Opinion: School board should wait until after the election to select a new superintendent

"The last three months have been tumultuous in the district. The community was divided by a surprise move in January to add ethnic studies to the high school curriculum, a class that Chinese and Jewish families felt was discriminatory. When new board member Rowena Chiu said publicly she felt bullied by other "woke" school board members for questioning the class, all hell broke loose."

"Then, in a reversal of the employee-employer relationship, a council of teachers and administrators rejected a decision by the school board to offer multivariable calculus at Palo Alto High School. The move was a stunner since the school board usually makes decisions, not the employees."

"In mid-February, the district agreed to pay $3.25 million to PE teacher Peter Colombo, who claimed he was falsely accused of raping a student more than 20 years ago. He accused the district, led by Superintendent Don Austin, of botching the investigation into his case."

The Palo Alto school district has experienced significant turmoil over three months. Controversy erupted over an ethnic studies curriculum that some Chinese and Jewish families deemed discriminatory, leading to board member Rowena Chiu claiming she was bullied for questioning it. Teachers and administrators rejected the board's decision to offer multivariable calculus, reversing typical decision-making authority. Union demands included a 28% teacher pay raise and 47% for non-teachers. The district settled a $3.25 million lawsuit with PE teacher Peter Colombo, who accused Superintendent Don Austin of mishandling his case. Austin subsequently resigned with a $596,802 severance package. The board then appointed Austin's chief of staff, Trent Bahadursingh, as acting superintendent, despite Bahadursingh also being a defendant in Colombo's lawsuit.

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