Thank you Madam President.

I was not elected to be polite. I was not elected to protect the powerful. I was elected to represent those who’ve been ignored, overlooked, and erased, families who’ve sat at board meetings for years and never once had their pain acknowledged.

So let me be clear: I am not here to make anyone comfortable. I am here to speak truth.

And the truth is: this censure isn’t about ethics. It’s about control.

Control over who gets to speak.
Control over which stories get told.
Control over whether or not we talk about race, injustice, or Palestine in public.

Let’s stop pretending this is about process or “tone.” This is about politics. This is about silencing one of the only voices up here who doesn’t play by respectability rules designed to keep us compliant.

The person I criticized, yes, I said their name, led a documented effort in the 1990s to divide white and brown students in this district. I didn’t make that up. It’s in public records. Yet somehow, I am the one being punished, not the one who smeared a Filipino educator with no apology. A woman who stood with dignity while the same people accusing me now stayed silent.

So let me ask this board, why am I being held to a higher standard than the person who caused direct, lasting harm to our Filipino community?

Where was the censure then?
Where was the apology to her?
Where was the same urgency, the same condemnation?

Some of you voted to support ethnic studies because you said you saw no antisemitism. And yet, you’re now trying to censure me for defending that vote and challenging the weaponization of antisemitism as a political tool.

Make no mistake, this is part of a much larger pattern.

This isn’t just happening in Watsonville. It’s happening across California. In Santa Ana, a school board approved ethnic studies and was immediately sued. In Palo Alto, they dropped ethnic studies requirements after facing political pressure. In districts up and down this state, trustees are being intimidated, silenced, or discredited the moment they support ethnic studies or speak out on Palestine.

We say we care about equity, yet when those of us from marginalized communities speak in the language of resistance, we’re called aggressive, divisive, or out of line.

I’ve been doxxed.

I’ve received emails threatening my safety.
I even received a phone call asking for my address so a “beeper” would be sent, coded language, meant to intimidate.

And through all of that, not one public statement from this board defending my right to speak.
Not one public statement from the superintendent or this body defending the safety of a sitting board member.

Instead, I was told behind closed doors that the county superintendent was “worried” about our vote, and after we voted, that Tony Thurmond was concerned. And then our own superintendent sent us a Daily Wire article, yes, a far-right publication, on ethnic studies before the vote, trying to influence board deliberation. That is inappropriate. That is biased. That is manipulation.

But I’m the one being censured?

Let’s be real: this is not about protecting Jewish students. This is about silencing a brown trustee who won’t follow the script.

And let me say it now. I reject antisemitism. I reject Islamophobia. I reject all forms of bigotry.

But I will not allow that rejection to be used as a leash. I will not allow my community’s pain to be erased in the name of false unity.

You cannot uplift one community by erasing another.

Right now, you’re preparing a resolution to honor Jewish heritage in May. I support that. But I ask you: What is April?

April is Arab American Heritage Month.
And yet, we have no resolution.
No mention.
No recognition.

So again, I ask: why is one community being elevated, while another is ignored? That is not equity. That is selective solidarity.

If you want to censure me, show me the rule I broke.
Show me the bylaw. Show me the policy.

Show me where it says a trustee can’t speak about injustice, about colonialism, about race, about Palestine, about truth.

Because under Robert’s Rules of Order, a censure must be based on actual misconduct, not feelings. Not political backlash. Not because I made the wrong people uncomfortable.

WATSONVILLE, CA – Calls for professionalism do not justify dismissing accountability. They never have.

Most of the concerns circulating in our community did not start on social media. They started with teachers, classified staff, parents, and students speaking up at meetings, sending emails, filing complaints through union processes, and asking questions directly. When people raise concerns through every available channel and are still ignored, they have every right to be frustrated.

PVUSD Board Policy 1313 addresses civility in community relations. It does not prohibit criticism of district leadership, public officials, or administrative decisions. Questioning decisions, requesting records, organizing petitions, and advocating for change are normal acts of civic participation. The public has a right to practice them.

If we are going to talk about hostile work environments, we should start by listening when employees report feeling unsafe, retaliated against, or unsupported. Those reports deserve a fair and honest review.

The district’s statement says it wants “constructive dialogue.” Constructive dialogue requires transparency and a willingness to hear criticism without labeling it harassment, bullying, or intimidation.

My concern with the district’s statement is that it redirects attention away from the issues being raised and toward the people raising them. That pattern is tone policing, when the focus shifts to how concerns are expressed rather than what they say. It functions as a red herring when it moves the conversation away from the underlying questions. And it tries to make an appeal to emotion when it asks the public to focus on feelings of offense rather than the facts.

The community has been asking about leadership decisions, workplace conditions, district priorities, and accountability. Disagreement with district leadership is not harassment. Criticism of public officials is not intimidation. Public accountability is how democratic institutions are supposed to work.

Difficult conversations do not require protection from discomfort. They require honesty. Students, staff, and families deserve to know their concerns are taken seriously and answered directly, not deflected.

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Trustee Gabriel J. Medina

Pajaro Valley Unified School District, Area III