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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.”
Mike Molieri is an amazing instructor, coach and cares for the welfare of children. The district has retaliated against him for refusing to participate in the Caldwell cover-up which the district and menlo atherton police know that the tapes , videos , records of and reports proves 100 percent. So if tax payers want to pay for that type of administration then those students are seriously in danger.
Uh, advising someone to run upon meeting them in a hallway after you’ve verbally attacked that person is not a threat?
Please. That is unquestionably a threat, especially when uttered by a former cop.
The idea that such language in such a context is not a threat raises the question of whether police officers in general have any useful practical dutiful sense of how they come across to the people they’ve supposedly sworn to protect and serve. My experience says they do not.
Thank you for sharing your perspective. The district’s framing of Dan’s words is intentionally misleading and omits the full context. His statement ‘you’re next,’ which clearly referred to legal action in his publicly available comments, is dishonestly being twisted into a physical threat. The district is intentionally distorting his words to paint him as aggressive and misusing their policies, when his intent was simply to hold administrators accountable and remind them that he and others plan to do so.
Let’s not forget Dan denies telling Todd to ‘run’ and has three witnesses. Even if Dan had said ‘Run, Beal,’ it could easily be interpreted as mocking Beal’s avoidance of accountability, and not a threat. Given the district’s history of avoiding responsibility evidenced through dozens of publicly available comments over the years, this seems far more likely. Let’s not forget Dan denies their version of events and has three witnesses supporting his account.
The real question is, if the district is willing to openly misrepresent the words of someone publicly holding them accountable, and we can all see the context of Dan’s statement for ourselves, what does that say about their willingness to follow through on their obligations? It’s not just about one person’s words—it’s about the district’s consistent pattern of avoiding responsibility and silencing criticism through manipulation.
Twisting statements of accountability into threats creates a culture of fear and retaliation, where holding leadership accountable becomes dangerous. The real problem here is the district’s unwillingness to face criticism or take responsibility for its actions, instead opting to distort the narrative to protect its leadership.
Clevenger. Obviously you believe that individuals are allowed to violate the law like Beal and others is okay. Sorry it’s not and thats why you and lack of any background in law would make such a childish reply. Read the law then make a post. You can help in the defense fund as as Mr. Molieri mention they have the proof that Beal as well as others have violated federal and State laws and worst against students/children and teacher. No its not okay Clevenger!
Of course he denies making a threat. Next we’ll be hearing “That’s just Dan.” and “It was a joke.”
The man sprinkles his arguments with incendiaries — “terminated,” “run,” “dictatorship” — and then is outraged when they’re interpreted as what they appear to be to the observer.
As a former law enforcement officer, he constitutes a physical threat when his behavior is apparently reflecting anger and he uses such language. He should know that. But then people recruited to law enforcement jobs have a bias toward adversarial behavior.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/08/police-academies-sonya-massey-shooting/679243/
It’s up to the cop to be mindful of his or her behavior and moderate it to reflect the fear that most of us feel when the police, active or retired, take an interest in us. Ask any Black person!
If you watch the public board video, Dan’s statement “you’re next” is implying legal accountability and there is literally no other way to reasonably interpret it. As far as a statement about running, it can be interpreted many ways, and I have no reason to trust or believe the district in their account when they have failed to adequately investigate a variety of claims over the years related to many important issues and serious harms. The leadership in administration and within the board have failed to properly stand up for students and employees time and time again, and have proven that they cannot be trusted at all. The superintendent, Crystal Leach, the board, Todd Beal, and others do engage in retaliation and bullying and intimidation that has real life consequences compared to what they are claiming about Dan. How about we start there?
It is clear Dan’s words were twisted to imply a threat by a district that has avoided accountability, and this is a tactic they use to push advocates out of the way so they can pretend that there aren’t major issues they fail to address, particularly towards the Black community, for a long time. The fact that they would try to imply Dan has any reason to be violent, indicates in and of itself that they have caused major harms that might push a person to that sort of behavior, does it not? That points to a level of guilt they are harboring that is showing itself through their reactions. People are allowed to speak strongly and express frustration with the corruption they experience within the district, and use their freedom of speech to illustrate that frustration.
I worked with Mo and I am Black, and you should know the district’s actions have negatively impacted the Black community and promoted anti-Blackness for years. This is a decades-long history with SUHSD that is well-covered in the news and in public board comments. Ask any Black person! Since you want to take it there.
Clevenger
So now we see that as a former law enforcement officer you must be part of menlo atherton police . So you like the named defendants in the civil lawsuit are caught in a cover up and worst it’s all on tapes videos and reports . So cry and try to paint you know something other than your upset that you might be one of the many to be named in lawsuits because minorities matter and your law enforcement ways don’t exist . You seemed very upset if you break the law then stand trial and that’s what’s going to happen to your district and menlo police department.
JA, I’ll take your word on the injustice you see here.
M-A with it’s plentiful AP classes is a public school but also a de facto private school for the well connected who want those classes and the cache of being from M-A.
Exhibit A, if it’s still in force, is the sweetheart deal for students graduating from the Las Lomitas district and going to M-A despite living in the zone associated with Woodside High. All they have to do is indicate a preference to the district and they go to the head of the line.
There’s plenty of fodder for corruption there … ambitious and, if pushed, ruthless parents.
I haven’t been an observer for about 5 years, but I did monitor M-A for about 15 years. During that time, the school had a reputation for helping elite students and disadvantaged students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches. The kids in the middle? They got the short ends.
It’s a long story. Hopefully the legacy of the school board during the 2000s has been forgotten. But ambition for the “success” of one’s children at the expense of those pesky children living on the wrong side of the district never goes away, not on the Peninsula anyway.
Dan, I hope you read that article and see if you recognize your career in there. It’s a perspective that won’t hurt and might help.
Good luck. Clevenger out.
I am very impressed with the thoughtful points made by Clevenger and the excellent article from The Atlantic which he attached. (It’s not long; I urge all to read or listen to it.)
In contrast Mr. Minieri’s defensive reaction bring to mind the line from Shakespeare, about the obviously guilty character, “My thinks the Lady does protest [her innocence] too much.”
I should add that I have known many fine people in law enforcement, but there are some who seem to be in it for the “power” it confers. I would guess that former officer Monieri is in that category.
I normally sign my full name to my online comments. Before writing this, I wondered if I should given the aggrieved and bullying manner presented by Mr. Monieri and his “friend”. I decided that I will use my name as I cannot give in to the perception of intimidation. If one gives in now, in the difficult times we’re living in, where does it end?
Former Mayor Jon Silver
Portola Valley
Mentioning people being in it for the power is the perfect way to describe Crystal Leach, Todd Beal, Shawneece Stevenson, Karl Losekoot, Stephen Emmi, and others who have harmed students and teachers at MA and within the district without facing accountability.
They hide and ignore a myriad of issues brought before them and make efforts to silence advocates, abusing their policies to do so. Todd Beal has been especially corrupt.
Is there nothing to be said about holding the school district accountable for twisting Dan’s words and abusing their policy to prevent him from having free speech? You can actually go watch the full public comments online here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XluYR6L89IE
His comments are right at the beginning of the video so you don’t have to search. He also speaks again around 22:17. In this video, Dan is very calmly expressing frustration at the lack of accountability that has led to students being physically hurt and many employees and students going through emotional and mental trauma for years.
Dan even says “I wish nothing but them the best and this board the best” at the very beginning of his statement. He takes the time to try to be civil despite the way this board has conducted themselves for years.
In his second comment, he says “I believe Crystal Leach means well.” Any reasonable person would not listen to his calm comments and then jump to assuming he would be physically violent. That is complete nonsense.
This corrupt school board is intentionally not including the full context of his comments in order to paint his as aggressive, when he was actually very calm in his comments and expression.
Do yourself a favor and actually watch the video of him speaking. That is why these things are made public. Then listen to what those students and various community members say throughout this video.
Former mayor Silver
Obviously your great friends with these named defendants and board. Bottom line is they are not above the law and Mr.Molieri has made it clear they have not words but the evidence to show that your group of friends have been caught dirt with the police. Discrimination, retaliation and federal state laws matter but maybe when you were mayor you ran your city improperly so you had to leave. Sorry your feeling are hurt but again your not paying the legal bills but menlo citizens are. Why don’t you pick up the cost of defending that districts and defendants bill.