The Radical Takeover of Pajaro Valley Schools
At first glance, the political wrangling of a small-town school board might seem trivial. The drama, impassioned speeches from the public, squabbling over agenda items, and ideological infighting, might make for a great Showtime or Netflix series, not a matter of national consequence. But what happens in places like California’s Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) deserves our close attention. When school boards are seen as low-hanging fruit for political activists, the consequences ripple far beyond district lines.
PVUSD offers a stark example of how radical ideologues can capture local institutions to reshape public education. The result is a dysfunctional board, disrupted meetings, and a fractured community, all in service of a deeply divisive political agenda.
To tell the tale of the radicalization of PVUSD, we need to go back almost half a decade. The district’s journey began before the 2021 passage of AB101, which mandated Ethnic Studies as a high school graduation requirement across California. In 2020, PVUSD moved ahead of the state and imposed its own Ethnic Studies requirement, partnering with Community Responsive Education (CRE), a for-profit firm led by Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales — one of the original authors of California’s model Ethnic Studies curriculum. That curriculum, it’s worth noting, had to be revised amid widespread accusations of antisemitism.
After the scandal over the California State Model Ethnic Studies Curriculum PVUSD chose not to renew its contract with CRE. This decision provoked a backlash from local activists who support the more radical framework known as "Liberated Ethnic Studies" pushed by Tintiangco-Cubales. Liberated Ethnic Studies teaches students about “systems of power” that need to be dismantled and that the world is divided into oppressors and oppressed. Activists wanted that message in the classroom.
What followed was textbook political capture.
When school board elections arrived, CRE loyalists and their allies mobilized. Campaign donations, endorsements, and vocal support flowed to candidates sympathetic to the progressive agenda and committed to reinstating the CRE contract. The Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers, whose leadership had been explicitly in favor of the CRE contract, funded and endorsed progressive candidates Carol Turley and Gabriel Medina (practically single-handedly funding their campaigns), while the local Green Party, Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), and university faculty members joined in. Meetings became dominated by activists shouting down dissent, sometimes behind masks, railing against “Zionist” influence and money.
Their efforts paid off. The new board quickly renewed the CRE contract and made ideological activism central to its agenda. But the cost has been steep: less focus on student achievement, more political grandstanding, and a community increasingly polarized.
So polarized, in fact, that the board meetings have even made national news. In comments for which she has since apologized, Trustee Joy Flynn claimed that Jews have historically benefited from economic power and “white-adjacent” privilege which they have not used to help the local community. Gabriel Medina chastised Jewish community members at an April 16h Board Meeting calling them “you people” and “segregationists.” Medina has also hinted that State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond is under the influence of “certain people” to push particular curriculum resources which Medina deems too pro-Israel. The subject of “Zionist” influence and money has come up many times in these meetings, with teacher and PVFT officer Chris Webb also alluding to “Zionist” wealth influencing district decisions. For her part, Flynn has claimed that the structure of board meetings is based on white supremacy.
With all of that, it might seem that what is going on in PVUSD is a fringe sideshow. But Pajaro Valley is not unique. It’s part of a larger strategy, what some have called the “long march through the institutions” where radical activists take control of local power centers to push their broader ideological goals. School boards, often overlooked and underfunded, are particularly vulnerable. And the DSA, whose platform is so extreme that even Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is sometimes deemed too moderate, is playing a growing role, with candidates running and winning school board seats in states like Oregon, Louisiana, Illinois, Texas, and beyond.
The implications are profound. Capturing a school board means capturing the levers of education: curriculum, teacher training, hiring, budgets, discipline policy, and ultimately, the values passed on to students. Over time, schools shift from preparing students for life in a pluralistic society to molding them to fit a rigid ideological mold.
That’s why Pajaro Valley matters. If we want public schools to be places of learning rather than indoctrination, we must take these local races seriously. We need an equally determined response to the long march through our schools, one that channels serious money and effort into electing candidates who emphasize student academic achievement, merit, and education over indoctrination. We need to show not just when there’s a crisis, but before it begins.
The long march through our schools is well underway. If we don’t meet it with urgency and resolve, we will wake up to find public education transformed beyond recognition — and our children left to bear the cost.
