Pajaro Valley Unified school board approves stay-away letter for trustee Gabe Medina in disorderly meeting

During another chaotic Pajaro Valley Unified School District board meeting on Wednesday, trustees approved a stay-away letter barring fellow trustee Gabe Medina from visiting the Pajaro Valley High School campus for two weeks, after he confronted the school’s principal last month. 

The letter serves as a formal notice to Medina to not go to the campus and also proposes he engage in remediation with the principal, Todd Wilson, after the two-week period.

On Jan. 30, during a student walkout and rally at the Watsonville City Plaza to protest federal immigration enforcement, students told Medina that Wilson threatened to discipline them for participating, according to Medina. Medina then drove to the high school and argued with Wilson, calling him a “racist” and “white supremacist” while Wilson called him an “a–hole,” according to accounts. 

Board chair Carol Turley and board members Olivia Flores and Misty Navarro said Medina’s behavior was inappropriate. Flores said 49 high school staff members requested the stay-away letter, and that the board didn’t want to resolve the conflict publicly during a board meeting but it was required by the Brown Act, the state sunshine law that requires local legislative bodies to hold open meetings.

“Because this involved a trustee, it has to be done this way,” said Flores. “Is this how we want to do it? No.” 

The vote, and the school board meeting generally, was a continuation of drawn-out infighting among Medina and other trustees. Members of the public – including Watsonville City Councilmember Ari Parker – repeatedly interrupted the meeting in the Watsonville City Council chambers to express frustration or loudly accuse the board of alleged Brown Act violations. After repeated disruptions, Turley called two five-minute recesses and ultimately cleared the room. The public, except for journalists, had to exit the meeting. 

Several community members and board member Jessica Carrasco lamented that the incident was causing harmful division among students, teachers and the community. 

“I do not think public division helps our district. I don’t want this to turn into students versus teachers or staff versus board, which is why I didn’t want to have this conversation in public,” said Carrasco. “That kind of polarization only harms our school community.” 

Two Pajaro Valley High School sophomores, Karina Aguilar and Alyah Mendoza, read a statement together defending the school’s staff and expressing disappointment in Medina. 

“Trustee Medina, you are here sitting on this board as someone who we can really not trust,” they said. “When it comes to showing up for our school and our students — specifically regarding the incident that happened on the day of our walkout — that day you showed us students what a perfect example of immaturity and a lack of clarity can cause within our school community.” 

Several teachers also spoke up in support of the Pajaro Valley High principal and staff, while a handful of people advocated for Medina. 

After the letter was approved, Medina told Lookout he said he felt the vote was unfair.

“They’re weighing this in very unfairly,” he said. “Because there were other instances where trustees have done things and they haven’t been reprimanded at all. So it’s retaliatory, it’s favoritism.” 

In addition to the stay-away letter vote, the school board approved an agreement with an architect to develop a new $24.5 million performing arts center at Pajaro Valley High — a project students and staff have long requested. 

The project is funded by the $315 million Measure M bond voters approved in November 2024. Trustees approved PBK Architects to design the new arts facility, and staff said they hope to complete construction by June 2028. 

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