New school board candidate challenges status quo
- A new candidate entered the Palo Alto school board race promising to challenge existing policies and leadership. - Campaign focuses on equity, fiscal priorities, and increased transparency in school district governance. - The campaign could reshape local education debates ahead of elections; Patch has more on motivations and endorsements (patch.com).
Linda Henigin, a Duveneck Elementary instructional aide and Palo Alto parent, filed to run for the Palo Alto Unified school board on April 20, opening a new front in this year’s race. (padailypost.com) Henigin, 56, entered a contest for two seats now held by Shounak Dharap and Shana Segal, whose terms expire in 2026. The Santa Clara County Registrar lists Palo Alto Unified board elections as at-large, nonpartisan races with four-year terms. (vote.santaclaracounty.gov) Palo Alto Online reported three candidates had filed by April 20: Henigin, Avery Wang and John Craig. The Daily Post said Henigin is running against Wang and Craig, who have both aligned with board member Rowena Chiu on recent district debates. (paloaltoonline.com) (padailypost.com) Her campaign starts in a district already consumed by governance fights. Superintendent Don Austin agreed to leave on Feb. 20, and the district later disclosed a $596,802 separation package as it moved into a new superintendent search. (edsource.org) (padailypost.com) (pausd.org) The board’s own webpage shows another fault line: Palo Alto Unified changed open-forum rules effective April 22, 2025, capping that section at 30 minutes and reducing speaking time as turnout rises. Henigin has said she is running on transparency and against what she sees as a “permanent campaign” culture around board politics. (pausd.org) (padailypost.com) Henigin has taken public positions on equity and student support that set her apart from the race’s early math-acceleration bloc. The Daily Post reported she backed ethnic studies requirements, argued general education classrooms should be the default placement for all students, and urged the board to focus on students who are not reaching their potential. (padailypost.com) Craig and Wang have pushed in the other direction on academics, calling for more advanced math options, including reinstating Multivariable Calculus. The Daily Post described Craig as an advanced-math advocate, and said both men have urged the district to restore the course. (padailypost.com 1) (padailypost.com 2) Henigin is also known locally for organizing more than 100 volunteers to monitor Caltrain crossings after the Aug. 9 death of Gunn High School student Emily Fiedel, 17. After another 17-year-old, Summer Devi Mehta, died at the Churchill Avenue crossing on Feb. 3, volunteers were replaced by security guards and Henigin began urging the city to close that crossing. (padailypost.com) The board that voters will reshape now includes President Shounak Dharap, Vice President Rowena Chiu, and members Shana Segal, Alison Kamhi and Josh Salcman. With two seats up in November and the superintendent search underway this spring, Palo Alto’s school board race is becoming a referendum on who should set the district’s priorities next. (pausd.org) (vote.santaclaracounty.gov)
