment, the suit said.
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