The District Board of Trustees met for their monthly meeting on Wednesday, March 19. The Board heard public comments and discussed changes to Title IX language, LCAP goals, and budget proposals.
Public Comments
During the meeting, three people gave public comments.
Dan Molieri raised concerns about the prolonged absence of his brother, former M-A Basketball Coach Mike Molieri. Eight months have passed since Mike was placed on leave, and Dan urged the Board to move up his brother’s interview to address the allegations against him. With depositions coming up the first week of April, he called for several prominent staff members to step down.“Right now, you still have a District that is unsafe and in danger as long as you have people that are willing to break the law,” said Dan.
Sharlett Downing, a former Woodside High School counselor who provided 15 years of service, also spoke out, urging the District to investigate disability discrimination. She has ADHD and agoraphobia and recently was diagnosed with breast cancer. Downing asked for six weeks of leave for therapy but was told by the District upon her return that she was too sick to work despite her doctor clearing her. With her health insurance cut off and being placed on reemployment without cause, Downing filed a public complaint and represented herself against the District.
Lastly, a community member criticized the Board for the way they have handled recent issues, arguing that they should engage with community members instead of handing things to lawyers. “Leadership is not about celebrating the wins, it’s about saying we’re not good enough, we need to do better. If I was the Board, I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night,” he said.
Language Changes following Title IX
Assistant Superintendent of Student Services Elizabeth Chacón presented a proposal to change the language in many of the District’s Board Policies and Administrative Regulations back to 2020 Title IX language standards to comply with federal law, which repealed the 2024 version.
The changes in Title IX mean that extra protections are no longer federally required, but they are not prohibited and schools can choose to enforce them when they see fit.
One of the main changes posed for our District documents is reverting “sex-based harassment” back to “sexual harassment” in order to comply with the standards of the Trump administration. Additionally, pregnant students will only be given eight weeks of leave with few exceptions, while previous guidelines stated only that schools must work with the children to find the best time to return.
Going back to past Title IX language also means reverting to protection based on sex instead of gender identity, however, the California Education Code still protects students regardless of their orientation. “The specific language is changing but we’re still making it clear that we’re going to take care of our students,” Trustee Mary Beth Thompson said.
Changes in LCAP Goals
Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services Bonnie Hansen gave a presentation on the current status of the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP). Hansen presented metrics from past years and goals for the 2025-26 school year, which is the second year in the three-year cycle of the LCAP.
The LCAP displays the District’s key goals for students by focusing on specific demographics and addressing state priorities.
Hansen commented that English Learners (ELs) and Long-Term English Learners (LTELs), who have been in the District for seven years or more, exhibited the greatest area of growth, becoming a demographic subgroup in the LCAP.
Hansen presented six goals for the 2025-26 school year: improving chronic absenteeism among Black and Pacific Islander students, improving the academic performance of subgroups who scored “very low” in ELA and math, improving the scores of subgroups who scored “very low” on the Readiness for College and Career CA Dashboard, retaining highly qualified staff and representative students, increasing the number of EL students who can be reclassified, and supporting Redwood High School in increasing graduation rates especially EL students.
Budget Recap and Plans
The District’s General Fund Multi-Year Projections Summary shows that SUHSD has been spending in a deficit and is expected to continue to do so in the coming years. Major changes in revenue include a $1.5 million decrease in property taxes as well as increases of $1.8 million in current-year state entitlements, $730,000 in donations and reimbursements, and $163,000 in federal funds. Major changes in expenditures include a $2.3 million increase in salaries and benefits as well as an additional $310,000 transfer to East Palo Alto.
