When Speaking Truth Becomes Grounds for Punishment
A politically motivated censure aims to remove me for refusing to stay silent about injustice, power, and the truth our community deserves to hear.
Hola Amigos!
As many of you have seen, the agenda for this week's Pajaro Valley Unified School District board meeting includes a censure aimed directly at me, introduced by the board president and vice president. Since joining the board, I have consistently faced pressure from them to resign my position. These calls for resignation have nothing to do with failure in my duties—in fact, they stem from my success in holding power accountable and amplifying the voices that challenge the status quo.
Let me be clear: this censure is politically motivated. It’s not about conduct, but about content—about the positions I’ve taken and the truths I’ve spoken. From the beginning of my term, I’ve been transparent in my commitment to equity, justice, and accountability. I do not represent the narrow interests of the board leadership; I represent the hundreds of community members who sent me here to fight for them. My duty is to the teachers, parents, students, and residents who have demanded transparency and truth. I will not back down from that responsibility.
What we’re witnessing in this district is part of a larger trend across California and the United States. Political attacks are increasingly targeting those who challenge systems of colonialism, capitalism, and ongoing Indigenous genocide. Just today, H.R. 867—a bill driven by far-right Zionist groups—was pulled. The bill would have punished protesters with up to 20 years in prison or a $1 million fine. This effort to criminalize protest was just one of many attempts to suppress dissent and control the narrative.
Here in our community, we saw that same suppression play out at UC Santa Cruz, where students protesting genocide and advocating for Palestinian rights were violently attacked by state police and agitators. These incidents are not disconnected—they are part of a coordinated push to silence those who refuse to conform.
The same groups that lost the vote on ethnic studies in our district are now working to rewrite the narrative. They want to erase the truth, reduce history to a sanitized script, and ignore the lived experiences of our communities. They fear what real education can do—because it builds an informed, critical, and organized public. As Ronald Reagan once admitted, those in power do not want an educated proletariat. This censure is just another extension of that fear: a calculated attempt to silence inconvenient voices and tighten control.
Now, because I’ve spoken out against those who sought to divide our schools and segregate our community, they’ve labeled me antisemitic—an accusation meant to distract and discredit. But this isn’t about hate—it’s about truth. They didn’t get the outcome they wanted with the ethnic studies vote, so now they’re trying to punish those who stood firm. Instead of reckoning with their loss, they’re pressuring others to join in a campaign of political retaliation.
I’m not surprised by the censure. It’s what happens when someone refuses to stay quiet, refuses to play along, and refuses to abandon the people they were elected to serve. I have received calls, emails, messages, and in-person support from so many of you, and I want to say thank you. Your solidarity in this moment reminds me that this fight is bigger than one person—it’s about all of us and the future we’re trying to build.
I will speak directly to this issue at the board meeting on Wednesday. I hope you will join me and raise your voice. This is not just about me—it’s about our collective right to challenge unjust systems, to demand better, and to insist on transparency and truth. We must not let political intimidation go unchecked.
Thank you for continuing to believe in the power of community. Together, we will push back against these tactics and move forward with clarity, purpose, and unity.
In solidarity,
Trustee Medina