Pajaro Valley Unified School District Trustee Gabe Medina is threatening the board’s president and vice president via email with a defamation lawsuit against them after last week’s censure attempt.
K-12 Education
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Santa Cruz County youth poet laureates create community through shared love of poetry
San Lorenzo Valley High School junior Finn Maxwell, 16, and Dina Lusztig Noyes, 18, a senior at Pacific Collegiate School, told Lookout about what they love most about Santa Cruz County’s youth poet laureate program. They’re the first two to win the distinction.
Posted inEducation
With tears and taunts, PVUSD board rejects censure of trustee Gabe Medina — and exposes bitter divide
The resolution to censure trustee Gabe Medina failed in a 4-2 vote during the Pajaro Valley Unified School District governing board meeting Wednesday night. The vote came after a nearly two-hour discussion and clashes between Medina and trustee Misty Navarro.
Posted inEducation
Pajaro Valley Unified School District board rejects censure of trustee Gabe Medina
In a 4-2 vote Wednesday night, Pajaro Valley Unified School District trustees rejected a resolution to censure trustee Gabe Medina over inflammatory remarks and previous behavior.
Posted inEducation
PVUSD board considers censure of trustee Gabe Medina over comments, behavior
The Pajaro Valley Unified School District board of trustees will discuss and vote Wednesday on whether to censure fellow trustee Gabe Medina. Medina has faced rising criticism over comments directed at staff, current and former trustees and community members.
Posted inEducation
Parents protest as English-only students at dual-language Live Oak Elementary forced to switch schools
Parents at Live Oak Elementary School feel blindsided by the district’s “sudden” decision to move third and fourth grade students in the English-only strand to Del Mar Elementary starting next school year. Superintendent Pat Sánchez said the choice was made to solve staffing issues across the district.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Santa Cruz’s housing boom sees ‘significant slowdown’ as economic fears deepen
Santa Cruz County is facing multiple economic challenges, local leaders warned at an economic conference Thursday, as housing developments stall, UCSC grapples with federal funding cuts and government agencies prepare for a potential recession amid immigration concerns.
Posted inEducation
County superintendent of schools warns PVUSD of ‘antisemitic tropes’ during ethnic studies debate
Santa Cruz County Superintendent of Schools Faris Sabbah recently wrote a letter to Pajaro Valley Unified School District’s governing board, warning the trustees about his concerns that trustees’ comments “appeared to invoke anti-Semitic tropes” and about violations of laws governing the board’s actions.
Posted inEducation
After Trump’s crackdown on DEI in schools, judge rules he can’t cut off funding
California receives $2.4 billion in federal Title I money for low-income schools, about $1.3 billion for special education and $250 million for after-school programs, among other grants. President Donald Trump had ordered schools to eliminate diversity programs or risk losing federal funding.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Pajaro Valley district trustees need a lesson in leadership and antisemitism as they implement ethnic studies curriculum
Rabbi Debbie Israel was stunned when she attended the recent Pajaro Valley Unified School District meeting, where trustees voted to continue a controversial ethnic studies contract with Community Responsive Education. She says she found “outright antisemitism in the name of no antisemitism.” She says trustees used conventional antisemitic tropes and showed little grace, openness or leadership skills in their dealings with concerned members of the Jewish community.