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A small group of parents in the Sequoia Union High School District gathered to call for the removal of its superintendent at a press conference on Sept. 9. The parents shared concerns about Superintendent Crystal Leach’s leadership and accused her of a lack of transparency, responsiveness and accountability.
While the movement is being driven by parents of former TIDE Academy students, which the district closed in June, the group is working to spread its message to communities at Menlo-Atherton and Woodside high schools. A parent described it as a grassroots effort. The group is also collecting signatures to recall members of Sequoia’s board of trustees whose terms expire in 2028.
“I respect the right of the community to express their opinion. The decisions that have generated the strong feelings expressed by some in our community were not made lightly,” said Leach in an email, referring to the closure of TIDE Academy.
On Wednesday morning, about 10 parents stood in front of the district office holding signs that read: “Replace Superintendent Leach,” “New leaders now” and “Retirar,” which means “remove” in Spanish. Several gave speeches.
“I am demanding a superintendent who is engaged and not performative, that actually cares about the students and doesn’t just do that for show once a month at a board meeting,” said Johanna Mahal, who is leading the recall.
In her speech, Mahal criticized the board for what she called its unquestioning agreement with the superintendent’s suggestions, and accused board members of frequently ignoring community concerns, failing to ask challenging questions or holding the superintendent accountable.
Other speakers raised concerns about all the taxpayer dollars the district has spent on attorney fees, litigation and settlements, funds that could go to support students and teachers in classrooms.
After two years of litigation, the district agreed to spend $400,000 to settle a Menlo-Atherton student’s lawsuit alleging the release of confidential records and excessive force during his arrest in March. The Atherton Police Department also paid $160,000 in the settlement.
In June, the district paid $335,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging it discriminated against Jewish students. Two additional settlements were also approved in August for undisclosed amounts.
“If the district could engage and listen to parents and work through practical solutions instead of stonewalling, the world would be a better place. That’s what leadership looks like,” said parent Jason Primuth.
The only time the district will engage is when they are threatened by litigation, he alleged.
Other parents shared their disappointment with what they called the superintendent and trustees’ “false promises” after the closure of TIDE Academy, the 6-year-old alternative STEM-based high school on a newly built campus in Menlo Park.
Leach said that the board’s decision was made through a “transparent process” involving community engagement sessions, public board testimony and information made available to the public. Parents argue that the decision to close the school was made before the community meetings began, based on emails they’ve obtained through the Public Records Act.
After the board decided to close the school in February, parents were told they would receive regular updates during the transition, TIDE students would stay with their cohorts and all classes available at TIDE would be offered at Woodside High School, where TIDE’s programs would be moved. Parents complained to this news organization that none of these promises were kept.
The school board explained that its decision to close TIDE was due to the district’s declining enrollment and budget deficit. But former TIDE parent Lara Chamness said that three months after the school closed, the community still has not received any financial breakdowns justifying the closure. Financial reports requested by parents still haven’t been shared, which the district is legally obligated to do, she added.
“I understand that community members will not always agree with governance decisions, yet I hope some level of understanding for the decision will grow with time,” Leach said. “I remain deeply committed to this community, to our students and to the work of building a district where all students have access to the opportunities they deserve.”
Most of TIDE’s 120 or so remaining students chose to attend Menlo-Atherton, but some are finding the transition hasn’t been an easy process. The small school of about 200 students fostered a safe and effective learning space for students with learning disabilities, according to student testimonies.
One TIDE parent said that her son transferred after just three weeks at Sequoia High. The overwhelming transition caused the sophomore to have a nervous breakdown at school, said the parent, whom this news organization is not naming in order to preserve the teen’s privacy.
The student, who grew up attending schools with smaller cohorts, was not prepared for a campus of over 1,800 at Sequoia High. In the second week of September, he started at Carlmont High School. His mother said she hopes that this will be a better fit because “there’s nowhere to run after Carlmont.”
“This school board has taken so much of our mental health,” she added. “For our kids, TIDE was their identity. They are still dealing with the side effects (of the closure).”
Some parents of Menlo-Atherton and Woodside students said they are supporting the recall due to the lack of action and response from district and campus administrations on issues around bullying, student safety and discrimination.
Mahal said parents are still working on collecting signatures for the recall of trustees Rich Ginn, Mary Beth Thompson and Maria Cruz, all of whom have terms ending in 2028.
She thanked incumbent Sathvik Nori for dropping out of this fall’s race for the board’s District D seat. Although Nori’s name will remain on the ballot, he announced in August that he’s endorsing his opponent, Michael Dekshenieks. Mahal said that the recall group supports Alan Shiran, who is running against incumbent Amy Koo for the District A seat on the Nov. 3 ballot.
If recall supporters can collect signatures from 20% of voters in each district of the trustees they are attempting to remove, they can place the recall on an upcoming election ballot. Signatures are being collected in District B, C and E, which includes East Palo Alto, Woodside, Portola Valley, West Menlo Park and parts of San Carlos, Belmont and Redwood City.
