School district investigated one of its own board members - few knew of investigation

"Not very many people were aware of this investigation. I mentioned it recently to the other board members, and they also seemed surprised. This seems to have very much been an internal thing. I am attempting to maintain an open mindset, but the feedback that I've had from the community so far has made me feel very unsafe."

"I worry about the word 'safe' as a person who has to worry about my husband driving and coming home if he gets pulled over. Reynolds was subject to racist comments underneath the post, and Chiu apologized and deleted it."

"The fallout from the meeting lasted for months - with calls for Chiu's resignation from former school members led by Ken Dauber and from the union for principals and psychologists. Chiu's fellow board members voted to remove her committee assignments, and said she felt silenced."

Rowena Chiu, a Palo Alto Unified School District board member, underwent an investigation for racism allegations throughout most of the previous year. The investigation stemmed from a January 23, 2025 meeting about mandating Ethnic Studies, where Chiu faced jeers when questioning whether Ethnic Studies could be offered as an elective. After the meeting, Chiu reposted content from an account called Asians Against Wokeness that criticized Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction Danae Reynolds, resulting in racist comments directed at Reynolds. Chiu subsequently apologized and deleted the post. The incident sparked months of fallout, including calls for Chiu's resignation from former board members and union representatives. Her fellow board members removed her committee assignments. Chiu claims vindication from the investigation and questions why the results were not publicized and how much money was spent.

Read at Padailypost