Recent Carlmont graduate Jacob Yuryev, Summit Prep executive director Mary Beth Thompson, and former PayPal executive Daniel Torunian are vying to represent Area B on the District Board of Trustees. The spot is currently held by Carrie Du Bois, who is not seeking reelection but has endorsed Thompson.
Jacob Yuryev
Yuryev, who graduated from Carlmont High School last spring, served as a District student trustee last year. “It was an absolute no-brainer to run for the board,” he said. “At the end of the day, I’m extremely interested in serving our community and improving and providing for the education of our 10,000 students.”
I think that over the last decade, our school board lost a lot of touch with the day-to-day experience of a student within our District, and I’m running to bring that back.
Jacob Yuryev
“I think that over the last decade, our school board lost a lot of touch with the day-to-day experience of a student within our District, and I’m running to bring that back,” Yuryev said. For him, this means prioritizing student mental health and paying teachers a competitive salary.
Yuryev also wants to reintroduce tracked courses. “I want to create a diverse set of course offerings across our district and bring back some of the diverse set of course offerings that were previously removed,” he said.
To address the achievement gap, Yuryev believes schools should train counselors and academic advisors and streamline the transition from feeder schools into high schools.
As a student trustee, Yuryev saw board meetings that erupted into shouting and anger. Others lasted until the early morning. “It’s extremely important that during our board meetings, we’re prioritizing the safety of all of our students and all of our other community members that could possibly be in harm’s way,” he said. “I also think that passionate discussions with passion coming from both sides are not necessarily a bad thing. It’s a bad thing when these discussions turn contentious and turn personal between different parties.”
Yuryev was interviewed in Killing America, a documentary released this spring that argues detracking is antithetical to core American values and leads to antisemitism. The documentary prominently featured and criticized M-A.
I knew exactly what [the District was] looking for. I applied. I was one of the students selected for the interview. During that interview, and without actually personally agreeing with what I was saying, I spoon-fed exactly what they wanted to hear and was selected as a result.
Jacob Yuryev, on becoming an SUHSD student trustee while at a Killing America Q&A forum
“I think that when you give an interview for anything, you do not automatically endorse it,” Yuryev said of his involvement with the production. The documentary stated that diversity, equity, and inclusion programs are “Trojan Horses” that permit antisemitism. When asked if he agreed with the statement, Yuryev declined to comment.
In a public Q&A forum following one of the screenings of the documentary, Yuryev discussed the process of becoming a student trustee, saying, “I knew exactly what [the District was] looking for. I applied. I was one of the students selected for the interview. During that interview, and without actually personally agreeing with what I was saying, I spoon-fed exactly what they wanted to hear and was selected as a result. That’s kind of what’s required in order to succeed in these kinds of situations and provide the school district with genuine student thought.”
When asked what he told the District during his interview and if it was anything he didn’t believe, Yuryev declined to comment.
Yuryev will be attending Stanford University, though he deferred his admission to fall 2025. If elected, he would serve alongside Sathvik Nori, who is also a former District student trustee and current Stanford undergraduate.
If elected, Yuryev is confident that he can balance both roles as a college student and trustee. “I am extremely dedicated and focused on serving my constituents and serving all of the students within our district,” he said. “So it would be an absolute priority to focus on that while obviously still succeeding at school.”
Yuryev emphasized his perspective as a student and the youngest candidate in the election. “We shouldn’t value life experience. We should value work experience,” he said. “In this specific case, while I may not have the years, I do have the work experience of being a student and a student board member within our district to best being able to serve on this school board and make the best possible decisions for our community.”
Mary Beth Thompson
Thompson’s decision to run came after many years in education. She was a history teacher for eight years and now works as an administrator at Summit Prep, a charter school in Redwood City. “I’ve dedicated most of my professional career to serving students. When I started attending board meetings last year, I was really taken aback that there wasn’t an educator on the board,” she said.
“The community that we serve at my public school is actually the community of the Sequoia Union district,” she added. “Students who would be potentially at M–A or Carlmont or Woodside or Sequoia go there. So I feel like I’m well versed in the community and what families and students are looking for.”
Though an outsider to District politics, Thompson takes pride in being a fresh face. “I think that my strength actually is the fact that I’m not living and breathing the District, I haven’t been there for the last two, three, four years, to the point where I actually can bring a perspective that I think is much needed,” she said.
“I know education, and that is a much harder, nuanced topic to really fully embrace than knowing the specifics that I can learn,” she explained.
As Trustee, Thompson seeks to promote a sense of belonging at District schools. “We have a diverse group of students and a diverse group of families—that includes race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status—and to me, it is our duty to serve every student that comes through the door. And I know from an educational background, when students feel like they belong, they’re more likely to come, and when faculty feel supported and administration is working together with the District, when there’s harmony, that’s what brings students through the door, not conflict and strife,” she said.
We have a diverse group of students and a diverse group of families—that includes race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status—and to me, it is our duty to serve every student that comes through the door.
Mary Beth Thompson
For Thompson, part of supporting every student and building community on campus is detracking freshman classes. “I’m definitely for detracking. There is evidence on both sides, but I think one of the things that the District put out is that more students are taking higher-level classes,” she said. “What I believe is that when students come through as ninth graders, all doors remain open for them, and they have the full experience and knowledge to choose which path they want to go into.”
On Ethnic Studies, Thompson said, “One of the things that I would use my spot on the Board for is to ensure that our teachers are provided the support that they need to teach hard history. I applaud Sequoia for being able to understand the importance of Ethnic Studies.”
“I’m a mother,” she added. “I don’t ever want my child to feel guilt or shame. But we have really hard history that’s going to pop up. So instead, let’s focus on, what do we do with those feelings? And really make sure that the critical thinking and the cognitive lift is back with the students, and the teacher guides conversations, but does not dictate conversations.”
Thompson believes her experience as a teacher and principal will be instrumental in creating a better environment at board meetings. “I think about how I run my own school,” she said. “Even if my entire job on the board is every time there’s potential conflict or something arises, I pause it and give the reminder of, is this best for students, then we can really fully try to get to a place of coming together as a community, versus trying to divide us apart.”
I’ve dedicated most of my professional career to serving students. When I started attending board meetings last year, I was really taken aback that there wasn’t an educator on the board.
Mary Beth Thompson
Although Thompson’s position as a charter school administrator could be a conflict of interest, she vowed not to take advantage of the position. “I would recuse myself from any type of vote that would be a conflict of interest,” she said. Though state law prevents school employees from serving on their district boards and charter school employees from serving on county-wide education boards, there is no clear rule preventing a charter school employee like Thompson from serving on a district’s school board. Thompson has consulted lawyers, who determined she could.
“I’m really excited about this, about this possibility of this position,” Thompson concluded. “I’ve worked with students and families for almost 15 years, and I’m really excited to expand that and brought in and bring that expertise and context to the larger community.”
Daniel Torunian
Torunian currently leads Passion for the Lost, a Christian charity that helps pre- and post-release inmates. He also serves as the 1st Vice Chair of the San Mateo County Republican Party and sits on the Redwood City Police Advisory Commission. “Running for Trustee felt like a natural extension of some of the things that I’m really involved with,” he said.
“Area B is where I live. I run by Sequoia High School frequently,” he added. “When I saw the opportunity pop up, I thought to myself, ‘Okay, I think this is the right time for me to make that next step.’”
In preparation for his campaign, Torunian researched Title IX, teacher pay, cell phone policy, and disciplinary action. “I have educated myself,” he said. “And I have sat down and spoken with some of the other trustees as well as the school board.”
One of Torunian’s priorities is improving teacher salaries. “I’d like to see a day where we provide a subsidy to our teachers so that they can actually live in the same community with which they teach. I think that that would be great for the community,” he said.
I’d like to see a day where we provide a subsidy to our teachers so that they can actually live in the same community with which they teach.
Daniel Torunian
Torunian has no strong opinions on detracking but plans to learn more about the topic from parents, teachers, and students. He referred to the issue as “a marketing opportunity” to get more input from the community. “I am starting what I call a listening and learning tour, where I’m bringing together maybe five to eight to 10 parents and people, just so I can start to kind of hear from them,” he added.
Torunian emphasized the importance of communication, especially after last year’s contentious board meetings. “I think you have to constantly be listening,” he said. “I’d like to actually see some forum where we can connect with parents outside of just the formal school board meeting that also may help build more trust.”
I’d like to actually see some forum where we can connect with parents outside of just the formal school board meeting that also may help build more trust.
Daniel Torunian
Torunian wrote an opinion for the Daily Journal criticizing ethnic studies for assignments that he believed limited critical thinking. Despite this, he would not change curriculum in the District. “The artifacts that I wrote about were from the San Mateo High School District, where parents had set these programs, assignments, things of that nature. I cited those individually in the article. I have not seen any of that in the Sequoia Union High School District, at least not that I’m not that I’m aware of,” he explained.
Torunian believes his background as a tech executive will make him a better trustee. “I feel like I will bring a business perspective to the Board,” he said. “I think when you manage large organizations with large budgets and have to deal with complex problems, you learn how to get things done in a collaborative fashion. So I feel like that’s going to be a skill that I will be able to rely on.”
This year’s election will be on November 5. Early voting opens October 7. Register or preregister to vote here.
