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California school board member temporarily banned from school after clash with principal over ICE protests
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A California school board member is banned from entering a high school campus for two weeks after school board counterparts voted to approve a stay-away letter last week.
The Office of the Superintendent prepared an agenda item to discuss Pajaro Valley Unified School District trustee Gabe Medina’s confrontation with Pajaro Valley High School principal Todd Wilson. The confrontation was about Pajaro Valley High School students joining the national walkout protests against U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) on Jan. 30.
After Medina confronted Wilson, he faced scrutiny and a stay-away letter was created that stated he couldn’t access school grounds for two weeks.
During a school board meeting on February 11, Medina’s colleagues voted 4-1 agreeing to approve the stay-away letter. The vote also mandated that Medina and Wilson are required to have a mediated conversation.
The Office of the Superintendent prepared an agenda item to discuss Pajaro Valley Unified School District trustee Gabe Medina’s behavior that led up to Pajaro Valley High School students participating in the national walkout protest against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) earlier this month.
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“One of our board colleagues was at the school and got into a verbal altercation with a district employee. Staff reported that the board member was aggressive, getting in the employees’ face nose to nose…,” Board President Carol Turley said.
“The board member was not acting in his official capacity but rather as a private citizen. Based on those events, the employee and staff expressed concerns about their safety and well-being and have requested proper protections are in place,” Turley continued.
Medina said in an Instagram video that he confronted Wilson about him allegedly threatening to tow students’ vehicles for participating in the protests.
Medina received both support and criticism.
“Medina has been the only member on this board who has constantly showed up for our students,” one of the speakers said during the public comment session addressing the stay-away letter. “He sees the students as people, not as money signs. He advocates for students when they feel they have no voice.”
Two sophomores from Pajaro Valley High School, Karina Aguilar and Alyah Mendoza, read a statement together criticizing Medina’s behavior.
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Pajaro Valley Unified School District trustee Gabe Medina received both support and criticism following the board considering a measure to ban the official from a high school campus after a confrontation with another employee. (YouTube Screenshot)
“Trustee Medina, you are sitting here on this board as someone that we can clearly not trust and confide in when it comes to showing up for our school and our students, specifically regarding the incident that happened on the day of our walkout,” Aguilar said. “That day you showed us students what a perfect example of immaturity and a lack of clarity can cause within our school community.”
Medina responded that students were not informed enough in advance about their legal right to participate in the protest. He issued a statement the next day expressing disappointment about the outcome. He cited California law SB 955 that allows students to leave class “provided that the pupil notifies the school ahead of the absence.”
“Last night’s vote to approve a 14 day stay away letter is disappointing, but not surprising,” he continued. “I believe the action was unnecessary and disproportionate. There was no completed investigation, no formal findings shared publicly, and no genuine attempt at mediation before escalation. That raises serious concerns about fairness and governance.”
During the Jan. 30 walkout protest, Pajaro Valley High School students initially planned to meet in the quad on campus for a rally to hear remarks from an organization called Your Allied Rapid Response.
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What was planned to be an on-campus event ventured into an off-campus gathering.
As Pajaro Valley High School students met on campus in Watsonville, CA, they were encouraged to leave to join the larger protest event that was organized to march to a rally in Watsonville’s Civic Plaza. Some of the students joined. The board took issue with criticism that the students were not encouraged to join the larger protest, claiming “student suppression.”
Pajaro Valley High School students joined the national walkout protests against U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement on Jan. 30. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
The board said that school officials “cannot encourage students to leave campus” and took issue with Medina’s characterization of the district’s handling of the student-led protest.
“We are NOT what Trustee Medina represented of us on his public platforms,” the district wrote in a letter.
The board, Wilson, nor Medina did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.
“Pajaro Valley USD is a perfect example of what happens when institutions are captured by activists, who subvert the purpose of the institutions and instead use it as a vehicle for their own political ends. Watch as the board meeting is held hostage by an activist board member,” said Mika Hackner, director of research at North American Values Institute.
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One of San Francisco’s busiest freeways remained shut down Saturday, creating major traffic delays and dampening business for some local restaurants and shops.
All eastbound lanes of Interstate 80 just before the Bay Bridge are closed as crews work around the clock to rehabilitate the roadway. The 55-hour shutdown, which began on Friday night, is scheduled to last until Monday morning in time for the commute.
The closure has forced drivers onto detour routes, leading to heavy congestion for those trying to reach the East Bay, including Oakland and Berkeley.
The impact is being felt beyond the roadways.
At MoMo’s, a restaurant across from Oracle Park, staff found business noticeably slower.
“A little bit more mellow than usual. We usually see a little bit more foot traffic, a little bit more people on Saturdays,” said Daniel Bermudez, executive chef at MoMo’s.
Bermudez believes the freeway closure may be discouraging visitors from coming into the city this weekend, despite favorable weather.
“The weather is beautiful today. It’s nice and sunny. So we have plenty of tables outside,” he said.
With the San Francisco Giants playing an away game, the restaurant had hoped fans would still gather to watch, but turnout during game time remained light.
“This is kind of like our off-season Saturday. A lot slower than our baseball weekend,” said Casandra Alarcon, general manager at MoMo’s.
Other small businesses in the Mission Bay and South of Market neighborhoods reported similar trends, saying most of their customers are regulars who live nearby rather than visitors.
“A little bit slower for sure. Before, we had tourists come and walk to the baseball park,” said Ajaree Safron, manager at Brickhouse Cafe & Bar.
Caltrans has shut down eastbound lanes between 17th and 4th streets to repave the 71-year-old roadway. The goal is to extend the life of the Bayshore Freeway by another decade.
City and transportation officials said the timing of the closure was intentional, noting fewer major events scheduled in San Francisco this weekend, aside from the Cherry Blossom Festival.
Westbound lanes remain open, and officials said traffic heading into San Francisco from the East Bay has not been significantly affected.
“Getting into the city, it wasn’t too bad. Regular [traffic], what we expect on a Saturday morning,” said visitor Andrea Inouye.
While the closure has posed challenges for businesses, some workers said they are taking it in stride.
“Hopefully, it’s not for too long and we get past it, and get back to our normal routine,” Bermudez said.
Despite early concerns about widespread gridlock, transportation officials said the region has avoided the worst-case scenario. Traffic remains heavy in areas near detours, but the anticipated “carmageddon” has not materialized, in part because many drivers chose to avoid the area or take public transit.
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Thanks to Carrie Brown for the westward view of our Saturday night sunset. The high today hit 68 at the airport – eight degrees above normal – but nowhere near the record for this date, which was 89 degrees back in 2016. The forecast suggests two more days of partly sunny, almost-70-degree weather, before the chance of rain returns.
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