PAUSD board candidate Avery Wang wants an independent audit of district spending, citing $56,599 the district paid for two sushi-rolling machines.

The Palo Alto Unified School District is staring at a projected $33 million deficit, driven by teacher compensation increases and the expiration of the Measure O parcel tax, which had generated $17 million a year. Wang, a research scientist at Apple and co-founder of the music app Shazam, pointed to the sushi machines and a $563,414 contract with the firm WestEd to develop math placement tests as examples of waste.

Wang said in a Sept. 21 Palo Alto Daily Post interview that he is "convinced there's a lot of waste" but added he needs to do more research before proposing specific cuts. He also called for ending no-bid contracts.

The district purchased two Xtop R1 sushi machines in separate transactions: $18,067 from East Bay Restaurant Supply on Jan. 13, 2025 and $38,532 from Culinary Depot on June 6, 2025, according to purchasing records first reported by the Daily Post on Sept. 11. District spokesperson Lynette White said the machines were bought with a California Department of Education kitchen infrastructure grant because sushi was the second most requested lunch item behind pizza.

Wang is one of three candidates running for two open seats on the PAUSD Board of Education on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The other candidates are Linda Henigin, a classroom aide at Duveneck Elementary who holds a multiple-subject teaching credential, and John Craig, a parent and operations executive.

Henigin has staked out a different priority. She wants to bring back an estimated $14.5 million parcel tax to voters next spring to raise teacher pay, saying the district needs to rebuild community trust by clearly explaining how the money would be spent, the Daily Post reported on July 27. A renewal of the expired Measure O fell short of the two-thirds threshold required to pass in June.

Henigin also won a court fight over her ballot description. She listed herself as "math teacher/mother," which parent Virginia Noh challenged in a lawsuit alleging Henigin misrepresented her credentials. A Santa Clara County judge ruled Sept. 3 that Henigin can keep the designation because Noh's challenge came too late to change ballot materials already sent to print, according to the Daily Post.

The district announced Sept. 18 that it would bring in an outside auditor to verify the $33 million in projected cuts, according to the Daily Post. Superintendent Jason Glass said he hired School Services of California, a Sacramento-based financial consulting firm, with results expected in October. The district's deadline to issue layoff notices to teachers is March 15. Palo Alto Educators Association President Tom Culbertson told the Paly Voice in a Sept. 14 article that the failed parcel tax reflected eroded public trust.

Measure J, a half-cent sales tax also on the Nov. 3 ballot, would let the city buy 7 acres of the Cubberley Community Center site from PAUSD for $65.5 million. The school board unanimously endorsed the measure Sept. 16, according to Palo Alto Online. Under the district's spending plan, $43.9 million would go to school maintenance, $18.3 million to facility modernization, and $3.3 million to contingency.

But as of Sept. 14, negotiations between the school board and city council over the sale terms were still underway, the Daily Post reported. The city has declined to release its appraisal of the Cubberley property before the election.

Enrollment adds pressure. PAUSD's student count dropped from 12,287 in 2017 to 10,209 in the 2025-26 school year, according to California Department of Education data. All three candidates said they would consider closing schools if enrollment keeps falling. Craig said he would be open to selling a campus; Henigin said she would lease but not sell.

The election is Nov. 3.