As I prepare to step down from the San Dieguito Union High School Board of Trustees, I’ve thought a lot about the legacy I hope to leave behind. As a trustee, I’ve tried to lead with courage, integrity and heart.
In keeping with those values, I feel obligated to share my experience of working with someone for the past four years who I believe does not. With profound gratitude for the district that educated my children and concern for its future, the SDUHSD community deserves my honest opinion of Michael Allman.
Maya Angelou once said, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” My introduction to Allman came at our board orientation when he asked more questions about deleting emails than educating students.
In fact, a few weeks later at our first meeting, he dismissed the value of students’ voices as “very near zero.” When the board reconvened, more than 100 students stood outside the boardroom chanting “our voices matter.”
Students showed up again en masse to protest Allman’s engagement with transphobic comments on social media. One of our high school seniors shared: “That commentary [a Facebook thread on pronoun usage in the classroom] showed [Allman] laughing at and making jokes about trans students and condoning some very, very inappropriate comments made by other[s].”
For my part, I was disappointed, but not surprised by Allman’s response to the outcry and criticisms. Not once in his four-page statement did he acknowledge the feelings of our LGBTQIA+ students; nor did he use the words “sorry,” “apologize,” or “forgive.”
More than disregarding students, Allman seems equally antagonistic toward public education. I’ve heard him repeatedly threaten the academic freedom that’s so vital to student learning (and required by law). For example, when Allman asked, “Do we teach “Huckleberry Finn and other books considered controversial” after asserting his conviction that Trustees could declare “we’re not using that book,” it sounded a lot like banning books to me.
During last week’s discussion of our proposed curriculum for the state-mandated ethnic studies graduation requirement, Allman described one of its lessons as “wokeism run amok.” He voted against it.
While Allman has the right to his opinions, he does not extend the same to others. He regularly makes disparaging remarks about community members, going as far as to post their letters to him on social media. Under the screenshot of one parent’s letter, he asked, “Does anyone know if he is real? It’s hard for me to believe someone could be so wrong and vile, but maybe he is just uninformed.”
I find this deeply ironic for several reasons:
- Allman questioned the email’s legitimacy, yet he actively led all motions to approve a heavily gerrymandered district boundary map submitted by an anonymous individual with no known connections to our district, resulting in a lawsuit and subsequent takeover by the County Board of Education, which cost our district over $150,000 in legal fees. The “individual” has never surfaced.
- He questioned the email’s veracity, yet my fellow board members and I have to regularly correct the record after he twists words and omits facts.
- He bristled at the parent’s admonishment, yet he has a long documented history of insulting and intimidating others.
While most of Allman’s behavior is shielded from the public, a handful of instances have surfaced. On May 22, 2022, the San Diego Union-Tribune published an article titled, “Profanity-laced text messages from San Dieguito school board trustee read during board meeting.” A prior board president reprimanded Allman for being “rude to our staff.” A former superintendent admitted that she had concerns about Allman’s treatment of staff saying, “I’ve seen what’s been said in emails and I don’t believe that anyone deserves that.” Still today, Allman calls and texts district staff at all hours with his personal demands.
These examples are only the tip of the iceberg. For good or bad, board behavior affects student outcomes. When district members are abused, voices are silenced, progress is impaired, and resources that would otherwise be directed to classrooms are diluted. I believe these are very real and sobering consequences of Allman’s leadership.
In and out of the boardroom, he has shown us who he is. How we respond determines our legacy. If you know a child who attends SDUHSD schools, keep them in mind when you cast your ballot. Remember our kids matter.
Katrina Young is a trustee of the San Dieguito Union High School District. She will step down in November after four years on the Board of Education.
