Editor’s Note: This story was first printed in the Daily Post on June 27. We’re posting it now because one of our competitors has posted a version of the story, and we think readers should see the original. To get all the local news first, pick up the Post in the mornings at 1,000 Mid-Peninsula locations.
BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
Three board members for the Sequoia Union High School District have responded to a renewed attempt to recall them for closing a tech-focused school for 200 students in Menlo Park.
Board member Maria Cruz said parents are targeting her because she’s Latina, and board member Rich Ginn said he wants to keep the focus on students.
“Hard public decisions are not a failure of oversight. They are part of responsible governance,” board member Mary Beth Thompson said in her response to the recall. Parents are upset about board members voting 5-0 on Feb. 4 to close TIDE Academy at 150 Jefferson Drive due to budget cuts.
Parents said board members and Superintendent Crystal Leach weren’t transparent about the decision and ignored proposals to make the school more cost effective.
“They declined to do the work to communicate honestly with us and figure things out, and this is not how any district constituent should be treated – on any issue. That’s what is driving the recall,” parent Rebecca O’Brien said in a statement yesterday.
Previous attempt
Parents served Cruz, Ginn and Thompson with recall notices after getting 30 signatures from voters in their area. Previous recall attempts were halted after the elections office said paperwork was incomplete or signatures were invalid.
Parents have 120 days to gather signatures from 20% of the registered voters in each board member’s area – 6,678 for Cruz, 7,557 for Ginn and 4,271 for Thompson, according to Chief Elections Officer Mark Church.
Parents aren’t trying to recall board members Sathvik Nori and Amy Koo because their terms end this year.
In self defense
Cruz, Ginn and Thompson were allowed to submit responses to the recall notice that must be included with the recall petition.
Ginn kept it short: “14 years of school board service. Reelected unopposed in 2024. Woodside, Menlo-Atherton and Sequoia (high schools) deliver for our students every day. Let’s keep the focus on students.”
Cruz said the recall is about pol itics, not accountability, and she’s dedicated more than 20 years of her life to education. She said her purpose is to ensure every student has access to resources, support and opportunities, and the recall will cost the district hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“That is money that belongs in our classrooms, not funding a political agenda,” Cruz said.
Doing the job
Thompson said her job as a board member is to consider all 8,800 students in the district and make decisions that are financially sustainabile.
Leach said during board meetings that the district couldn’t fund TIDE because it costs more per student than at the district’s four comprehensive high schools. TIDE spends $39,169 per student compared to $23,153 at Woodside, according to Leach.
But parents have questioned Leach and the board’s logic.
“If they are so worried about wasting resources, why did the board just vote to give Superintendent Leach a huge raise?” parent Toni Ouradnik said in a statement.
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