Pajaro Valley board backs Community Responsive Education contract after months of debate

The Pajaro Valley Unified School District board voted unanimously on April 16 to approve a one-year renewal of the Community Responsive Education (CRA) consultant contract for ethnic-studies training, ending months of public testimony and heated debate. Trustees also directed the superintendent to issue an official apology to Dr. Allison Tintiago Kubales, the consultant whose program had been suspended earlier, a motion the board approved later in the meeting.

The decision followed nearly three hours of public comment during which students, teachers and community leaders urged the board to reinstate CRA and criticized the district’s earlier actions; other speakers, including local rabbis and community members, urged caution and raised objections about the consultant’s materials. Rabbi Debbie Israel said the district should “choose an ethnic-studies consultant that builds bridges of mutual respect,” while student speakers described ethnic-studies classes as transformative for college readiness and civic engagement.

Supporters emphasized classroom impact. Watsonville High student Na Lopez told trustees ethnic-studies had shown her “how important my ethnicity is,” and several teachers and former students testified that CRA-trained instructors increased attendance and strengthened students’ leadership and college-going plans. “The contract was already great as written,” one former participant said, arguing the curriculum had been developed with local input. Educators and students also described hands-on outcomes, including state degree recipients and CTE-linked opportunities, as evidence of the work’s benefit.

Opponents centered claims about curriculum framing and whether materials treated Jewish history and concerns appropriately. Rabbi Debbie Israel told the board she opposed renewing CRA because, she said, “it attempts to deny the right of the Jewish people for self‑determination,” and urged the district to select a consultant who would “build bridges.” Other critics urged the board to select an antibias training that, in their view, better aligns with state model ethnic-studies language.

Trustees repeatedly said they had heard from both sides and weighed curricular materials and community input. Claudia Munhares, assistant superintendent for curriculum, presented three consultant options for 2025–26 and recommended the district approve a balanced set of supports; the board ultimately voted to authorize the CRA contract and to consider additional vendors for complementary training.

The board’s formal actions: trustees approved the CRA contract by voice vote (7–0). Later in the meeting, as part of an item honoring Asian‑American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, a motion directing the superintendent to issue an official apology to Dr. Allison Tintiago Kubales passed (voice vote recorded in the minutes). A separate effort to censure a former trustee for conduct around the contract failed on a roll call vote (3 in favor, 4 opposed).

What the votes mean now: CRA will resume consultant work in Pajaro Valley classrooms under the conditions and scope that the district’s curriculum office and classroom teachers negotiate. The board’s apology directs the superintendent to send a formal letter to Dr. Kubales; the board did not adopt additional restrictions on curriculum content in its votes.

Board members said they will monitor implementation. Trustees noted that approving a consultant contract does not change the district’s obligation to follow California’s AB 101 ethnic-studies requirements and invited continuing oversight by teachers, parents and the district’s curriculum office. Trustee comments emphasized process: trustees said they want clearer documentation and more opportunities for community review of curriculum rollouts and for district staff to report back on training, classroom outcomes and any changes to the consultant scope.

Next steps and context: The vote brings to an end the immediate issue that dominated public attendance—students who traveled to speak on school nights and sustained public hearings—but trustees and staff signalled they will follow the contract’s roll‑out closely. The district also plans to consider how to integrate supplementary antibias training and external consultants recommended by its curriculum office. Given the depth of local feeling and federal and state attention to ethnic-studies materials nationwide, the board and superintendent told the room they expect additional public scrutiny as training begins.

The meeting also included significant other business—Measure M bond certification, personnel readouts, a facilities reorganization and a student-led CTE presentation—but the ethnic-studies contract renewal and the board’s apology were the central outcomes that drew the largest, sustained turnout and the widest public response.

Ending: Trustees said they will ask district staff to report back publicly on the first phase of consultant training and any classroom-level guidance resulting from the contract. The board adjourned after approving the superintendent’s directive and other items on the agenda.