There is no love lost between Hayward school board 
member Luis Reynoso and the city’s elected officials.

HAYWARD | A local advocacy group that includes several Hayward city councilmembers, has designs on one day replacing the entire five-person Hayward school board. But, one school trustee has news for the City Council: People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.

“I’m really surprised the City of Hayward wants to come in and help us clean our house,” said Luis Reynoso, a two-term member of the Hayward school board. “In reality, I think they should clean their house first.”

Reynoso says Hayward city government has a long list of issues that have not been addressed by the city council. Reynoso. “People are dying in the streets,” said Reynoso during a recent school board meeting. In the past, Reynoso has repeatedly chastised the city for allowing its fire chief to keep his job after incidents involving alcohol use while on the job. Reynoso’s jabs have certainly gotten under the skin of the city council.

Councilmembers Francisco Zermeno, Al Mendall and Sara Lamnin, among a few councilmembers, has taken to criticizing members of the school board during city council meetings. Zermeno and Mendall even referenced the school board during their inauguration speeches last month. The comments are somewhat a breach of decorum among public officials, who rarely lodge critical public statements against another governmental body within the same city. In addition, the same councilmembers are part of the group openly calling for the end of Reynoso’s and other school board

The advocacy group which calls itself, Civic Leaders Advocating for Student Success (CLASS), also includes six of the seven city council members; local faith leaders, and the local chapter of the NAACP. In the past, many of the same members voice strong support for Superintendent Stan “Data” Dobbs, who the board placed on paid administrative leave in June while an investigation is conducted over various alleged wrongdoings on his part.

But, Reynoso has long attracted the ire of elected city leaders and those affiliated with the school district for over-scrutinizing its budget and for his often controversial comments. In recent months, though, the group has broadened its scope by targeting not just Reynoso’s re-election this fall, but fellow school board members John Taylor and Annette Walker.

In response, CLASS is offering a slate of three candidates this fall, including Robert Carlson, the former president of Chabot College, Todd Davis, the son of local NAACP president Freddye Davis; and Daniel Goldstein, a member of the Hayward planning commission.