Former School Board candidate Jasmine Woodworth is calling for a
public retraction and apology from Board President George Panos and
Trustee Del Foster for what she describes in a letter as personal
attacks constituting
“defamation by both slander and libel.”
Former School Board candidate Jasmine Woodworth is calling for a public retraction and apology from Board President George Panos and Trustee Del Foster for what she describes in a letter as personal attacks constituting “defamation by both slander and libel.”
She is also asking for Panos to step down from his position as president.
Panos, who did not attend Monday’s School Board meeting due to a family bereavement, said Thursday that he had no comment on the situation.
“My comment is, this board of trustees remains committed to the education of the children in the district,” he said. “I don’t want to talk about this now. We have too much on our plate right now.”
Woodworth, who did not speak at Monday’s meeting, was in the audience.
Trustees are dealing with budget cuts, the construction of the new Sobrato High School, renovations at Live Oak High and other issues.
The controversy involving Woodworth arose during the continuation of the April 6 board meeting when trustees were discussing how to fill the vacancy left by Trustee Tom Kinoshita’s resignation on March 15.
Woodworth was not at that meeting. She had been at the meeting the night before when trustees carried over remaining agenda items because of the late hour.
Trustees Amina Khemici and Shellé Thomas were proposing that the fifth highest finisher (Woodworth) in the November 2002 election be appointed to the seat; Panos, Foster and Trustee Jan Masuda were advocating leaving the seat open until the November election.
Trustee Mike Hickey, who campaigned with Woodworth, said during the April 6 discussion that he “would not want to subject” her “to the hostile environment” of the board. He also said he believed she would be better suited to the position than he, he “wouldn’t wish” the seat and situation “on my worst enemy.”
So despite Hickey’s connection to Woodworth, the vote on replacing Kinoshita was clearly going to be 4-2 in favor of leaving the seat open until November.
Foster then read from a letter from the Santa Clara County Registrar’s of Voters Office, which incorrectly named Woodworth as a “proponent” of the recent effort to recall the four senior board members. Shannon Bushey of the Registrar’s Office, who wrote the letter, later said she made an error and sent a letter of correction.
The effort was dropped when Kinoshita resigned and the other three – Panos, Foster and Masuda – said they would not be seeking re-election.
After Foster read the original letter April 5, Panos read a prepared statement denouncing Woodworth and the recall effort.
In her letter to Panos, Woodworth said, “Your false and slanderous statements include, but are not limited to the following: 1. That I was a proponent of the recall; 2. That I was a ‘loser’ and should be considered such; 3. That my involvement in the recall effort was ‘self-indulgent;’ 4. That I could not win a school board seat by fair means so went about it in an “underhanded” way by starting a recall.”
Woodworth’s husband, Scott, and Louise Helen, a longtime district volunteer, spoke during the public comment section during Monday’s meeting in support of Woodworth and condemning the conduct of Panos and Foster.
The mood at Monday’s meeting was somber compared to the turmoil during the April 6 meeting, with Thomas, as vice president, standing in for Panos, and a subdued audience.
