School board candidate calls ballot misrepresentation charges a distraction

Palo Alto school board candidate Linda Henigin released employment records and a district statement after a lawsuit accused her of misrepresenting herself as a math teacher on the ballot. Parent Virginia Noh, a former campaign manager for board member Rowena Chiu, filed the complaint on Aug. 25 and asked the court to reject Henigin’s declaration of candidacy and take her name off the ballot before the designation deadline. Chiu has donated to the campaigns of Henigin’s opponents, John Craig and Avery Wang. Henigin’s records show Palo Alto Unified paid her as a Math Resource Teacher from January 2021 through June 2026; the job is described as math interventionist, providing instruction for students who need extra help. Laurel Moore, who provides credential and hiring analysis to the district, wrote that Henigin functioned as a professional educator providing elementary math intervention under her clear Multiple Subject Teaching Credential. The credential is valid through 2030 and authorizes teaching all subjects in a self-contained class. Judge Helen Williams rejected Noh’s original filing: the registrar of voters should have been named, the pleading was listed as a writ of mandate rather than a petition for a writ of mandate, it was not verified, and “no evidence submitted to show that there is any falsity about the candidate’s title description.” Noh did not respond to Palo Alto Online. Henigin said: “I am a math teacher. If there was a problem, the Registrar of Voters would have pointed it out weeks ago. This is a distraction.” A case management conference was scheduled for Sept. 1 at 1:30 p.m.