San Mateo County · Sequoia Union High School District
Decisions made in private. A superintendent nobody questions. Legal bills we all pay. It’s time for change, and a recall is the only way to get it.
Stay up to date with the recall process.
01 · Accountability
The board has one employee: Superintendent Crystal Leach. It has yet to vote against anything she proposes.
With a school closure on the table, not one trustee dissented or got her to show other alternatives.
Students sued over antisemitism the district failed to address. The board settled and held no one to account.
02 · Money
Voters approved $50 million in bonds to build a campus. Six years later the board emptied it.
The district has paid out more than $500,000 to settle lawsuits brought against it, with claims from a counselor, a coach and other former staff still in litigation.
With the deficit unresolved and staff claims pending, they raised her base salary from $352,000 to $367,000.
03 · Your voice
Board-approved AS/Honors courses were dropped at school sites with no vote, no guidance, and no public debate.
The superintendent ignored committee recommendations in hiring an interim principal at East Palo Alto Academy. The board let it stand.
Decisions reach public meetings already settled. No discussion in open session, and no alternatives put in front of you to weigh.
We name these three because theirs are the seats a recall can reach. The other two are on the November 2026 ballot, where voters get their say directly.
A recall also runs area by area. Each seat needs signatures from 20% of the registered voters in that trustee area, so where you live decides which petition you can sign. Find your area on the map.
Trustee Area B
4,271
signatures needed
Trustee Area C
7,557
signatures needed
Trustee Area E
6,678
signatures needed
Because they are the three a recall can reach. This board’s record belongs to all five of its members, but the other two seats are already on the November 2026 ballot, where voters can weigh in directly without a recall. Replacing three of five changes the majority, which is what it takes to change how the district is run.
TIDE’s closure is what brought many of us together, and it is one clear example of how this board operates. It is not the case for recall. The case is the pattern: closed process, spending without accounting for results, and no real supervision of the superintendent. That affects every campus and every family in this district.
These three seats are not on this November’s ballot. Waiting leaves the current majority in place through the next budget, the next superintendent contract, and whatever it decides next without telling anyone first.
Join the list and we’ll tell you exactly when and where you can sign. We’ll also show you how to help gather signatures on your own street.